Where do we go from here?

This essay, written by Ryan Herman, explores the myriad ways in which local people took responsibility for supporting one another, in communities across the country following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Now two years on, Ryan reflects on people’s incredible resilience and ingenuity, as well as the inspiring ability of communities to look beyond immediate crisis and learn from what was happening to think longer term to further improve and to a certain degree, ensure they were resilient against future challenges to come.

This essay is also an important reminder of what can be achieved when people come together for a common purpose, and whilst that may seem a cliché, in a time when we have been explicitly told to stay apart, I think it’s worth noting.

Catch up on Ryan’s first essay, A level playing field, on how sport can unite and transform communities.

To find out more about how communities have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, take a look at our rapid research project with the Third Sector Research Centre, a long-term study into how 26 communities have responded to COVID-19.