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How to Write the Community Essay – Guide with Examples (2023-24)

September 6, 2023

Students applying to college this year will inevitably confront the community essay. In fact, most students will end up responding to several community essay prompts for different schools. For this reason, you should know more than simply how to approach the community essay as a genre. Rather, you will want to learn how to decipher the nuances of each particular prompt, in order to adapt your response appropriately. In this article, we’ll show you how to do just that, through several community essay examples. These examples will also demonstrate how to avoid cliché and make the community essay authentically and convincingly your own.

Emphasis on Community

Do keep in mind that inherent in the word “community” is the idea of multiple people. The personal statement already provides you with a chance to tell the college admissions committee about yourself as an individual. The community essay, however, suggests that you depict yourself among others. You can use this opportunity to your advantage by showing off interpersonal skills, for example. Or, perhaps you wish to relate a moment that forged important relationships. This in turn will indicate what kind of connections you’ll make in the classroom with college peers and professors.

Apart from comprising numerous people, a community can appear in many shapes and sizes. It could be as small as a volleyball team, or as large as a diaspora. It could fill a town soup kitchen, or spread across five boroughs. In fact, due to the internet, certain communities today don’t even require a physical place to congregate. Communities can form around a shared identity, shared place, shared hobby, shared ideology, or shared call to action. They can even arise due to a shared yet unforeseen circumstance.

What is the Community Essay All About?             

In a nutshell, the community essay should exhibit three things:

• An aspect of yourself, 2. in the context of a community you belonged to, and 3. how this experience may shape your contribution to the community you’ll join in college.

It may look like a fairly simple equation: 1 + 2 = 3. However, each college will word their community essay prompt differently, so it’s important to look out for additional variables. One college may use the community essay as a way to glimpse your core values. Another may use the essay to understand how you would add to diversity on campus. Some may let you decide in which direction to take it—and there are many ways to go!

To get a better idea of how the prompts differ, let’s take a look at some real community essay prompts from the current admission cycle.

Sample 2023-2024 Community Essay Prompts

1) brown university.

“Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)”

A close reading of this prompt shows that Brown puts particular emphasis on place. They do this by using the words “home,” “College Hill,” and “where they came from.” Thus, Brown invites writers to think about community through the prism of place. They also emphasize the idea of personal growth or change, through the words “inspired or challenged you.” Therefore, Brown wishes to see how the place you grew up in has affected you. And, they want to know how you in turn will affect their college community.

“NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world-class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience.

We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community. Please respond in 250 words or less.”

Here, NYU places an emphasis on students’ “identity,” “backgrounds,” and “diversity,” rather than any physical place. (For some students, place may be tied up in those ideas.) Furthermore, while NYU doesn’t ask specifically how identity has changed the essay writer, they do ask about your “experience.” Take this to mean that you can still recount a specific moment, or several moments, that work to portray your particular background. You should also try to link your story with NYU’s values of inclusivity and opportunity.

3) University of Washington

“Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW. (300 words max) Tip: Keep in mind that the UW strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values and viewpoints.”

UW ’s community essay prompt may look the most approachable, for they help define the idea of community. You’ll notice that most of their examples (“families,” “cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood”…) place an emphasis on people. This may clue you in on their desire to see the relationships you’ve made. At the same time, UW uses the words “individual” and “richly diverse.” They, like NYU, wish to see how you fit in and stand out, in order to boost campus diversity.

Writing Your First Community Essay

Begin by picking which community essay you’ll write first. (For practical reasons, you’ll probably want to go with whichever one is due earliest.) Spend time doing a close reading of the prompt, as we’ve done above. Underline key words. Try to interpret exactly what the prompt is asking through these keywords.

Next, brainstorm. I recommend doing this on a blank piece of paper with a pencil. Across the top, make a row of headings. These might be the communities you’re a part of, or the components that make up your identity. Then, jot down descriptive words underneath in each column—whatever comes to you. These words may invoke people and experiences you had with them, feelings, moments of growth, lessons learned, values developed, etc. Now, narrow in on the idea that offers the richest material and that corresponds fully with the prompt.

Lastly, write! You’ll definitely want to describe real moments, in vivid detail. This will keep your essay original, and help you avoid cliché. However, you’ll need to summarize the experience and answer the prompt succinctly, so don’t stray too far into storytelling mode.

How To Adapt Your Community Essay

Once your first essay is complete, you’ll need to adapt it to the other colleges involving community essays on your list. Again, you’ll want to turn to the prompt for a close reading, and recognize what makes this prompt different from the last. For example, let’s say you’ve written your essay for UW about belonging to your swim team, and how the sports dynamics shaped you. Adapting that essay to Brown’s prompt could involve more of a focus on place. You may ask yourself, how was my swim team in Alaska different than the swim teams we competed against in other states?

Once you’ve adapted the content, you’ll also want to adapt the wording to mimic the prompt. For example, let’s say your UW essay states, “Thinking back to my years in the pool…” As you adapt this essay to Brown’s prompt, you may notice that Brown uses the word “reflection.” Therefore, you might change this sentence to “Reflecting back on my years in the pool…” While this change is minute, it cleverly signals to the reader that you’ve paid attention to the prompt, and are giving that school your full attention.

What to Avoid When Writing the Community Essay  

• Avoid cliché. Some students worry that their idea is cliché, or worse, that their background or identity is cliché. However, what makes an essay cliché is not the content, but the way the content is conveyed. This is where your voice and your descriptions become essential.
• Avoid giving too many examples. Stick to one community, and one or two anecdotes arising from that community that allow you to answer the prompt fully.
• Don’t exaggerate or twist facts. Sometimes students feel they must make themselves sound more “diverse” than they feel they are. Luckily, diversity is not a feeling. Likewise, diversity does not simply refer to one’s heritage. If the prompt is asking about your identity or background, you can show the originality of your experiences through your actions and your thinking.

