The human body is made up of trillions of cells. It is the basic building blocks of our bodies and each cell has its own purpose and structure within the human body. Their common goal is to carry out specialized functions to provide structure for our body, facilitate growth, take in nutrients from food, convert those nutrients into energy for movement and respond to changing conditions that keep the body in a stable state.
Although some cells like red blood cells act individually and are not attached to one another and other cells are connected to each other like our bodies’ connective tissue, all our cells serve a purpose to support each other’s functionality and structure.
In this same way, a community is made up of a group of people living closely together, each person different from another. A healthy community builds up, encourages and foster connections within the community and provide a strong sense of belonging.
The positive outcomes that occur as a result of people understanding their role and function correctly in their own purpose and structure within their community, are more resilient and better able to bounce back when hard times hit.
Research shows that creating and sustaining a sense of belonging in a community have a direct effect on our physical and mental health and subsequently our immune system can respond better to changing conditions.