English: We've talked a lot about the epidemic of mental distress in our schools and colleges as a result of COVID and, obviously, people living in overcrowded, inadequate housing will have suffered greatly during the lockdown, but it isn't just poor housing that's the problem. Any child living in a dysfunctional home, where domestic violence is lurking under the radar, would have suffered from not being able to escape to the safety of school. There's a really important role for schools to give young people the space to talk about things that are upsetting them, in a safe, non-judgmental way. Rather than wait for the tragedy of a young pupil taking their life, as happened in Haverfordwest, we need to ensure that the new curriculum drives the change needed to focus on the well-being of pupils as well as their academic achievements. There is a word of warning in the Mind report that communities should not over-rely on schools to provide this support, and that young people need to be able to access support outside of their social circle too. And in the case of bullying, I'm sure that that is an entirely relevant point. Youth services have an extremely important role to play here, and they often pick up on disturbing issues that haven't been addressed in school. But that links into the second key message for community resilience through these tough times, and that is the role of supporting community hubs. Haverfordwest research focused on young people, and it found children and young people in Haverfordwest felt little ownership of or connection to their communities. Community hubs must cater for people of all ages, not just the very young and the very old. Children and young people don't have cars, and in a place like Haverfordwest, there's probably very little public transport as well, so they are seriously dependent on adults to get them to places where they might be able to find friendship and fun. Local hubs need to be catering for young people, to give them that space outside the home to help them make that difficult transition from childhood to adulthood, not necessarily in the same space or time. On the other hand, I'm a great fan of inter-generational learning. My good friend Stan Thorne wasn't exactly a party animal, but he got a huge amount of pleasure from the inter-parliamentary chess competitions with young people that took place every year. For those who don't have grandparents living nearby, activities that bring the generations together - whether it's chess, gardening, singing or some other activity - can be a springboard for independent advice and stimulation for both parties. If the only community space in an area is a pub, where can young people under the age of 18 go? Like young people, the report highlighted that newcomers to an area, ethnic minorities and people living in poverty also find it much more difficult to break into existing community networks. Having said that, there's a great quote from a woman in Portadown in Northern Ireland that illustrates that newcomers can inject new ideas and energy into a community. 'I live on an estate where people are kind and friendly. We're very chatty people' - says this woman - 'My neighbours either side are Eastern European. It was new for me - I'm used to living with people from my community but during lockdown we've had more time to chat. They have the same family emphasis and they bring my bin in.' I think it's a really important reminder that Northern Ireland is much more diverse than it used to be - it isn't just two communities who hardly every talk to each other. Newcomers from outside, with different perspectives on the world, might yet play a really important part in how we make the transition towards a permanent peace in Northern Ireland, in whatever guise that takes. In Wales too, newcomers often bring a new dynamism with them, which