Family Life, with support of local government grants, are running a series of projects to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on individuals, families and communities.

The project is called a Community Listening Tour.

Family Life CEO, Allison Wainwright, said:

“After receiving support from five LGAs we created a program to better understand the needs communities are facing with the pandemic.  

“This project will see Family Life engage with community partners and share knowledge through a series of events, called ‘Community Listening Tours’. This process uses several different techniques designed to better engage a broad range of groups and maximise engagement. 

“As part of the project we will hold face-to-face workshops, focus groups, share electronic surveys and connect with other community sector partners.

“We will listen and learn with people from diverse backgrounds and differing lived experiences so their voices can be heard as part of understanding future needs.”

Funding has been received from Mornington Peninsula Shire, Bayside, Kingston, Casey & City of Frankston.

In addition to the Listening Tours, Family Life has done a deep dive of global, national, state and local data to better inform local service providers about the unique nature of each LGA’s requirements.

The Community Listening Tours will also allow other local community service groups to:

• engage directly with peers and residents to understand their experiences and impact of the pandemic
• learn from lived experiences to build knowledge of what is important
• share information and data to the community sector to aid their understanding
• identify local and wider problems, working towards solutions
• learn about problems in order to co-design local solutions with community

If you would like to learn more about the project, please contact Stephen Sparrow on ssparrow@familylife.com.au