Community Essay Examples and Analysis

Brown university community essay example.

I used to hate the NYC subway. I’ve taken it since I was six, going up and down Manhattan, to and from school. By high school, it was a daily nightmare. Spending so much time underground, underneath fluorescent lighting, squashed inside a rickety, rocking train car among strangers, some of whom wanted to talk about conspiracy theories, others who had bedbugs or B.O., or who manspread across two seats, or bickered—it wore me out. The challenge of going anywhere seemed absurd. I dreaded the claustrophobia and disgruntlement.

Yet the subway also inspired my understanding of community. I will never forget the morning I saw a man, several seats away, slide out of his seat and hit the floor. The thump shocked everyone to attention. What we noticed: he appeared drunk, possibly homeless. I was digesting this when a second man got up and, through a sort of awkward embrace, heaved the first man back into his seat. The rest of us had stuck to subway social codes: don’t step out of line. Yet this second man’s silent actions spoke loudly. They said, “I care.”

That day I realized I belong to a group of strangers. What holds us together is our transience, our vulnerabilities, and a willingness to assist. This community is not perfect but one in motion, a perpetual work-in-progress. Now I make it my aim to hold others up. I plan to contribute to the Brown community by helping fellow students and strangers in moments of precariousness.    

Brown University Community Essay Example Analysis

Here the student finds an original way to write about where they come from. The subway is not their home, yet it remains integral to ideas of belonging. The student shows how a community can be built between strangers, in their responsibility toward each other. The student succeeds at incorporating key words from the prompt (“challenge,” “inspired” “Brown community,” “contribute”) into their community essay.

UW Community Essay Example

I grew up in Hawaii, a world bound by water and rich in diversity. In school we learned that this sacred land was invaded, first by Captain Cook, then by missionaries, whalers, traders, plantation owners, and the U.S. government. My parents became part of this problematic takeover when they moved here in the 90s. The first community we knew was our church congregation. At the beginning of mass, we shook hands with our neighbors. We held hands again when we sang the Lord’s Prayer. I didn’t realize our church wasn’t “normal” until our diocese was informed that we had to stop dancing hula and singing Hawaiian hymns. The order came from the Pope himself.

Eventually, I lost faith in God and organized institutions. I thought the banning of hula—an ancient and pure form of expression—seemed medieval, ignorant, and unfair, given that the Hawaiian religion had already been stamped out. I felt a lack of community and a distrust for any place in which I might find one. As a postcolonial inhabitant, I could never belong to the Hawaiian culture, no matter how much I valued it. Then, I was shocked to learn that Queen Ka’ahumanu herself had eliminated the Kapu system, a strict code of conduct in which women were inferior to men. Next went the Hawaiian religion. Queen Ka’ahumanu burned all the temples before turning to Christianity, hoping this religion would offer better opportunities for her people.

Community Essay (Continued)

I’m not sure what to make of this history. Should I view Queen Ka’ahumanu as a feminist hero, or another failure in her islands’ tragedy? Nothing is black and white about her story, but she did what she thought was beneficial to her people, regardless of tradition. From her story, I’ve learned to accept complexity. I can disagree with institutionalized religion while still believing in my neighbors. I am a product of this place and their presence. At UW, I plan to add to campus diversity through my experience, knowing that diversity comes with contradictions and complications, all of which should be approached with an open and informed mind.

UW Community Essay Example Analysis

This student also manages to weave in words from the prompt (“family,” “community,” “world,” “product of it,” “add to the diversity,” etc.). Moreover, the student picks one of the examples of community mentioned in the prompt, (namely, a religious group,) and deepens their answer by addressing the complexity inherent in the community they’ve been involved in. While the student displays an inner turmoil about their identity and participation, they find a way to show how they’d contribute to an open-minded campus through their values and intellectual rigor.

What’s Next

For more on supplemental essays and essay writing guides, check out the following articles:

• How to Write the Why This Major Essay + Example
• How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example
• How to Start a College Essay – 12 Techniques and Tips
• College Essay

Kaylen Baker

With a BA in Literary Studies from Middlebury College, an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Translation from Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, Kaylen has been working with students on their writing for over five years. Previously, Kaylen taught a fiction course for high school students as part of Columbia Artists/Teachers, and served as an English Language Assistant for the French National Department of Education. Kaylen is an experienced writer/translator whose work has been featured in Los Angeles Review, Hybrid, San Francisco Bay Guardian, France Today, and Honolulu Weekly, among others.

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Tools for Creating a Community Profile: Introduction

• Introduction
• Census Data
• Hawaii State Data Center
• Additional Resources

URL for this guide: http://go.hawaii.edu/dgP

About this guide, what's in a community profile.

A community profile may include information about the following:

• Demographic characteristics such as age, ethnicity, and number of immigrants
• Social characteristics like educational attainment, income, language spoken at home, or poverty status
• Prevalence of homeless or unsheltered individuals
• Health status
• Utilization of social services

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• Last Updated: Mar 17, 2022 11:40 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/community_profile

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How to Write the “Community” and “Issue” Yale Essays

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Hale Jaeger in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info. 

What’s Covered

The “community” essay: choosing a community, structuring the “community” essay, the “issue” essay: choosing your issue, issues to avoid, structuring the “issue” essay.

