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I feel it is very important so that you get to know people. We had a lunch club every 2 weeks which is closed at present but as a volunteer, I ring some of the members every week for a chat and make sure that they are OK and getting their shopping and medications etc so that we could help if necessary

Extremely important for both physical and mental well being. When you are feeling low sometimes just a conversation with someone can lift your spirits although it might not seem it to either party.

It's is important to keep in touch you don't know if people need your help. I still keep in touch with someone because they really need my help and done it for me as well .

Humans are herd animals. We need to live in groups, villages, towns, communities. Young people learn from the older ones and in a crisis will look after them. Communities help those who don’t have families around them. It is in times of crisis, wars or pandemics that communities come into their own. They are very necessary.

It is very important to keep in touch with family and friends. Having to self isolate from beginning of the coronavirus, it’s been lovely to video call family and friends in Finland as years trips there are cancelled

Very important as we all have different skills eg I gave Duvet covers and tape to a lady making scrub bags for nurses. I can't sew but was able to help.

I think it’s very important sadly I don’t feel very connected and I know for me That is impacting negatively. I lived with my husband in a different part of the area when he died, I moved back to the home I had rented out when my tenants moved out. I normally commute 4 hours to work so all my friends are miles away. The friends I do have in the street all moved in with their kids when this started Many people in the street are not self-isolating and just carrying on so don’t really bother with the community. I have joined a community group on line and find that comforting.

They say it takes a village (or community) to raise a child, and it's true!

Whatever our ages, we need a sense of belonging as it helps to give us confidence to go out in the world. Especially in these times of being unable to venture far, members of our local community are helping more vulnerable people to get their shopping and check they are alright.

Local businesses are also doing a convoy each Thursday evening, after people have clapped their hands for the NHS. For the third week running huge lorries, tractors and vans are doing a procession through our two villages, honking their horns and flashing lights, showing appreciation for the NHS. There is a YouTube video here.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=snCDee3sF3A&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0GXuDTXuxLfEfkE-Q1oSQDkVNAIYEVc6339gIkPB3_qVU0j3n9vVzt1Pg

It highlights our values and gives a sense of belonging, which is so necessary in what can be a frightening world.

What a strange question! We are social animals; it's vital for our health and wellbeing to be connected to the community in some way.

Very important just now especially to connect with the community ! we all need advice in the unprecedented times and talking about various worries helps with loneliness too! ?

It is crucial for people of all ages to feel connected to their community, especially during the current pandemic. Society, as we know it, will never be the same as before Covid 19 and it is for this very reason that communities come together and embrace people of all ages

It is important for all ages to feel connected to their community because we all have the same human need to establish friendships, connections and exchange views, knowledge and share fun. It makes life richer and more purposeful

It is important that everyone feels connected but that does not mean everyone has to be socially involved with others. I am quite a solitary person but I love to know that my family are thinking about me especially during these times so am happy to have daily phone calls from my sons and whats app messages from my grandsons. I have had offers of help from my neighbours which is lovely but I am able to manage on my own and would not want to rely on anyone else. The feeling of being connected is important but it doesn't need to mean that we are involved in everyone else's business.

Everyone should feel included in society regardless of age, race or even religion to name but a few differences. Having a social conscience is important to me it helps us stay grounded. I feel the current situation is highlighting this forcing us to stay home and not being constantly on the go thinking about just ourselves.

It’s important for all to be connected and feel appreciated, for limiting mental health problems and for sharing knowledge and experience - ie for living.

Communities thrive on diversity as do families.
Few people only want to mix with people in exactly the same circumstances as themselves.
Joy comes from experience and an ability to share the lessons learned as much as joy comes from finding your feet through childhood and beyond.
People need people to thrive

Very important. Loneliness adversely affects your health - it is a public health hazard. This doesn’t just apply to older people - younger people can be lonely, too. Hopefully, we’ll understand this and act on this knowledge after the current crisis ends.

It is ,of course, important for everyone to be connected to local society as long as they want to be, for the feeling in old age that they are still valued and not entirely disliked. Alas, ageism gets in the way, combined with the reducing helplessness encroaching on self sufficiency: disabling physical problems, lack of transport,relatives too far away, young, working neighbours too busy and with no common basis for communication. The best connections are usually in groups of one's own age, whatever that is.

It is so important for people to feel connected as it gives us all something to focus on. It's up to us all to look out for one another in these strange times.

It is important to have support and love from all ages. You can serve each other share in life's joys and sorrows. The more mature can provide experience and guidance, while the young can make the older person regain a sense of vitality, fun and enjoyment. Each have gifts to share and expand in a sense of community.

I think human connection is essential for health both physical and mental however I think community can be broadly applied to many aspects of social life and a person doesn't necessarily need that attachment to people in their immediate vicinity. I dont know anyone in my local community but then the police know my neighbours well so I don't see that as a bad thing if I'm honest :p

I think people have become closer to those in their neighbourhood and especially so if the fit and healthy are helping out the vulnerable

For most people very important but not for everyone. It would be a boring world if we were all the same.

At these difficult times it is so important to feel connected to our community because we all need support of some kind or other, whether it be to help a neighbour who's struggling to cope mentally with the isolation, to help the elderly or those at risk with food and medication deliveries, and to all stand on our doorsteps every Thursday evening to celebrate and thank the wonderful NHS who are taking care of communities across the whole country.

Isolation whether enforced or not is very rarely a good thing.
Most people feel better when they have had contact with other people. mood is lifted when someone shows interest in you