was strongly in evidence on Sunday evening when I joined Jane Hutt to share a meal with members of the former Ugandan Asian community who were chucked out of Uganda in 1972, having to leave behind their homes and their businesses, and making their new home in Wales. Not only are many of them playing absolutely crucial roles in our NHS, the purpose of the evening was in aid of an annual dinner for the Vale for Africa charity, to raise money for Tororo district, which is in the poorest part of Uganda. It's a really excellent example of a positive outcome from adverse circumstance. Similarly, the Women Against Pit Closures went on to do lots of absolutely brilliant work in the decade after the defeat of 1984-85. But to come back to the community hubs, they do play such an important part in keeping communities together, because they belong to us all. They're paid for with our taxes, and so we really do need to make sure that amidst all the difficult decisions that have to be made in the future for local authorities, we continue to keep the hubs going, because they are really such an important part of the fabric of our communities. But we have to also prevent them getting set in aspic and caught up in just one little clique. The third element of community resilience is a strong, collaborative community and voluntary sector. That is something we have in Cardiff in spades, even in some of our poorest communities. There's Plasnewydd community garden - an award-winning place for people to meet, both to cultivate food and flowers, but also a place to share some of the more sad aspects of their lives. Men's Sheds are also a wonderful space to bring together men, who traditionally have found it more difficult to express their fears and hopes or emotional distress. I know that my colleague Huw Irranca-Davies has played an important part in promoting Men's Sheds -
Welsh: Rydym wedi siarad llawer am yr epidemig o drallod meddwl yn ein hysgolion a'n colegau o ganlyniad i COVID ac yn amlwg bydd pobl sy'n byw mewn tai gorlawn, annigonol wedi dioddef yn fawr yn ystod y cyfyngiadau symud, ond nid tai gwael yw'r unig broblem. Byddai unrhyw blentyn sy'n byw mewn cartref camweithredol, lle mae trais yn y cartref yn cuddio o dan y radar, wedi dioddef o beidio â gallu dianc i ddiogelwch yr ysgol. Mae rôl bwysig iawn i ysgolion roi lle i bobl ifanc siarad am bethau sy'n eu poeni, mewn ffordd ddiogel, anfeirniadol. Yn hytrach nag aros am y drasiedi o ddisgybl ifanc yn cyflawni hunanladdiad, fel a ddigwyddodd yn Hwlffordd, mae angen inni sicrhau bod y cwricwlwm newydd yn sbarduno'r newid sydd ei angen i ganolbwyntio ar lesiant disgyblion yn ogystal â'u cyflawniadau academaidd. Mae gair o rybudd yn adroddiad Mind na ddylai cymunedau fod yn or-ddibynnol ar ysgolion i ddarparu'r gefnogaeth hon, a bod angen i bobl ifanc allu cael mynediad at gymorth y tu hwnt i'w cylch cymdeithasol hefyd. Ac mewn perthynas â bwlio, rwy'n siŵr fod hwnnw'n bwynt cwbl berthnasol. Mae gan wasanaethau ieuenctid rôl hynod bwysig i'w chwarae yma, ac maent yn aml yn sylwi ar faterion sy'n peri pryder nad ydynt wedi cael sylw yn yr ysgol. Ond mae hynny'n cysylltu â'r ail neges allweddol am wytnwch cymunedol drwy'r cyfnod anodd hwn, sef rôl hybiau cymorth cymunedol. Roedd ymchwil Hwlffordd yn canolbwyntio ar bobl ifanc, a daeth i'r casgliad nad oedd plant a phobl ifanc yn Hwlffordd yn teimlo llawer o gysylltiad â'u cymunedau na llawer o berchnogaeth ar eu cymunedau. Mae'n rhaid i hybiau cymunedol ddarparu ar gyfer pobl o bob oedran, nid yr ifanc iawn a'r hen iawn yn unig. Nid oes gan blant a phobl ifanc geir, ac mewn lle fel Hwlffordd, mae'n debyg mai ychydig iawn o opsiynau trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus sydd yno hefyd, felly maent yn ddibynnol iawn ar oedolion i'w hebrwng i lefydd lle gallant ddod o hyd i gyfeillgarwch a chael hwyl. Mae