What is a Community Action Day?
Community Action Days bring together Abri teams, local organisations and customers to provide practical support, share advice and tackle issues that matter most in our communities.
Designed around customer feedback, local priorities and specific community needs, each event is tailored to the area it serves, ensuring support is targeted where it can make the biggest difference. Whether it’s helping customers access local services, addressing neighbourhood concerns or creating opportunities for people to connect, Community Action Days help strengthen relationships, support thriving communities and ensure customers' voices are heard.
Every Community Action Day is tailored to reflect what matters most to customers and their local communities, but activities may include:
- Meeting their housing team and tenancy sustainment team
- Getting advice on benefits, employment and other support services
- Finding practical help and information from local organisations
- Sharing their feedback on what matters most in the community
- Enjoying free refreshments, getting out the house and meeting the neighbours
Depending on the event, we may also offer practical services such as:
- Vans or skips to remove unwanted bulky items
- A visit from local police to talk about community safety concerns
- Litter picking and surrounding area clean ups
- Minor repairs and neighbourhood improvement work
- Community activities and support from local charities
What have we delivered at recent Community Action Days?
At Longwood Park and Wilstock, Community Action Days brought together teams from Abri, LiveWest housing association, and other local partners to meet customers face-to-face to talk about the issues that matter most in their neighbourhoods, and identify practical ways we could work together to improve the areas where people live.
Alongside listening to feedback, we took action. Customers were able to dispose of unwanted bulky items through skip and cage van services, while teams carried out litter picking, waste removal and minor repairs to help make neighbourhoods cleaner and more welcoming. At Wilstock, the day also provided a chance for customers to speak directly with Avon and Somerset Police about community safety concerns and anti-social behaviour.
Working with local partners meant we could offer even more support. Organisations including Young Somerset, Wilstock Hub and local charity On Your Bike joined us on the day, helping connect residents with services and assistance available in their area. On Your Bike carried out 19 free bicycle repairs in just four hours, helping local people get back on the road.
What these Community Action Days delivered:
- More than 100 adults and children attended the Wilstock event.
- A 20-yard skip was filled with unwanted items.
- Six bags of litter were collected throughout the local area.
- Additional waste, including five mattresses were removed.
- 19 bikes were repaired free of charge in just four hours.
