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Community Directory
The most relevant search results will be returned by selecting a category and/or your location.
Local groups and services are shown in the ‘Local’ tab, national charities and helplines are shown in the ‘National’ tab.
‘Local’ listings will not necessarily be physically located in your area but, if shown, their services will be accessible to residents in your area. If a national organisation is shown in the ‘Local’ tab, it will have local branches or support services which you can access.
When you click on the ‘Choose a category’ box, the main categories will be displayed. Click on one of these (eg ‘Specific needs’) and a list of sub-categories will come up. When you click on one of these (eg ‘Dementia’), results will be shown for every listing we have in that sub-category.
The directory can show results for more than one location at a time but only for one category at a time. So, you can search for ‘ Lunch clubs’ in ‘ Fareham’ and ‘ Gosport’. But you can not search for ‘ Lunch clubs’ and ‘ Social groups’ in ‘ Fareham’ – you would need to select the Location and search for Lunch clubs and then for Social groups.
Marketplace Directory
The most relevant search results will be returned by selecting a category and/or your location.
When you click on the ‘Choose a category’ box, the main categories will be displayed. Click on one of these (eg 'Home support')) and a list of sub-categories will come up. When you click on one of these (eg ‘Domestic help’), results will be shown for every listing we have in that sub-category.
The directory can show results for more than one location at a time but only for one category at a time. So, you can search for care homes for 'Old age' in ‘Chandlers Ford', 'Eastleigh' and 'Romsey' But you can not search for ‘Domestic help’ and ‘Gardening’ in ‘Eastleigh’ – you would need to select the 'Eastleigh' and search for 'Domestic help' and then search for 'Gardening'.
For more information about using the Marketplace directory, including consumer advice and a guide to using the messaging function, see our Buyers Guide.
Using the search bar in both directories
We find that the most accurate and relevant search results will be returned by selecting a category. However, you can also use the search bar to find information. Click on the 'Search' symbol on the right of the blue band to bring this up.
The search bar can be useful if:
It is always best if you just put a
Many smaller groups come under the 'umbrella' of another listing. For example, the organisation responsible for the group or the venue where it takes place. This website is intended for Hampshire residents who are unaware of local support and services which are available and would generally not be searching for specific activities or groups by name. Try searching under a suitable 'category' in the Community Directory.
Example: If you cannot find a "Singing for the Brain" group, go to the Community Directory and click on 'Choose a category'. Select 'Specific needs' and then 'Dementia'. You can then filter to the area in which you live. If you click on the listing for the Alzheimer's Society, you will see a link to their directory of services where you will find local Singing for the Brain groups.
Some local groups and activities are also based in Church halls, community centres etc. We have described which activities take place at these venues in the listing description (and they will be tagged with appropriate categories) so they will be found in searches. For example, a search for 'Memory cafe' will bring up the venues where these are held.
If you believe that a local group or service cannot be found via
We do not duplicate information in our directory if it is held and maintained elsewhere. We aim to signpost to the source of the information to ensure that users will always find the most up to date and accurate information. So, instead of creating over 120 separate entries in our directory for each local good neighbour group, we have one listing for the 'Good Neighbours Network'. This links to their ‘Find a group’ page where users can easily find their local group.
We created two separate tabs for search results – ‘Local’ and ‘National’. This is because users told us they wanted to see local groups and services before National charities and helplines etc. However, some national charities are umbrella organisations for local groups and branches and details of these can be found via their website. Where this is the case, this listing will appear in the ‘Local’ tab and there will always be a link to the relevant page on their website to search for local support.
Many service providers cover different areas. Their own addresses are at locations which may not reflect the areas they cover. For example, a user in Andover searching for services close to their own postcode would not bring up countywide services such as Age Concern Hampshire. They may, therefore, miss important services which are available to them.
If you are looking for very local services at fixed locations (eg community centres, church halls etc) in a particular area, you can put the place name in the search bar. For example, 'Chandlers Ford' or 'Romsey'. We would advise against using this to search for services such as befriending, dementia help etc for the reasons above.
When you select one of the locations as a filter, the listings shown will be providers, groups and activities which are accessible to residents living in that area. They are not necessarily services physically based in that area.
When you are searching in any of the directories, you will see 'Add to favourites' as an option for individual listings on the search results page. Click on this for any listings you want to save to a shortlist. You will see 'Added' appear. When you have finished adding your favourites, go to the 'My favourites' button at the top right of the screen to create a booklet. The individual listings will be compiled into a pdf booklet which you can print or email.