Practical Steps To Community Engagement During Lockdown

This guide offers ideas on how to both reach out to community members during lockdown, and on how to connect with others who are socially organising during lockdown, such as your local Covid Mutual Aid Group or other community organisations. We recommend working to build trust with those you reach out to above all else and being an active listener (see this active listening guide for further information).

Whilst you might wish to discuss the Trust the People community democracy project and to promote grassroots democracy, timing these discussions is very important – if they are done too soon, people might feel that you are trying to push an agenda, and you might subsequently alienate them.

Reaching Out to Members of Your Community

Where Do Community Members Interact?

The first question to ask is: where do community members interact? Here are some ideas about where you can reach members of your community:

Be sure to reach out to those who may traditionally be forgotten about - the more vulnerable and isolated cohorts of your community. Focus on identifying ‘less visible’ demographics and on what the points of contact might be e.g. homeless charities, ‘Refugee’s welcome’, Youth Workers, etc. Ask those actively engaged in these organisations for input on how to engage with the communities they are involved in.

Practical Means of Reaching Out

Once you know where the people you want to reach are, consider the ways to reach out to them. Here are some suggestions:

When you are reaching out initially, make an effort to build trust and connections. Spend time getting to know people in your community.

Reaching Out to Organisations in Your Community

When communicating with other groups, especially groups who have been doing really fantastic work such as Mutual Aid, it’s important to make sure we are communicating effectively, but that we enter these spaces in a spirit of service and humility. Listen to those you encounter and work to build trust before you begin discussing community democracy.

Making Contact
Useful Resources

Revision #3
Created 4 November 2020 18:00:00 by Alix Emery
Updated 18 November 2020 17:24:07 by raenyah