Communities provide us with a sense of belonging to a group, that group can be exclusive or open. They bring us different views of life, fulfill us temporary and lifetime necessities, provide us with different forms of education, many more internal and external needs, and provides influence on the community and society about the wellbeing of individuals (Gruman et al, 2017).
Communities are similar to the families we choose to be in, for example many of individuals have friends that have became family, communities are similar to that. Additionally, communities provide us with a huge platform of support with people from various backgrounds. I remember watching an older movie that was made in the late 80s of a single mother who’s child had disappeared and each person from the community wrapped their arms around her in various ways. Many of them used their jobs that was located in various parts of town to spread the word of the missing child. Another community member gathered a group of people to search the known areas of where the child would hangout. A few others made enough food that would last the mom and her other children many days, so that she could focus on finding her child. A neighbor helped get the other children to and from school. This was a prime example of how communities can fulfill temporary necessities and both internal and external needs.
An example of an exclusive membership within a community could be my friend. He is a part of a car club for exotic Dodge Challenger drivers. This community is only open to those drivers that fit the groups criteria and have be referred by a member who has been apart of the group for a certain amount of time. Although, the group was created to bring together people who enjoyed similar cars, liked to take rides or race, and was more focused on cars. The group has recently created a biweekly event where they discuss their problems, these could be problems of the day or ongoing life issues. The purpose was to create a space where the group members could open up, ask for guidance and receive help all while building trust and bringing the group close together.
These are just a few examples but it provides context on how important communities are and the different resources that could be potentially available to those who are a part of them. However, like with anything in life, communities are what you make of them.
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE.