Local Area Coordination has long held a unique role within our communities, dedicated not just to supporting people facing real hardship but, crucially, to preventing people from falling into crisis in the first place. A key strength of Local Area Coordination lies in its capacity to work proactively. Being present, accessible, and available to everyone in hyper-local communities means that we don’t need to wait for people to hit the point of crisis before they are entitled to support. Local Area Coordinators will help people to build a vision of what they want their life to look like and plan for how they’ll get there, exploring the person’s own strengths and interests and what community supports are available before thinking about formal services. This isn’t simply about reducing immediate demand on public resources; it’s about avoiding unnecessary hardship, as well as people achieving their potential and feeling like an active part of their community.

The service system is much like an environmental ecosystem – everything within it must be balanced in order for life to thrive. We need services which are there to respond to emergencies and crisis, to help people survive and recover. We also need an approach, like Local Area Coordination, which focuses on preventing crisis and growing personal resilience. We need some short-term, targeted, specialist services which are focused on helping people to overcome complex problems, but we also need longer-term, holistic approaches, such as Local Area Coordination, which can help people to build their capacity and support networks.

Local Area Coordination offers councils an effective framework for embedding proactive support within their service systems, aiming to prevent crises rather than merely responding to them. By integrating this approach, councils can foster communities where people feel able to address challenges early, supported by accessible, community-based networks that reduce the need for emergency interventions. This balanced system, where specialist services address acute needs while Local Area Coordination nurtures resilience and connectedness, can lessen the strain on public resources. Ultimately, by adopting proactive, community-centred approaches like Local Area Coordination, councils can build resilient, thriving communities where people are supported to create their good lives.

by Tom Richards