Small neighborhood businesses support residents’ community and social life. They’re often the place where we meet our neighbors. develop social relationships and even projects.
Today, Pinocchio Café in Villeray neighborhood (Montreal) celebrates its 10th anniversary. For the occasion, the owners hosted a sidewalk party for families and friends offering several free meals to their customer and entertainment for the childrens. It’s a small place but every day, Pinocchio welcomes families and residents of the neighborhood. It’s a friendly place, and the staff makes sure to chat with customers, unlike many cafés that are primarily commercially oriented. Moreover, despite the rise in coffee prices over the past year. The owners kept the same cost when purchasing a coffee.
According to Meridith Sones, from Hey Neighbour collective in Vancouver, decades of research show that being socially connected helps us live longer, healthier, and happier lives. But it isn’t just our family ties, close friendships, or group membership that make a difference.
Meridith explained that reserches shows evidence that the health benefits of social connectedness can be unlocked starting at home, with our own neighbors. Frequent social interaction and trust among neighbors are associated with higher levels of happiness, well-being, life satisfaction and safety. Evidence shows that neighborhood connectedness is most important to life satisfaction for certain groups of residents — including young families, students, old people and people living on a low income.
In Canada when parents have strong trust in neighbors, their children are twice as likely to play outdoors in their neighborhood every day, which is fundamental to their physical emotional, and social well-being. Communities can help people to achieve their best possible physical and mental health as well as overall well-being through fostering social cohesion by promoting social interaction, said Sones.
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Source: How social connectedness between neighbours supports health and well-being
