Engagement Spotlight: Building Connections with Challenging-to-Reach Individuals in Collaboration with Parramatta Council
During our project with Parramatta Council, BROOKS faced the task of conducting community consultations to develop a Socio-Economic Inclusion Framework. Reaching and engaging often-overlooked individuals highlighted the complexities of fostering meaningful connections and ensuring every voice is heard.
Overcoming Barriers to Engagement
Engaging rough sleepers in data collection requires a thoughtful, empathetic approach to address their unique challenges, such as stigma, institutional distrust, and past trauma. These barriers often make formal consultation processes inaccessible.
To overcome these challenges, BROOKS developed innovative solutions, partnering with trusted local service provider St Merkorious Charity. Together, we hosted a community event in the Parramatta Local Government Area, providing free warm meals to rough sleepers. This initiative served two purposes: offering practical support and creating a safe space for meaningful dialogue, ensuring their voices were heard and included in shaping impactful frameworks.
Innovative Engagement Tools
Traditional data collection methods, like surveys, can feel intimidating or inaccessible for many individuals, including rough sleepers. To overcome this barrier, we introduced an “ideas wall” at our event—a visual, interactive tool designed to encourage informal participation. This approach created a safe, non-judgmental space for attendees to share their opinions comfortably.
The ideas wall not only increased engagement but also fostered a sense of community by displaying collective feedback. Participants could see their voices reflected alongside others, promoting inclusivity and a shared sense of purpose in shaping outcomes.
We spoke to Adriana Pielak, our Senior Engagement Practitioner at BROOKS who lead this initiative:
“Engaging with communities from different backgrounds, cultures, histories and experiences, particularly to our own is challenging, I think all engagement practitioners can relate to that. But one truth I’ve discovered through my work with BROOKS is the power of food. Food brings people together. Sharing a meal is a universal human experience that fosters connection, whether it’s bonding with family around the dinner table or uniting a community. it’s a common denominator across all cultures and backgrounds. From my experience, food isn’t just nourishment; it’s the bridge that brings people to the table—literally and figuratively.”
A Successful Outcome
The event was a remarkable success, bringing together nearly 100 rough sleepers from the Parramatta area. Organized by BROOKS and St Merkorious Charity, the event provided attendees with warm meals and a platform to share their voices. This direct engagement allowed us to collect valuable feedback, which will play a crucial role in developing a more inclusive and impactful Socio-Economic Inclusion Framework for Parramatta Council.
This collaboration highlighted the power of creative, empathetic approaches to community engagement. By meeting people where they are and fostering trust, we not only achieved our objectives but also strengthened our connection with a vital segment of the community. This experience underscores the importance of listening to all voices, especially those that are often the hardest to hear, to create frameworks that truly reflect the needs of everyone.
How do you connect with rough sleepers in an authentic way?
“While food will help to facilitate conversation and bring people together, connecting with community authentically, is quite simple. Be real and be present. Ask questions. Share stories. Have empathy. And actually, truly listen.”
Adriana Pielak, Senior Engagement Facilitator
Key Takeaways from the Parramatta Council Project
1. Empathy is Key to Engagement:
Building trust with hard-to-reach groups, such as rough sleepers, requires empathy and an understanding of their unique challenges and perspectives. Approaching individuals with respect and a willingness to listen fosters openness and meaningful participation.
2. Collaboration Creates Impact:
Partnering with trusted local organisations like St Merkorious Charity proved invaluable. Collaboration can bridge gaps, leverage existing networks, and build credibility, especially when engaging marginalised groups.
3. Innovative Tools Encourage Participation:
Traditional data collection methods may not always work for every audience. The “ideas wall” provided a casual, inclusive way for participants to share their thoughts, demonstrating the importance of adapting engagement tools to meet the needs of the audience.
4. Creating Safe Spaces Builds Trust:
Hosting a community-focused event, such as providing free meals, created a welcoming environment where rough sleepers felt comfortable engaging. Offering support alongside consultation helps build rapport and trust, encouraging meaningful participation.
5. Feedback is Multifaceted:
Collecting feedback isn’t just about data—it’s also about understanding lived experiences. Engaging directly with rough sleepers gave us insights beyond survey responses, enriching the framework with deeper, qualitative understanding.
6. The Power of Community Engagement:
Engaging with even the most hard-to-reach groups strengthens the relevance and inclusivity of projects. Listening to these voices ensures the resulting framework is grounded in the realities of those it seeks to serve.
7. Adaptability is Essential:
Flexibility in approach, from changing data collection methods to finding alternative ways to attract participation, is crucial to overcoming barriers in engagement.
8. Measurable Impact Amplifies Credibility:
The success of engaging nearly 100 rough sleepers not only validated the approach but also strengthened the project’s overall credibility, providing tangible evidence of the framework’s community focus.
9. Partnerships Extend Reach:
Working with organisations that already have strong ties to the target audience helps reach individuals who may otherwise be inaccessible. Leveraging these partnerships can significantly enhance engagement efforts.
10. Engagement Requires Persistence and Creativity:
Overcoming barriers to engagement with marginalised groups is challenging but achievable with persistence, innovative thinking, and a people-first mindset.
Engaging rough sleepers in data collection requires empathy and sensitivity, addressing vulnerabilities like stigma, trauma, and distrust. Creative tools and partnerships with local services foster trust and inclusivity, ensuring a safe environment for participation. This approach amplifies their voices and integrates their lived experiences into more inclusive, impactful frameworks.