My hope is that community can become much more than a place where teenagers and older adults simply come together to socialise.
I would love us to use rhythm, movement, music, craft, art and hands-on making as ways of connecting with one another, but also as ways of contributing to the wider community.
We might embroider or sew something that a local kindergarten can use, create something for an animal rescue organisation, make a resource for another community group, or develop projects that come directly from what people around us say they need.
Nobody should feel like they are simply there to be helped.
That giving element matters to me.
I do not want anyone who walks through the door to feel that they are there because they are lonely, vulnerable or need to be fixed.
I want people to feel that they have something to offer, something to teach, something to learn and something meaningful they can contribute.
The activity itself can support us too.
Moving our bodies, finding rhythm, listening to music, working with our hands, learning a new skill, concentrating on a piece of embroidery, weaving wool through a loom, laughing with someone or simply sitting alongside another person can all give our mind, body and nervous system something positive to engage with.
The connection is important, but so is the experience of doing something together.
Connection can keep growing beyond the room.
What excites me most is the possibility of creating connections that continue beyond the people sitting in the room.
A teenager and an older adult might create something together, but that project could then connect them with a kindergarten, an animal rescue organisation, a family, another community group or someone else who benefits from what they have made.
Before deciding exactly what this should become, I want to bring together people who understand young people, older adults, families and community and hear what they think could genuinely work.
The strongest community ideas rarely come from one person deciding everything in advance. They grow when people have a chance to contribute their experience, skills and ideas.