Features / easton
The story of a community centre’s efforts to ‘combat social isolation’
It’s hard to believe the now vibrant and bustling Eastside Community Centre, in the heart of Easton, was recently on the brink of bankruptcy.
There’s a hum of activity even on a Monday lunchtime, with a few people hot-desking in their free-to-use spaces and distant laughter of children from the nursery, Raised in Easton, that rents the backend of the building.
The breadth of activity that takes place within these walls becomes apparent with a single glance at their website, which showcases an impressive variety of services and community events on offer. In a single week, the centre delivers a packed itinerary including free advice drop-in sessions, pop-up health clinics, a repair workshop, and yoga classes.
is needed now More than ever
The Easton Community Centre is run by the Eastside Community Trust and also supported by a stream of local volunteers – photo: Joss Thomas
Alongside the pop-up events, the centre houses six permanent tenants, including the local radio station BCfm, the café and catering business Ababo’s Cuisine, and the aforementioned nursery.
It’s clear why Stacy Yelland, CEO of Eastside Community Trust, the organisation that runs the centre, places such high value on community spaces. As Yelland describes on the trust’s website, centres like Easton Community Centre are “not a nice-to-have but absolutely essential”.
Speaking to Bristol24/7, Yelland emphasised on the importance of community spaces, describing them as the “antidote” to the isolation and segregation in society.
She added: “They offer a space for people to come together as a community, where they live, in a place that welcomes them and treats them with respect.
“This combats social isolation in that people have got somewhere to go; just pop in, sit downstairs, have a cup of tea, come to one of the activities. Otherwise, they’re at home.”
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She points out that the need for connection extends beyond social activities. Even in day-to-day routines, people are seeking out opportunities to be around others : “We get so many more requests for hot desking space than we could ever possibly fill.
“That shows people don’t want to be sat at home on their own working on their laptop. They want to be around people. They want to feel like they’re not alone.”
Yelland sees the centre as playing a critical role in promoting community cohesion and battling segregation.
“There are all the issues we know of at the moment around racism and Islamophobia and all of the sort of divisive feelings in the country. How do you combat those things?”, she questioned.
“Well, people need to go, they need to see each other, they need to chat, they need to be in the same place. They need to connect with each other. Where do they do that?”
The centre offers free access to Wifi, spaces for hot-desking and 3 public computers – photo: Joss Thomas
Walking through Easton Community Centre, it feels every bit as diverse as the neighbourhood it serves. The centre’s data reflects this, showing that roughly a third of its visitors are Muslims, another third Christians, and the remainder atheist or of other faiths.
Yelland continued: “What this space does, and others like this, is the bridging between those people who have their own kind of identity, community or faith. This is the crossover space. That’s why it feels unique”.
Despite being a vibrant hub and a well-used landmark within the community, the centre finds itself in the same financial uncertainty that many similar spaces across the country are embroiled in, grappling with rising costs and declining public funding.
The future of the centre was largely secured through its 2020 merger with two local organisations— Felix Road Adventure Playground and Up Our Street—forming the Eastside Community Trust, alongside the tireless efforts of the trust’s dedicated team.
However, with several long-term projects winding down at the end of the year and uncertainty about whether they can be replaced, alongside a year-on-year reduction in government funding, Yelland fears the trust may need to consider cutting services as it faces a “tricky financial year” ahead.
This is why pressuring the central government to recognise and give more support for community spaces is seen as key for their survival : “I think in Bristol, we’re really lucky. We’ve got a really strong community team in the council, and we have got a leadership that understands community work and values it.
“Obviously, they’ve got a huge challenge on their hands financially. But I feel like they do understand it, and their door is open for us to have those discussions.The challenge comes more from centralisation of power and resources in Westminster. So we try to lobby MPs as much as anything. ”
A Freedom of Information request highlights the scale of the problem, showing that spending on community spaces fell by 18 per cent across 96 local authorities nationwide between 2022 and 2024.
Meriam Ababo runs the cafe, Ababo’s Cuisine, within the community centre – photo: Evoke Pictures Lifestyle
Yelland explained: “A lot more money goes into the crisis end of things. So the problems have already happened and now we have to fix them. Whereas what we’re trying to lobby and campaign for is more investment earlier, and then that is where you prevent all those much more expensive problems at the end.
“The cost-effective thing to do is to have that kind of preventative approach, whether that’s with health or community cohesion or youth work. I think that’s widely regarded as being a good idea, but it’s just changing the mindset of the government and the council and funders to be actually able to do that.”
With government funding in decline, and UNISON reporting over 1,200 closures of council-run youth clubs between 2010 and 2023, now is a critical moment to highlight the value of community spaces and consider how best to support them.
Whether as individuals or businesses, taking action starts with recognising their importance.
As Stacy puts it: “I guess the takeaway message is to make the most of your community space, find out what’s going on there, hire it out, and use the facilities it has. For corporates, it’s also worth exploring whether there are things that they’re doing that we can help them out with and vice versa.”
Main photo: Joss Thomas
Joss Thomas is reporting on Easton as part of Bristol24/7’s Community Reporters programme, aiming to amplify marginalised voices and communities often overlooked by mainstream media.
This initiative is funded by our public, Better Business members and a grant from The Nisbets Trust.
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