In this article, we discuss strategies for writing Yale University ’s “Community” and “Issue” supplemental essays. Applicants using the Common App or Coalition Application to apply to Yale are required to choose one of these two prompts and respond to it in 400 words or fewer. The first prompt is the “Issue” essay prompt, which reads:

Yale carries out its mission “through the free exchange of ideas in an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community.” Reflect on a time when you exchanged ideas about an important issue with someone holding an opposing view. How did the experience lead you either to change your opinion or to sharpen your reasons for holding onto it? (400 words)

The second prompt is the “Community” essay prompt:

Reflect on a time when you have worked to enhance a community to which you feel connected. Why have these efforts been meaningful to you? You may define community however you like. (400 words)

In this article, we discuss choosing topics for each of these essays and strategies to structure them.

The Yale “Community” essay prompt clearly states that you can define community however you wish, which means you can choose to write about any kind of community that you feel you are a member of. When considering potential communities, start by brainstorming any groups you are part of that have defined boundaries, such as your town, school, team, or religious organization.

There are also informal communities that you could choose from, such as your friend group, family, coworkers, or neighborhood. Even though these groups have less of a formal definition, they are still communities. What matters most is that the community that you choose is important to you, that you have contributed to it, and that you have learned something from it.

When structuring this essay, think about it in three sections. The first introduces the community, the second demonstrates your contributions to the community, and the third explains what the community has given and taught you. As you write, keep in mind that this essay is a two-way street; you want to show what you have given to your community and what it has given you.

Introduce the Community

The first step in writing this essay is to introduce the community. Explain who is part of the community and what the community is like. Highlight the community’s structure by demonstrating how you are part of it and how you interact with your peers, superiors, or inferiors within the group. It is also important to depict the community’s dynamic in this part of the essay. For example, is it fun, relaxed, and loving, or is it rigorous, challenging, and thought provoking? 

Show What You’ve Contributed

The next section of this essay should discuss your engagement with this community and what you’ve contributed to it. Consider what you’ve done, what initiatives you’ve brought to the community, and what your role is within it. You can also highlight anything that you had to give up to be part of the community.

Show What You’ve Learned

The last part of this essay should discuss what you have gained and learned from this community. For this portion, consider things that the community has given and taught you, as well as ways that it has helped you grow. Think about how this community has shaped who you are and who you are becoming.

The other prompt option is the “Issue” essay. The first step for this one is to define what your issue is. It doesn’t matter what you choose, as long as it’s something that has enough nuance for you to talk about it in a complex and intelligent way.

Make sure it’s an issue of some relevance to you; otherwise, it will come across as dispassionate. As you write this essay, you should show that you are somebody who cares about an issue that they think is significant. 

Grand Issues

When selecting an issue, you can either choose a grand one or a local one. Grand issues are big, unsolved problems that are common in society, such as cancer, homelessness, or food insecurity. If you do choose a grand issue, remind yourself of its personal importance. While grand issues are full of nuance, they may lack personal meaning. Examples of personal connections to grand issues could be if you have encountered homelessness, lived with food insecurity, or have lost someone to cancer.

Local Issues

Another topic option is to write about an issue that is local. For example, maybe your high school has a teaching staff that doesn’t represent the diversity of the student body. While this is not a global issue, it’s something that strongly affects you and your community. 

Perhaps you live in a town that is directly suffering from the opioid crisis, or you have divorced parents and have started an activist group for children of divorced parents. Both of these examples of local issues also have personal importance. 

When choosing a topic to write about, avoid issues that you don’t have any connection to and that aren’t personally important. These are often problems that are too grand and can’t be made personal, such as world peace. 

Another category of issues to avoid is anything that doesn’t align with Yale’s values. Yale, like most universities in the United States, generally has a liberal lean. As such, it is likely not in your best interest to write a strong defense of socially conservative values. While there are values that you are free to hold and express—and Yale welcomes people of all backgrounds and ideologies—this essay is not necessarily the best place to express them.

You are most likely applying to Yale because it’s a place that you want to be and have something in common with. This essay is a great opportunity to emphasize the values that you share with the university rather than the things that divide you. Since a reader only has five to seven minutes to go over your entire application, you don’t want them to come away with the sense that you are somebody who won’t thrive at Yale.

Define the Issue and Highlight Past Experiences

When writing the “Issue” essay, start by identifying the issue and sharing how you came across it. Then, provide insight into why it is meaningful to you and your relationship with it.

Next, show the reader how you have already engaged with the problem by detailing your past with the issue. 

Discuss Future Plans to Approach the Issue

After this, you can look forward and discuss your future with this issue. A great strategy is to write about how your Yale education will address the problem and how your field of study relates to it. You can also highlight any Yale-specific programs or opportunities that will give you insight or context for tackling the issue. 

Alternatively, if there is something about this issue that Yale’s academic flexibility will enable you to explore, you can share that in this part of the essay. For example, maybe you are interested in health policy and plan to take classes in the sciences. You also want to take classes in the history of health, science, and medicine, as well as political science and economics courses, which you plan to utilize to write new healthcare policies.

Another option is to focus on an aspect of Yale’s community, such as peers, professors, or mentors who will help develop your ability to navigate the issue. Ultimately, you want to demonstrate in this essay that what (and how) you learn at Yale will prepare you to take action and move forward with confronting your issue in the future.