angen i hybiau lleol ddarparu ar gyfer pobl ifanc, er mwyn rhoi lle y tu allan i'r cartref iddynt i'w helpu i wneud y newid anodd o fod yn blentyn i fod yn oedolyn, nid o reidrwydd yn yr un gofod neu amser. Ar y llaw arall, rwy'n hoff iawn o ddysgu rhwng cenedlaethau. Nid oedd fy ffrind da Stan Thorne yn bartïwr mawr, ond roedd yn cael pleser enfawr o'r cystadlaethau gwyddbwyll rhyngseneddol gyda phobl ifanc a oedd yn digwydd bob blwyddyn. I'r rhai nad oes ganddynt neiniau a theidiau sy'n byw gerllaw, gall gweithgareddau sy'n dod â'r cenedlaethau at ei gilydd - boed yn wyddbwyll, garddio, canu neu ryw weithgaredd arall - fod yn sbardun i gyngor ac ysgogiad annibynnol ar gyfer y ddwy ochr. Os mai'r unig le cymunedol mewn ardal yw tafarn, lle gall pobl ifanc o dan 18 oed fynd? Fel pobl ifanc, amlygodd yr adroddiad fod newydd-ddyfodiaid i ardal, lleiafrifoedd ethnig a phobl sy'n byw mewn tlodi hefyd yn ei chael hi'n llawer anos dod yn rhan o rwydweithiau cymunedol presennol. Wedi dweud hynny, mae yna ddyfyniad gwych gan fenyw ym Mhortadown yng Ngogledd Iwerddon sy'n dangos y gall newydd-ddyfodiaid chwistrellu syniadau ac egni newydd i gymuned. 'Rwy'n byw ar ystad lle mae pobl yn garedig a chyfeillgar. Rydym yn bobl siaradus iawn' - meddai'r fenyw hon - 'Mae fy nghymdogion ar bob ochr yn dod o Ddwyrain Ewrop. Roedd yn newydd i fi - rwy'n arfer byw gyda phobl o fy nghymuned ond yn ystod y cyfyngiadau symud rydym wedi cael mwy o amser i sgwrsio. Mae ganddynt yr un pwyslais teuluol ac maent yn dod â fy min i mewn.' Rwy'n credu ei fod yn ein hatgoffa bod Gogledd Iwerddon yn llawer mwy amrywiol nag yr arferai fod - nid dim ond dwy gymuned sydd prin yn siarad â'i gilydd sydd yno. Efallai y bydd newydd-ddyfodiaid o'r tu allan, gyda phersbectif gwahanol ar y byd, yn chwarae rhan bwysig iawn yn y modd y gwnawn y newid tuag at heddwch parhaol yng Ngogledd Iwerddon, sut bynnag y bydd hynny'n edrych. Yng Nghymru hefyd, mae newydd-ddyfodiaid yn aml yn dod â dynameg newydd gyda hwy, ac fe welais dystiolaeth gref o hynny nos Sul pan ymunais â Jane Hutt i rannu pryd o fwyd gydag aelodau o'r hen gymuned Asiaidd Ugandaidd a gafodd eu taflu allan o Uganda ym 1972, a gorfod gadael eu cartrefi a'u busnesau ar eu holau, a gwneud eu cartref newydd yng Nghymru. Nid yn unig fod llawer ohonynt yn chwarae rhan gwbl hanfodol yn ein GIG, pwrpas y noson oedd cynnal cinio blynyddol ar gyfer elusen Vale for Africa, i godi arian ar gyfer ardal Tororo, sydd yn y rhan dlotaf o Uganda. Mae'n enghraifft wirioneddol wych o ganlyniad cadarnhaol i amgylchiadau adfydus. Yn yr un modd, aeth y Menywod yn Erbyn Cau'r Pyllau Glo ymlaen i wneud llawer o waith hollol wych yn y degawd ar ôl gorchfygiad 1984-85. Ond i droi'n ôl at yr hybiau cymunedol, maent wedi bod yn chwarae rhan mor bwysig yn cadw cymunedau gyda'i gilydd, oherwydd maent yn perthyn i bawb ohonom. Ein trethi sy'n talu amdanynt, ac felly mae gwir angen inni wneud yn siŵr, yng nghanol yr holl benderfyniadau anodd sy'n rhaid eu gwneud yn y dyfodol ar gyfer awdurdodau lleol, ein bod yn parhau i gadw'r hybiau i fynd, oherwydd maent yn rhan mor bwysig o wead ein cymunedau. Ond mae'n rhaid i ni hefyd eu hatal rhag cael eu cadw mewn asbig ar gyfer un criw bach yn unig. Trydedd elfen gwytnwch cymunedol yw sector cymunedol a gwirfoddol cryf, cydweithredol. Mae hynny'n rhywbeth y mae gennym lawer iawm ohono yng Nghaerdydd, hyd yn oed yn rhai o'n cymunedau tlotaf. Mae gardd gymunedol Plasnewydd - sydd wedi ennill gwobrau fel lle i bobl gyfarfod, i drin bwyd a blodau, ond lle hefyd i rannu rhai o'r agweddau mwy trist ar eu bywydau. Mae Siediau Dynion hefyd yn ofod gwych i ddod â dynion at ei gilydd, gan fod dynion yn draddodiadol wedi ei chael hi'n anos mynegi eu hofnau a'u gobeithion neu eu trallod emosiynol. Gwn fod fy nghyd-Aelod Huw Irranca-Davies wedi chwarae rhan bwysig yn hyrwyddo Siediau Dynion -