About

The Campsbourne Estate is located in Hornsey Ward in the local authority of Haringey, North London. The estate has a rich heritage, with some of the UK’s earliest examples of social housing.

In 2019, a group of parents from Campsbourne School started to develop a community support group for the Campsbourne Estate. This meant that when the pandemic hit, we had the social infrastructure in place to create the first Covid-19 Mutual Aid group in Hornsey and provide a model for other groups across the ward.

During the pandemic, our mutual aid volunteers worked with a range of local organisations (including schools, sheltered and supported living accommodation, food banks, faith-based, cultural and political organisations and our local government) to support our residents.

In 2021 we received some funding from the Institute of Community Studies (Young Foundation) to pilot a community-based researcher development programme and identify key priorities for research and action in the estate.

Since then, we have expanded our research and action through collaborations with a range of partners to explore themes including: community development, food, housing, social care, nature and the environment and migrant support.

Our approach to research and action is networked, embedded and grounded in a feminist ethics of care. This means that rather than establishing ourselves as a new organisation, we work through long-term, trust-based relationships with the existing public sector institutions and charities embedded in the estate and surrounding community.

If you would like to collaborate with us, please get in touch!