Our impact report for 2024

As we reflect on an incredible 2024, we’re thrilled to share the impact of Neighbourhood Network’s initiatives. Through Home Together, Street Feast, and Our Shared Plate, we’ve strengthened neighbourhood bonds, empowered communities, and fostered resilience across Ireland.

Here are some of the highlights from across our initiatives;

Home Together: A Blueprint for Neighbourliness

Our team engaged and worked with over 3500 residents in 7 housing estates, nurturing connected and supportive neighbourhoods.

Together with the residents, we have co-hosted 20+ events, including Coffee Socials, Street Feasts, Visioning Workshops and Resident Association workshops.

Key impacts:

• Trust: Residents are five times more likely to share a house key with their neighbour having taken part in the Home Together programme
• Friendliness: 91% of participants reported their neighbourhood felt friendlier after the Home Together programme

Resident Feedback:

“The summer social organised with help from the Home Together team was a wonderful way to bring everyone together and the weekly coffee mornings will keep this sense of community growing.” resident at Donnybrook Gardens?

Thank you to Cairn for their ongoing partnership on the Home Together programme.

Street Feast: Celebrating Togetherness

Over 820 Street Feast events were held nationwide and an estimated 75,440 people took part.

Street Feasts sparked initiatives like residents' associations, book clubs, and activities promoting inclusion, diversity, and age-friendly connections.

Key impacts:

• 83% of hosts have made plans for more community projects since Street Feast.
• 95% of residents feel their neighbourhood feels friendlier since Street Feast

Participant Stories:

"We used to hold an annual summer event before covid and since then it never got back on track. Very much something we all miss in our community. This is the incentive we need" Jane, Kilkenny

"It's a great opportunity to meet neighbours, young and old, with or without children. Street Feast helps foster a community spirit at the beginning of Summer, when people are out and about. Street Feast is an antidote to loneliness!" Jo, Sligo

Our Shared Plate: Growing Together

• We have planted 82 raised vegetable patches, 6 edible hedges, and 5 urban orchards, and had 456 people attend educational workshops and 235 people attend community evaluation sessions bringing sustainable food practices and community connection to the forefront.
• With the support of 14 community partners and 3 local authorities, the programme has hosted 51 workshops and engagement sessions.
• We have partnered with Maynooth University to map food behaviours, promote sustainability and measure impact.

Participant Stories:

"I really enjoyed picking the fresh herbs and vegetables—parsley, thyme, even peppers! It felt so good to connect with the land and share food with everyone" – Participant feedback.

"Our Shared Plate has brought not only sharing of knowledge but a vision of what could be by creating an atmosphere of wellbeing, resulting in greater cohesion and community resilience." – Kildare County Council Climate Action Coordinator.

The Power of Community in Action

From visioning workshops to tree-planting days and inclusive street parties, our programmes demonstrate the power of small actions to create lasting change. Residents have embraced the process, from cooking together to hosting local markets and celebrating their communities.

As an Our Shared Plate workshop participant put it:

"We really need to get back to basics".

So, what’s next in 2025?

We aim to:

• Expand Home Together to new estates, reaching 1,500+ more homes.
• Scale up Street Feast to 1250 feasts with a new theme and new partners
• Strengthen Our Shared Plate’s food-growing network, empowering even more communities.

These programmes contribute to our work in building a National Network of Neighbourhood Connectors - empowering individuals who are motivated, skilled and equipped to foster more connected, inclusive communities.

Finally, a huge thank you to our operations team and our board of trustees for the huge efforts they have put in this year.

We look forward to creating even greater impact in 2025. See you after the break.