Relationships, Community and Belonging: The Often Forgotten Side of Person-Centred Support

August 1, 2025

Blog 5 of 7 in our mini-series on Person-Centred Approaches: Core Principles & Values
This post explores how person-centred support isn’t just about the individual — it’s about fostering relationships, connection, and a true sense of belonging.

When we talk about person-centred support, the focus often falls on personalised plans, routines and risk assessments. But there’s a quieter, deeper layer — one that is just as vital. That layer is relationships, community, and belonging.

Because person-centred support is not just about doing things to people or even with them — it’s about enabling meaningful lives, rooted in identity, connection and purpose.

🤝 The Power of Human Connection

Everyone deserves to feel connected, valued and part of something. In social care, this means:

Supporting people to maintain existing relationships — not just with family, but friends, neighbours and pets
Creating opportunities to build new friendships through shared interests and experiences
Respecting people's preferences around solitude, intimacy, and social interaction

Strong relationships contribute to emotional wellbeing, reduce safeguarding risks, and support people to thrive — not just survive.

🌱 Community Inclusion Isn’t a Bonus — It’s a Right

Too often, services operate in a bubble — offering support within the service, but failing to connect people to the wider world. Person-centred support actively facilitates:

Access to community spaces, events and faith groups
Volunteering, education and employment opportunities
Belonging to real-world social networks — not just ‘activities’ arranged by providers

This is about inclusion, not isolation. About ensuring people aren’t “looked after” but truly part of the communities they live in.

📝 How to Demonstrate This in Tenders

Commissioners increasingly expect services to show how they enable real community connections. In your tender response, describe:

How support planning includes social goals and personal relationships
How you reduce loneliness, isolation and stigma through proactive support
How staff are trained to promote independence, networks and choice

This goes beyond compliance — it’s about quality of life. And when you show how your service fosters belonging, your bid stands out as truly person-centred.

Explore all 7 blogs in our mini-series on Person-Centred Approaches: Core Principles & Values