But what happens when goodwill is lost?

 



This is my column script published in the Herald Express 18th April 2013.

 Sometimes things slip quietly away and you don’t really notice until something that you expect to happen doesn’t! The nature of the missing ‘thing’ too often is almost intangible. That is the problem with things that we too easily take for granted.

These are curious times and much is being asked of people as the throttlehold of economic hardship grips ever tighter. We hear on a daily basis of job losses, of folk being bounced from employment and of the increasing number of people looking for work. Those that still have jobs in a workplace being ‘downsized’ tend to have a common wide-eyed look about them.

I’ve always believed that we should work toward a greater good and do whatever we can to make the world a better place. That process inevitably brings with it a curious commodity. What is that commodity? Why, it is goodwill. Goodwill, in my opinion, is a sort of social cement that often holds the fabric of a society together.

In times of organisational stress it seems to me that even when the tension of administration is tightly stretched the goodwill of that community tends to keep things going. You don’t have to look far to evidence this. NHS funding cuts place ridiculous pressure upon nursing staff, for example, yet their goodwill keeps the unwell safe. Youth workers struggle on, despite draconian funding cuts, to provide a service that offers a platform for the disadvantaged and marginalised. Exhausted care workers labour a little longer voluntarily because they can’t leave without making an old lady comfortable for the night.

Things are far from easy and as the fund holders handle reduced budgets the consequence is an increasing reliance upon goodwill. But what happens when goodwill is lost? Suddenly the social cement that was holding the structure together crumbles into dust. Then we are all in trouble. I’ve written before about community cracks and it seems to me that the loss of goodwill may be something that is slipping into the widening gaps.

One example, for me, of a community crack is the withdrawal of funding by Torbay Council from the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE is its new corporate name – for it has become, in my opinion, a little corporate). I’ve always seen the Award as a socially cohesive activity and have been active since 1963! Last year Torbay Council decided that funding cuts meant that they could act as the coordinating agent which rather cut everyone adrift for a while. A little funding at the new Parkfield Centre provided a hub for those not part of uniformed services or an educational establishment participate. But now that funding has gone. The goodwill of many still provides a service but for how long?

You see we have a growing number of young folk who are not in education, employment or training. They are the ones who will benefit from support but that platform cannot simply be provided by goodwill. My worry is that like the morning mist on a warm summers day goodwill will suddenly evaporate. In all likelihood we will not even notice its passing until we reach out for the helping hand that isn’t there anymore.

Hmm. Well here’s something to think about. Have you heard the story about the frog in a pan of cold water? He’s swimming happily around without a care in the world only slightly aware that the water is warming. It not until the water is hot and sapped his energy that he discovers that he hasn’t the strength the hop out of the pan!

You may remember that I was jumping up and down with excitement when the new development for our young people opened at Parkfield in Paignton. My concern at the time was that although millions had been spent on the wonderful facility that perhaps insufficient thought had been given into funding the infrastructure. The recent financial battering at Torbay Council has reduced the number of staff working with young people and one consequence, as I say, is the loss of funding for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Goodwill will keep things going for a while but as the numbers of young people becoming disillusioned with this changing world I think that we all need to pay more attention.

We can shape the future but that very much requires an understanding of the present. We must engage as a community and not ignore the increasing water temperature!

Keep the smile.