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Social exclusion occurs whenever
and wherever people feel themselves to be cut off from opportunities
and services that most people in society take for granted.
Social exclusion is not confined to the inner cities, it exists
amongst green fields, beautiful countryside and pretty villages.
Yet the hardship experienced by some people in the countryside
largely goes unrecognised.
Some people in rural areas face the
same disadvantages as those in urban areas - low income, lack
of a secure home, difficulties reaching health care and services,
social isolation and powerlessness. The difference is they
are often hidden, obscured in the wider community alongside
people in very different circumstances.
- 70% of rural parishes had no general
store
- 43% of rural parishes had no Post
Office
- 83% of rural parishes had no GP
based there
- 49% of rural parishes had no school.
- 75% of rural parishes had no daily
bus service in 1997
- 44% of rural parishes never had
a bus before 9am, while 77% never had a bus after 7pm
- The poorest 10% of households
are twice as likely to own a car if they live in a rural
area, than if they live in a metropolitan area. This is
a substantial additional cost.
- 2/3rds of rural households (in 5
areas examined) would be unable to purchase an appropriately-sized
home in their local area on their current income
- Between 1990 and 1995 some 80,000
extra affordable homes were needed in rural areas, but fewer
than 18,000 social homes were built
- In 1996 there were 17,000 people
accepted by rural local authorities as homeless and in "priority
need". This is 14.4% of the national total*.
- In Surrey, to be able to afford
the average home on the open market, you would have to earn
£50,000.
Part of this work will be to focus
particularly on those groups or communities that experience
disadvantage in rural areas, including people without access
to a car, young people or people with mental health needs
who may not be able to access services easily and who may
be disadvantaged by their rural location.
By working with rural communities and with other organisations
that work with and serve those communities, the aim is to
help reduce the effects of rural isolation and the disadvantage
that can be associated with living in a rural area.
Part of this work will involve identifying the smaller rural
communities which are likely to be experiencing problems in
terms of poor access to services, poor local facilities and
rural isolation etc.
Secondly this project will work towards
supporting those communities to identify their issues of concern
(see community appraisals), and finally, to offer advice and
support to access funding, and to set up projects to meet
the community's needs. Another important part of this work
is advocacy and helping to improve links between rural communities
and local authorities and other service providers.
The project will assist and encourage
community members to access appropriate training, and assist
them in accessing funds for projects that may have been identified
as solutions by the community. This can be achieved by:
Facilitating the community's
involvement in identifying their local needs and appropriate
solutions (see Community
Action Plans)
Encouraging the community's representatives to advocate effectively
on behalf of their communities
Support local community groups to develop projects that will
benefit their community
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