Should we have a Time Bank in Kingsbury?

 

A Time Bank for Kingsbury?

Timebanking is a system of trading units of your time – a means of exchange to allow people to help each other and to receive help.

For example I may need my hedge cutting. I can ask a member of the Time Bank to do this for me. I don’t pay any money. Joe cuts my hedge- it takes him 1 hour, so he is credited with one hour of Time. I have been debited an hour of my time. I can teach computing skills so I might earn that hour back by showing my neighbour Edith how to get on line. Joe meanwhile can use his hour earned from cutting my hedge to have an hour’s help decorating his kitchen. And so on.

Your time is equivalent to another person's time. Hedge cutting is simply equivalent to teaching computer skills in units of time. There is no monetary cost per hour.

By receiving and giving  in this way, people come into contact with each other, make new friends and become involved in the community - ideal if you’re feeling lonely or disenfranchised. Maybe you’ve lost your job and have too much time on your hands or have been unwell and out of circulation for a while. Maybe you have moved to this part of town from far away and are finding it difficult to establish yourself?

Communities are increasingly fractured and people isolated. Many have skills to offer which have no outlet and sometimes can find a little - or even have too much - time on their hands. Many, many people need help but cannot afford to buy it in traditional monetary terms. This is where Time Banks come in – they can link people together when they need help or can offer some time.

People can be brought together and the community strengthened. A coordinator would administer the scheme and provide this linking service and we could host it in our surgery, as has been done elsewhere.

For a good view of how it works in reality, look at this video from a well established Time Bank at a GP practice in Catford, southeast London. 

For further details  see Timebanking


If anyone is interested, please contact Dr Selwyn through the surgery reception.

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