Researchers from Federation University are hoping to encourage residents to see the value of caring for those in your neighbourhood, and provide some more structure for how to do that. 

While humans may have historically benefited from working together, adjunct research fellow Dr Lynne Reeder said now more than ever, we’ve become blinkered to a view of own struggles. 

“If we didn’t all get on and share and cooperate, we were in trouble," Dr Reeder said. “But the psychology and neuroscience shows that we’re very focused on threats, we don’t necessarily notice the big things.”

She said that the current royal commission into banking exemplified that when our “attention is on profit and nothing else”, reputation and care for others suffers.

That’s where the Compassionate Cities Charter – which Ballarat may soon sign – comes in.

It encourages a mindset of kindness in the seemingly mundane; building public spaces not alienating to the homeless population, and functional for those with access requirements. 

Compassionate Cities also wants businesses to be more focused on caring for their staff, and provide spaces for them to step back from society’s focus on negativity. 

Adjunct research fellow Dr Mary Hollick said the declining participation in religion meant residents didn’t have a clear outlet or direction for their charitable work. 

“People still want a home for their good work and for their opens hearts and compassion,” she said. 

“This is really creating a formal framework for those informal kindnesses happening in community.”

A forum to consider how Ballarat might practically become more caring will be held on April 27 from 11am at Lederman Hall in the Queen Elizabeth Centre. 

Organisations like Ballarat Health Services, Uniting Ballarat and the city’s Catholic Education Office have already backed the movement.

Ballarat Health Services CEO Dale Fraser said the advantage was if “we could collectively work with others to have common goals of easing the suffering of those less fortunate in our community, the opportunities afforded would be far greater.”