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AREA RESEARCH REPORT

Middlesbrough

` Profile of a regenerating community `

               Middlesbrough                                                                   University of Durham

               Borough Council                                                 Community & Youth Work Studies Unit

“Now the thrill

of the lottery

has died down,

tickets have become

a shopping list item

like the tins of Chum

or cheese, not

kissed for luck,

as the winner, but

bought blindly

like the weekly

baked beans

a dead cert

we’ll be back for more

because luck

(Ann O’Neill, Grove Hill Women’s Writers Group )

Acknowledgements

A big thank you to all the staff at grove hill youth & community centre, for putting up with me for the last few weeks, to tees valley joint, strategy unit for the use of the many socio-economic statistics and, the people of grove hill for their support and encouragement., 1.0        introduction.

1.0        Introduction

2.0        POPULATION

2.1        Population Count

2.2        Demographic Analysis

2.3             Political Allegiance

3.0        HISTORY

3.0        history, 4.0        housing.

4.1        Type

4.2             Availability

4.3        Cost

4.4        Quality

5.0        ECONOMY

5.1        Employment

5.2        Unemployment

6.0        EDUCATION

6.1        Schools

6.1.1     Primary Schools

6.1.2     Secondary Schools

6.2        Further/Higher Education

6.3             Qualifications

6.4             Attitudes

7.0        CRIME

7.1        Statistics

8.0        HEALTH

8.0        Health

9.0        FACILITIES & RESOURCES

9.1             Key Agencies             

9.1.1      Grove Hill 2000

9.1.2      Community Development Team

9.2             Leisure Facilities

9.3             Shopping

9.4             Worship

9.5             Library

10.0      PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

10.1      Size

10.2      Ward Boundaries

10.3         Attitudes

10.3.1 Workers

10.3.2 Residents

10.3.3 Non-residents

10.4      Environmental Issues

11.0      TRANSPORT

11.1      Car Ownership

11.2         Public Transport

11.2.1 Availability & Cost

12.0      NEEDS ANALYSIS

13.0      conclusion.

14. 0 DEFINITIONS/ABBREVIATIONS

REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY

Appendix 1. – `grove hill ward boundary map`, appendix 2. – `grove hill socio-economic snapshot `    .

APPENDIX 3. - `Selected Socio-Economic Statistics`

1.0             Introduction

This report will form a community profile of the Grove Hill ward area of Middlesbrough. A community profile can be described as a `comprehensive description of the needs of a population … that is defined as a community, and the resources that exist within that community, carried out with the active involvement of the community` (Hawtin, Hughes and Percy-Smith, 1994: 5).

Grove Hill ward falls under the classification of a geographical community, that is a `web of personal relationships, group networks, traditions and pattern of behaviour that develops amongst those who share the same physical environment` (Hindley, 1997: 1).

Grove Hill ward contains the enumeration districts EUFJ01 , EUFJ05 , EUFJ06 , EUFJ07 , EUFJ08 , EUFJ09 AND EUFJ10 (see APPENDIX 1. `Grove Hill Ward Boundary Map` for visual details of Grove Hill area). These areas are eligible for support under the Community Economic Development criteria of North East of England Single Programme relating to Objective 2 of the European Structural Funds.

All statistics in this report are provided by Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit and are taken from 1991 census or associated documentation unless otherwise indicated.

·         population 5,580

·         2,270 households

2.2             Demographic Analysis

The population is split fairly evenly between male and female residents, with a slight female bias (48.6%:51.4%).

The percentage of residents from ethnic minority groups in grove hill (4.4%) although being lower than the national average ( 5.9% ) is far greater than the local mean rating ( tees valley 1.9% ). this could be partially explained by the relatively high levels of la rented accommodation and low price of private housing in the area..

Appreciation of this figure, which shocked many workers and residents, would seem to suggest that despite their presence, ethnic minority groups are heavily under-represented in local agencies and initiatives.

Analysis of the population age shows that Grove Hill has a slightly younger population than regional and national averages and also that there are less residents of 45+ and pensionable age (see Appendix – 2 `Selected Socio-Economic Statistics`). The lower level of older people can be partially attributed to shorter life span, in turn ascribed to a relatively unhealthy lifestyle and lower probability of available health provision being accessed, thus reducing the average life span. The area having an above average Standardised Mortality Rate of 111 would seem to confirm this.

Single parent households run at 8.6%, considerably higher than the local average, and that for England and Wales ( 5.3%/3.7% ). The number of households with three or more children also runs high at 8.1% ( 5.9%/5.3% ). These statistics coupled with 2.5% of households being categorised as overcrowded ( 1.8%/2.1% ), also signifies many larger than average sized families in the area.

2.3        Political Allegiance

Grove Hill Ward is a Labour Party stronghold. Currently two Labour Party Councillors represent the Ward in the local council, Ken J. Hall and Patricia Walker.

3.0               HISTORY

3.0             History

`In 1992/93 our estate came close to riot, an effort to find solutions was started by the stakeholders in the community, residents, local authority officers & members and agencies working the area` (GH 2000 Web Site, 1998).

A series of   ` Community Futures ` workshops and a Community Conference were held, (addressing key issues; safety – youth – crime – unemployment) which drew up an Agenda for Action, the first point on the agenda was the development of a vehicle which would implement the actions identified, thus Grove Hill 2000 was created.

Historically the Grove Hill estate has always been a residential area with relatively poor socio-economic standing including very high unemployment and above average crime rates. This has led to the area being stigmatised and many of the residents, especially those in the younger age brackets, being branded as lazy and/or criminal. This is not a true reflection of the area and Grove Hill 2000 especially, with partnership agreements is working hard to not only regenerate the area in terms of socio-economic standing, but to change the negative attitudes towards the area from residents and non-residents alike.

