Scottish Homelessness Involvement and Empowerment Network

‘The Hub Project’ 

Main Learning Point: Using media training, creativity and action research techniques to engage with difficult to reach groups.

What we did

“The Hub Project” with East Lothian Council worked with a variety of council officers and representatives from the third sector to develop creative consultation processes for involving difficult to reach groups; travelers, young people with a care home background, people affected by homelessness and people with learning disabilities.

The main idea was to use the group’s knowledge of council structure to create connection between difficult to reach groups and the right people within the council. It was also designed to get away from the normal consultation process and involved the Hub team in exploring different ways for engaging difficult to reach groups through the use of media training, creativity and action research techniques. The outputs were a series of short DVD reports which the group, using their own networks within the council, directed to the right people.

For example, the young people with a care home background met over 6 sessions to prioritize and present their views. They learned how to use video equipment and completed interviews and short scenarios.

What was good about the activity?

• Using creative methods made the project more interesting, therefore more people wanted to get involved.
• Service users gained skills while at the same time knowledge about services and joint work improved
• All the right people were involved from the beginning, front-line staff, policy makers and service users.

Resources to consider.

• Costs for travel expenses and hospitality
• Staff time
• DVD and Report costs

We would like to find out about your thoughts on this activity, so please feel free to add anything from your experiences, or ask a question in the comments section below.