Working Together for Safer, Friendlier Neighbourhoods

ASB Awareness Week – What We Learned from Our Workshop

Ahead of ASB Awareness Week, we brought together local people, professionals, and those with real-life experience of anti-social behaviour to have an honest conversation. Instead of just talking about how to “manage” ASB, we asked a more important question: what kind of places do we actually want to live in?

We agreed that the goal should be much bigger — to build neighbourhoods that feel safe, welcoming, and full of pride.

During the workshop, we listened, shared ideas, and agreed on some key things that we all want to focus on moving forward.

Working Better Together
One of the strongest messages from the workshop was that real change happens when local people and services work together. That means the community teaming up with the council, police, schools, housing, and health services — not working in silos, but all pulling in the same direction.

We already have some great relationships and shared goals, but we agreed we need to be clearer about roles, make space for open and honest conversations, and create more time to properly join things up.

Everyone — from professionals to residents — has something valuable to offer. When we listen to each other and work in partnership, we’re much more likely to build the safer, friendlier neighbourhoods we all want.

Mental Health and Substance Use
We talked about how mental health struggles and substance misuse are often behind ASB, and we agreed these need more attention.

People need to know it’s okay to ask for help, and that they won’t get in trouble for speaking up. We want better support that’s easy to find, and training for people who are helping others. Friendly conversations, clear messages, and support that’s visible in the community will all make a big difference.

Looking after our spaces
We also spoke about how places that look run-down can lead to more ASB. But when streets, parks, and shared spaces are clean and cared for, people feel safer and more proud of where they live.

There are already good examples, like youth clubs and tidy green spaces. Now we want to do more like getting young people involved, using art to brighten places up, and bringing life and pride back into the community.

This was a fully digital workshop, but it still felt really personal and welcoming. Everyone had a voice, and it was great to see how much agreement there was across the room.

Next, we’re taking this on the road.
We want to hold more workshops in local communities and hear from more people about what matters to them.

Would you like a workshop in your area?
Email us at involvement@trivallis.co.uk — we’d love to hear from you.

Let’s keep the conversation going and keep building the neighbourhoods we all want to live in.