4.1             Type

There are 2,330 households in the area (of 2400 dwellings). The population density is 38 persons/hectare showing a heavily populated residential estate against regional and national averages (8.2 p/h / 3.5 p/h).

The housing tenure in the area shows that home ownership is 1/3 below both local and national averages, with LA rented accommodation making up the majority of the shortfall (details in APPENDIX 3. , Fig. 3.2 ).

There are a large number of flats situated on Bishopton Road that have been created with the needs of the elderly in mind.

Whilst walking around the area it is apparent that not many houses are for sale as there are few `For Sale` signs. Local estate agents confirm that house sales in the area are `slow`, this is reflected in local advertising, where very few residences in Grove Hill appear.

Wimpey Homes in Partnership with Middlesbrough Borough Council are `creating a range of affordable new homes` at Marton Grove named ` Clairville ` ( Wimpey Homes promotional brochure ). This 110 two and three bedroom home development is seen as a key foundation in the visual and economic regeneration of Grove Hill.

According to the Sales Assistant at the Show Homes “sales are going well” at this development. Purchasers are from all around Middlesbrough, many of them are “moving down-market to free capital for holidays or other things”.   The Assistant believed that the success in sales was down to the fact that the area “has improved a hell of a lot”.

The cost for new homes on Wimpey’s ` Clairville ` development are lower than similar and identical housing in other areas of Middlesbrough. Two bed houses start at £36,450 and three bed from £39,450, a saving of around £10,000 on properties in other parts of town. As an incentive for first time Wimpey are also offering 5% deposit paid for buyers to purchase these homes.

The suspicion that the housing market is quiet in the area is confirmed by local estate agents, who also comment that prices in the area are `appreciably lower than many other residential areas`.

Statistics suggest that the quality of housing in Grove Hill is good. Only 12.6% of households are not fitted with central heating, this compares favourably with regional and national comparisons ( 15.1%/18.5% ), this is mainly due to the large number of council properties which have been recently modernised.

However the statistics are representative of the average household in the area and some housing is in a very bad state of dilapidation and disrepair.

50.4% of the male and 37.3% of female residents are classified as working, this is slightly lower than the Ward mean (53.5%/39.7%) and mode (55.6%/40%) values for Middlesbrough.

The socio-economic group of head of household in Grove Hill is disproportionately dominated by the lower status and lower paid sectors of employment, unskilled (10.8%), semi-skilled (27%), and skilled manual workers (26.1%). These figures show that Grove Hill residents are considerably disadvantaged in the work place in terms of status and pay when compared with local and national figures.

Unemployment rates are 17.8% for males and 4.7% for females, this shows a 2.5% higher unemployment rate among males than the Middlesbrough mean, although the statistic for female unemployment compares favourably with the borough Ward mean (5.1%). This equates to 213 men and 40 women unemployed in the Ward.

These statistics tell a very sombre story when equated with comparative data for the   Tees Valley area (male11.4%/ female 3.3%), and National   unemployment rates (m 5%/f 2.0%).

These statistics do not include the group which are classified as `Inactive`, that is individuals who are not in paid employment including those who are retired, students or permanently sick. This category accounts for a further 31.8% of males and 58% of females.

6.1             Schools

6.1.1      Primary Schools

There are two primary schools in the area;

·         Marton Grove Primary

·         St. Josephs R. C.

There are no secondary schools situated directly in the Ward area, therefore most school aged children face a bus journey to one of the local schools, most of which are within a 6 mile radius. These include Brackenhoe, Kings Manor, St. David’s, Hall Garth and Macmillan’s CTC, although interestingly no one that I spoke to knew of any Grove Hill children attending Macmillan’s.

No facilities within the Ward, the following are all a `reasonable` bus ride away (approximate distance):

·         Teesside Tertiary College (1 mile) – wide range of qualifications including A Level, GCSE, BTEC, NVQ, GNVQ, RSA and City & Guilds.

·         Middlesbrough College (1 mile) – from foundation skills to BTEC, NVQ and GNVQ. HNC in association with University of Teeside.

·         Cleveland College of Art and Design (1 mile) – part time non-vocational qualifications to BA (Hons).

·         St. Mary’s RC Sixth Form (1 mile) – A Level and GNVQ courses for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

·         University of Teesside (1.5 miles) – HNC, HND to Masters and Research Degrees

6.3        Qualifications

·         16.4% of year 11 pupils from the Ward failed to achieve any grades A*-G at GCSE in 1997 (10.9, 7.7), this is more than twice the national average.

(Middlesbrough Average, National Average)

6.4        Attitudes

Many residents of the area, both young and old, have a negative attitude towards formal education thinking “what’s the point, we won’t get a decent job anyway, not if we come from ‘round here” (young resident).

·         1684 reported crimes, fourth highest in Middlesbrough

·         723 crimes per 1000 households, fifth highest in Middlesbrough

·         10% of offenders dealt with by the Probation Service (Middlesbrough) from Grove Hill

·         closed circuit television installed in several areas for crime prevention

(statistics - Consultation Report, 1998: 9).

8.0             Health

`There is a good choice of Doctors and Dentists locally and South Cleveland Hospital is located just a short distance away on Marton Road` ( Wimpey Homes , promotional brochure).

Despite this optimistic outlook the picture of health for residents is not so rosy. A disappointing 19.6% of residents are categorised as having a major health problem or disability, once more showing an unfavourable comparison with local and national averages ( 15.3%, 13.1% ).

