It’s all about Social Connection!

Why Connection Matters

Social connections are vital for human health! People who regularly engage with others live longer, get sick less, and have a reduced risk for mental health conditions. Social connection also boosts performance at school and in the workplace and stimulates better brain functioning. By fostering a sense of purpose, belonging, and mutual support, social connection creates resilient communities.

Stronger Communities 

Joanna loves that Enfield is “not too big and not too small.” It’s the kind of place where a walk around the block can turn into a dozen conversations. “My kids have really been the icebreakers,” she says. “Once we started walking with them, people we’d never talked to before stopped to chat. They’re like little ambassadors.”

Some of those neighborhood connections have grown into genuine friendships — like the one her daughters have with Cheryl, their 80-something neighbor next door. “They’ll talk to her over the fence for 40 minutes,” Joanna says. “She gives them her old stuffed animals, and they play games tossing things back and forth. It’s this sweet intergenerational friendship that makes all of us happy.”

Kindness, she’s found, ripples outward. When Joanna and her husband first moved in, she remembers an older neighbor who came to the rescue during a brutal winter. “He was in his seventies, out there with his little snowblower. He saw us struggling with our tiny shovels and just started snowblowing our driveway. He didn’t have to — he just saw we needed help.”

Years later, Joanna returned the favor in her own way, recognizing a neighborhood teenager named CJ who always stopped to talk to her daughter on their walks. “Nobody would have known about that kindness — it happened outside of school — but I nominated him for a kindness award,” she says. “He really was just a friendly, outgoing kid, and I wanted him to be seen for that.”

To Joanna, those everyday gestures — a wave, a smile, a shared conversation — are what make Enfield feel like home. “You don’t have to do a big thing,” she says. “Sit on your porch, wave, smile. Connection starts there.” 

More Stories Coming Soon!

Send a quick text, make a call, or say hello to a neighbor. Simple check-ins—“thinking of you,” “want to grab coffee?”—build trust over time. Try this: put two 10-minute “connection blocks” on your weekly calendar.

Volunteering creates natural opportunities to meet people and feel useful. Choose a cause you care about or a role that matches your skills. Try this: commit to one recurring shift (monthly or weekly) so faces become familiar.