What Community Means to Me

A community is belonging to a group where you can share, work towards goals, and grow together. For me, it feels like a family, somewhere I can open up about my needs and feelings. That’s what I call community. It’s a place where you truly feel you belong.

I found the St James’s community to be a shield, protecting me from fears, insecurities, and personal struggles. It has helped me grow personally and spiritually, and it’s allowed me to connect with others. It’s about believing, in yourself and in those around you. When you step into this community, you begin to find yourself.

To me, community is made up of people from different backgrounds, races, and places, coming together under one umbrella. It’s about respect, love, sharing, commitment, concern, and collective growth. It’s more than just a formal organisation. It’s like a family: people who care about each other’s lives, who fight to find solutions together so everyone can feel happy.

Community is about shared purpose. It’s connection. It means being part of something bigger than yourself, where people care for one another. That’s important to me. This group grows together. It uplifts and empowers, sharing values, interests, and experiences that we all learn from.

Sometimes, community is deeper than blood. The connection and support go beyond anything you can repay. It’s about love, and helping one another without expecting anything in return. You know someone will always listen. You’re not alone. They show up when it matters and help you carry the weight. That’s real solidarity, people beside you, with helping hands.

We talk about our experiences. We speak to each other. That builds confidence. Maybe you once felt you couldn’t speak in a group, but here you are now, speaking. That’s the beginning. This community has people from all over, and we come together. And from that, we learn: to accept each other, without judgment.

You gain energy and strength from others. When you’re alone, say, as an Arab person, you might think, “These people are like this.” But when you come close and truly interact, you realise we are all human. It reminds us that we are one.

We come together for activities and workshops. We do things together as a community. It all adds up to unity, our power combining. Together we discover new things. Sometimes you come in feeling alone, but you find yourself with others. That’s unity in diversity.

It’s because of this community that I volunteer at St James’s. It helps me share knowledge, learn new things, and feel better. I’m also helping others. When I volunteer, I’m trusted. That trust builds confidence. Before, I was scared. I thought people didn’t believe in me.

Without volunteering, I wouldn’t have found that strength or learning.

So, if I hadn’t started doing voluntary work, I wouldn’t have got those wings, those wings of strength and learning. The way I used to say, “I can’t speak in front of 200 people. I can’t. I can’t.” It’s just like that first day I cooked here. I remember thinking, Will anyone eat my food? But I cooked, and that day, my food was the talk of the town.

You need to believe in yourself. You’ve already taken steps, so you have the confidence to try. And when you say, “I can’t,” it holds you back. But if you say, “I can, I will,” you do it.

Maybe it’s your background, maybe you weren’t allowed to speak up. Maybe you were told to stay quiet, even when something was wrong. You had to show respect. That stays with you.

But coming here, to this country, things change. If you don’t speak, you get left behind. You need to stand up and be heard. Sometimes, you have to leave the past behind and step forward. Letting go, community helps you do that. Encouragement helps you let go of what no longer supports you.

True encouragement lifts you up, spoken and unspoken, without prejudice. You feel safe, because no one is judging you.

Being in community, you learn through difference. You can’t always do that alone. For example, if you’re depressed in your room, you go down. But if you come here, you forget what was pushing you down. You feel yourself again. You’re with your people.

Others understand what you’re going through. Maybe not everyone does, but some will. When your mind is heavy, being around people with positive energy lifts you up. It wipes things away for a moment.

Community also shapes you. We all come with different attitudes, some negative. But staying here, interacting with others, helps you change. You begin to correct yourself. You become a better person.

This community has helped me grow, personally, individually, and spiritually. I don’t think anyone can be part of this community and not change. When you sit in a group of twenty-plus people, you can’t keep coming with an attitude. You learn.

A good community is strong. As a migrant who left their family behind, you need people around you. If something happens, say the Home Office or the government tries to act against you, you can turn to your community. They will support you, speak for you, even help you figure out if you’re right or wrong. They become your backbone.

That’s why, when I remember that I’m part of St James’s, I feel a sense of contribution. I volunteer, attend meetings, read in church. Things that once felt impossible now feel natural. Before, I would have taken a back seat. No one would notice me. But now, I’m part of something. I’m seen. That’s the strength of community.

I also get to do something I love, cooking. I enjoy it so much. If I’m not cooking, I’m watching cooking competitions. In the community kitchen, I get to try things out, things I saw on TV. It gives me freedom, independence, and peace of mind. It lets me prove myself.

They [St James’s] always push us to try new things, and I always hear, “I can’t.” But even I started with volunteering. When I first read in church, it was hard. My voice felt like it wouldn’t come out. Even now, I shake, but I keep going. That’s how I learned I can speak.

One challenge I faced was during my Home Office interview. I couldn’t speak. My self-esteem was low. I thought it was my fault. But now, after volunteering and doing this work with others, I’m ready to speak up. I want to speak. I understand now, it wasn’t my fault.

I’m stronger now.