9.1             Key Agencies

Grove Hill 2000 Limited is a vehicle for driving forward change (physical, social and environmental) in the local community. Since inception (1996), Grove Hill 2000 have successfully bid for SRB Challenge Funding, and Employment Zones contract, the VSO option of New Deal, European Regional Development Fund assistance, they were unsuccessful in a bid for ESF funding.

1997/8 was the first year of a seven-year regeneration programme for Grove Hill. This regeneration scheme is managed by a partnership which includes the council, probation service, Teesside Council for Voluntary Services (TCVS) and is lead by a community based company, Grove Hill 2000.

The Grove Hill 2000 board of directors includes seven residents, `to ensure that the project remains accountable to the local community` (GH 2000 Web Site). The project’s staff work with local people to tackle community safety, form a self-build housing group, and have undertaken a skills audit and provide a `Jobsmatch` service.

A Community Resource Centre costing around £850,000 was completed in February 1999 and opened in April. It is situated on Bishopton Road, next to the existing MBC Community Centre and houses most of GH2000’s community initiatives, with the notable exception of their youth projects.

GH2000 offers projects which are designed to meet the needs of local residents, these include offering training courses (especially I.T. and job skills), a community safety project, a self build project (participants build and maintain their own homes), employment and back to work projects. All projects designed to generally improve the socio-economic status of the area.

9.1.2     Community Development Team

The Local Authority (MBC) has a Community Development Team based in Grove Hill. Although this team’s remit is to work in the whole of central Middlesbrough and not just Grove Hill, they are involved in building sustainable projects within the locality. Project ideas come from the local residents who are involved at all levels of project development from management, through delivery, to evaluation. It is hoped that capacity building and sustainability will be achieved through these processes. The CDT is heavily involved in building sustainable, inclusive and effective Community Councils.

Located within Grove Hill is Teesside’s only International Athletics Stadium. As the promotional leaflet suggests `Everyone’s heard of the “Stadium”`, this is not too far from the truth for Middlesbrough residents as most school sports days are held here. Clairville Stadium `includes all-weather athletics and cycling tracks and hosts local, regional and international events. An active school holiday programme is run for children keen to explore athletics. The stadium also runs a junior athletics club [ graduating ] onto the adult clubs that train at the stadium` (Middlesbrough Official Guide, 1997: 30). The stadium also has facilities for fitness and two squash/raquetball courts.

Many of the local residents feel that although these facilities are on their doorsteps, they are priced to high to be available to them on a regular basis.

Good levels of local shopping facilities are available at the `Palladium` shopping area . These include:

Post Office, Off Licence, Bakers, Butchers, Green grocers, Clothes shop, Amusement arcade, Frozen food store, `Ladbrookes` Bookmakers, `Kwick Save` supermarket, Newsagents, General dealers, Decorators shop, Charity shop (Teesside Hospice), Chemists

Dentist, Barbers, Pet shop/dog parlour, Indian take away, Pizza take away (2), Chinese take away, Fish & Chip take away, Petrol station. There are also five unused buildings in disrepair, spaces for around 40 cars (this seems to be very busy during working hours).

There is a large `Aldi` supermarket on the outskirts of Grove Hill with very competitive prices. However many of the younger residents feel a stigma attached to shopping at this store. Also just outside the Ward boundary are Belle Vue shops which offer a selection of small local outlets.

The Parish of `St. Oswald’s Martyr and King` is located within the Ward area. As well as dealing with resident spiritual needs, the church also provides some provision of activity/play work with the under 11’s.

St Chad’s lies just outside the Ward perimeter, however it does offer 2 evenings of provision for young people from the area (under 11). The `Boy’s Brigade` also operates from the Church Hall on Monday evenings.

Next to St. Joseph’s Primary School is St. Joseph’s R.C. Church.

Grove Hill has a good quality local library, which staff say is a `well used` facility, indeed the library looked very busy on each of the occasions I visited.

Grove Hill covers an area of 140 hectares.

Grove Hill is bounded by Westbourne (N), Berwick Hills (E), Beechwood (S) and Park (W).

10.3      Attitudes

Julie Davies, Centre Manager at Grove Hill Youth Community Centre comments on the area ‘it has definitely changed for the better … I used to come to the centre when I was a kid, I was one of the brats. The area now looks much better, the people are community oriented … they know each other and are friendly`.

Michelle Crinnion, clerical assistant commented `its a lot quieter than I thought it would be, I was given a very negative view of Grove Hill when I was growing up, but the people are really easy to talk to`.

GH2000 Youth Development Worker, Tim Deans explains that perhaps one of the problems is `that as the area of high disadvantage [Bishopton Road] has been regenerated, it has improved beyond the level of other parts of the estate [e.g. Meadowfield]. So the part which is being regenerated is now not the most needy`.

Attitudes towards the area from residents are highly variable. Although some residents have a positive outlook and cite the recent changes as good examples of how the area is improving, many others have a poor view of the area. Young people in particular have a negative view of the area and feel stigmatised to a greater or lesser degree with the title of `Grove Hillian`.

When questioned on the best and worst aspects of the area the most common replies were: best things – `youth club`, `computer stuff at GH2000`, `lots of family live round here`, and `the community centre`. Highlighted among the worst things were - `the rogues`, `gangs drinking on the corners and pinching stuff`, `vandalism and graffiti`, `the park that used to be good, but someone trashed it all … now its only got a climbing frame`, `burglary` and `the fucking big camera and all the TWOC’s`.

Non-residents from the locality view Grove Hill very negatively. Typical views from those neighbouring or close to the area are that it is “full of rogues and drug addicts” or “the place wants knocking down” (local non-residents). This one-sided view is somewhat unfair as, it is true that Grove Hill has its share of problems, but the area’s residents seem to be blamed for much of the wrongdoing and illegal activity throughout Middlesbrough as a whole. Additionally economic and environmental factors such as high unemployment and overcrowding are either dismissed as irrelevant, or the residents themselves are blamed for these problems.

The only resource identified in the area for environmental improvement is a bottle bank in Clairville Stadium car park.

11.1         Car Ownership

The area has a large number of households without a car 59% ( 41.1%/32.4% ) and few households with 2 or more cars 6.6% ( 16.7%/22.8% ) compared locally and nationally ( in parenthesis ). Additionally, when we see that only 50.3% of workers in the area travel to work by car, a great emphasis is placed on the cost and availability of local public transport facilities.

11.2      Public Transport

11.2.1   Availability & Cost

21.2% of employed residents use public transport to travel to and from work. Other residents require public transport to travel mainly to the town centre for extended shopping and leisure facilities, or to gain access to provision for travelling further afield.

Local resident’s views on the public transport are favourable. A bus journey to Middlesbrough Town Centre from the Palladium shops costs 64p and the journey takes approximately 15 minutes. The service is frequent with several busses from Grove Hill to the Town Centre every hour.

Having identified the relative large percentage of residents from ethnic minority groups and their apparent `invisibility` in the area, it is important that this group is sought out and consulted about their future needs in the area’s regeneration.

There is a blatant need for social opportunities for young people who are currently offered little by GH2000 and only a couple of two-hour sessions by the Youth and Community Centre. There is great opportunity for collaborative work here between the two parties as GH2000 have funding for resources and outings, whilst MBC Youth Service provides sessional youth work staff with little resource funding.

Further opportunities exist to involve the community in the regeneration of their area through volunteering and project provision, particularly with parents and toddlers and older people.

Affordable recreational, leisure and social activities are still on the agenda despite being identified as important needs by the 1997 Community Appraisal (TCAP, 1997: 12)

The most significant needs that do not appear to be being addressed at a strategic level are issues around health. There is a definite need for health promotion and education throughout all aspects of the community, which could make a tremendous impact on people’s lives. This could be done in partnership between existing provision showing how to eat healthily on a small budget and exploring the implications of unhealthy eating.

13.0           CONCLUSION

After only a short time in Grove Hill it becomes apparent the majority of the residents are keen to make suggestion which may make a positive impact on the areas image and structure. I must concur with the findings and conclusion of TCAP that local people have `many ideas for opportunities for the regeneration of the area` (TCAP, 1997: 17).

Grove Hill is keen to capacity build by involving local people in projects which are designed to meet local needs, especially through the work of GH2000. However, It appears that much of the work is overseen and/or carried out by a small group of local residents who may be in danger of distancing themselves from the views and needs of other residents as they professionalise themselves through their experience and learning, thus loosing their roots. It may be advisable to seek more residents to ensure the projects continue to meet the needs of all residents and not purely the few who are heavily involved.

The Grove Hill 2000 Limited partnership with much SRB funding is attempting not only to build capacity, but to create sustainable regeneration projects within the area, though it is appreciated that this is a difficult task.

It would appear that GH2000 has been highly successful in raising awareness of the needs of Grove Hill and its residents, however I believe that this has come at a cost. Due to the high profile and large budget that GH2000 is working with, other smaller projects, such as the Youth and Community Centre and potential local initiatives are expected to be represented by GH2000. Thus any group which is not in favour with GH2000 or at odds with the project faces an uphill battle to secure funding, resources and assistance in an area which has seen a great deal of recent improvement.

It also appears that GH2000’s activities, although beneficial to local residents are somewhat disjointed and, to outsiders at least may appear to be lacking co-ordination and direction. It would appear that many residents and workers in Grove Hill are unclear of the `big picture` for one reason or another. This is perhaps reinforced by much of the regeneration being concentrated in a very small area [ Bishopton Road ], which may cause a perception of elitism among some residents.

14.0      DEFINITIONS/ABBREVIATIONS

CDT – Community Development Team

CTC – City Technical College (Macmillan College in Middlesbrough)

ESF – European Social Fund

GH 2000 –   Grove Hill 2000 Limited

IT – Information Technology

LA – Local Authority (which for Grove Hill is Middlesbrough Borough Council)

MBC – Middlesbrough Borough Council

MCVD – Middlesbrough Council for Voluntary Development

SRB – Single Regeneration Budget

TCVS – Teesside Council for Voluntary Service

TCAP – Teeside Community Appraisal Partnership

TWOC – Taken Without Owners’ Consent (Car Theft)

VSO – Voluntary Sector Option (of the New Deal initiative)

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

Consultation report (1998) an audit of crime and disorder in middlesbrough middlesbrough: middlesbrough council/middlesbrough police, hawtin, m., hughes, g. and percy-smith, j. (1994) community profiling, auditing social needs buckingham: open university press.

Hindley, A. (1997) ` Glossary ` in Harris, V. (Ed.) Community Work Skills Manual Newcastle: Association of Community Workers

Middlesbrough Official Guide (1997) Middlesbrough Official Guide Middlesbrough: Middlesbrough Borough Council Public Relations Dept.

TCAP (1997) Community Appraisal for the Wards of Beechwood, Easterside and Grove Hill Middlesbrough: Teesside Community Appraisal Partnership

GH 2000 Web Site (1998) www.gh2000.i.am

Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit Web Site (2000) www.teesvalley-jsu.gov.uk

  APPENDIX 1.

`Grove Hill Ward Boundary Map`

Grove Hill ward contains the enumeration districts EUFJ01 , EUFJ05 , EUFJ06 , EUFJ07 , EUFJ08 , EUFJ09 AND EUFJ10 .

APPENDIX 2.

`Grove Hill Socio-Economic Snapshot`

(Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit `http://www.teesvalley-jsu.gov.uk`)

Area Snapshot for the Middlesbrough Ward of Grove Hill

Population (Mid-2000)    Total 5,510                            Male 2,680                 Female 2,830

Under 5                                    350

5 to 16                                      1,030

17 to 24                                     580

25 to 44                                    1,690

45 to retirement                         970

retirement and over                   890

Number of households (Mid-2000)          2,330

Number of dwellings (Mid-2000)            2,400

Area (hectares)                                                 146

Population density (persons/hectare)       38

Tenure (% households, 1991 Census)

Owner-Occupied                       47.9                 Rented Privately                                    4.6

Local Authority Rented              37.0                Housing Association Rented                   10.5

Other 1991 Census Indicators

% Ethnic minorities                                4.4       % Households with lone pensioner          18.8

% People with a health problem                         19.6    % Single parent households                     8.6

%Households with 3 or more children     8.1       % households with no car                      59.0

%households with 2 or more cars           6.6       % households with no central heating      12.6

% Overcrowded households                   2.5

Socio-Economic Group (1991 Census)

% of heads of households :

Employers/managers/professionals         13.5

Other non-manuals                                22.5

Skilled manuals                          26.1

Semi-skilled manuals                              27.0

Unskilled manuals                                  10.8

Means of Travel to Work (1991 Census)

% By car          50.3                % By bus          21.2                            % On foot         18.4    % Other means             8.4                         % who work at home                1.7

Unemployment (January 2000) :                          Overall unemployment rate %    11.8

Notes : 1991 Census data is Crown Copyright. Mid 2000 Population data provided by Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit. All other data was supplied by the Office for National Statistics .

APPENDIX 3.

`Selected Socio-Economic Statistics`

Figure 3.2 ` Grove Hill Housing Tenure, 1991 Census `

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Essay; Sharon in Moscow

By William Safire

• Sept. 6, 2001

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon returns to Israel today after two days of meetings in Moscow with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.

That struck me as odd; what was Sharon doing there during what some Israelis call ''the Rosh Hashana war,'' the violence that began as they celebrated the Jewish New Year one year ago? Are the Russians, who are also meeting with Palestinian leaders, trying to insinuate themselves into Middle East negotiations?

Reached by telephone as he left his meeting with Putin, Sharon says no: ''The Russians have no desire to replace the U.S. as mediators. Their position is much closer to the American one than the European one -- the Russians don't pressure us to bring in international observers.''

What brought Sharon to Moscow was partly to cement ties among the Russians, Israelis and Americans regarding intelligence-sharing to combat international terrorism. But the bloody guerrilla war launched last year against Israeli civilians, though infuriating and terrifying, does not pose a threat to Israel's existence.

A greater danger comes from Iran, which Sharon notes ''is calling for the destruction, the elimination of the state of Israel.'' Russia has been supplying Iran with scientists and matériel to build nuclear warheads on missiles.

''I brought our top man in this field,'' says Sharon, ''the head of our atomic energy agency. Moshe Kaplinsky met with their experts and the deputy head of their National Security Council, and they will have further meetings. I didn't ask for commitments because I don't believe in declarations, I believe in deeds. We'll discuss it further through Washington.''

I'm told in Washington that Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke with Sharon on the eve of his Moscow trip, suggesting that the Israeli assure Putin that he has nothing to fear from America's limited national missile defense. Sharon did his bit in this ongoing calming. It may carry some weight because of another reason for Israel's engaging with the Russians: Both nations have much to offer each other in space technology and economic cooperation.

In that phone call, Powell surely brought up the U.S. plan to stand up for its ally at the U.N. conference at Durban ostensibly about racism. Though Powell is taking some flak these days from media unhappy with his loyalty to President Bush's policies, he did precisely the right thing in yanking State's low-level delegation. Yasir Arafat had made a fool of well-meaning Jesse Jackson, who thought he had won agreement to avert an anti-Semitic blast, but Powell was not taken in. Our dramatic walkout shamed the Europeans out of acting like complete doormats for bigotry.

Looking beyond the current Middle Eastern war of attrition, Sharon is thinking strategically about the strengthening of Israel's population. ''Putin has energized Jewish communal life here, with Hebrew schools in 400 communities. It's like a golden era with freedom of worship. Matter of fact, it worries me because we want a million more Russian Jews. So I tell them, 'don't get used to it -- move to Israel.' ''

The Israeli leader, who understands Russian, may be too optimistic about the former K.G.B. operative now stifling dissent at home and helping Iraq's Saddam Hussein remain in power. I tried the question on Sharon that embarrassed George W. Bush: Does he trust Putin? He didn't bite: ''Yes, I trust him, but I remember what President Reagan said -- 'trust and verify.' ''

In Moscow, Sharon treated the Rosh Hashana war as a trial to be endured by a people who do not flinch from trials. In due time, Palestinians will have leaders who act not in a lust for land and vengeance but in their people's interest. Then, in the quiet that exhaustion brings, an accommodation will be reached that can go by the name of peace.

''I told Putin,'' says the resolute Sharon, ''what I told Bush and Chirac and Blair: There is a different government now in Israel. We are doing what you would be doing in defending ourselves. We have been facing Arab and Muslim fundamentalist terror for 120 years, and we managed to bring millions of Jews here from a hundred countries, building a tremendous infrastructure -- while holding a sword in one hand.''