Community engagement and

Residents gather to celebrate Neighbour Day together.

Community engagement and placemaking

In addition to our grassroots activities such as Neighbour Day celebrations and partnering to deliver specific needs such as financial counselling through the pandemic, this year has seen a more strategic focus on our community engagement and placemaking capabilities.

Updating our community engagement strategy to include the IAP2 participation approach has instigated an update on our priorities in this area to include:

― Client voices are captured, listened to and acted on ― People who use our services inform decision-making though planned consumer participation ― Placemaking approaches that improve wellbeing by connecting people to place, and strengthen community network ― Way to address local issues with local services via community partnerships

For HHS, placemaking is a strategic focus for 2022. We recognise placemaking approaches create a connection to place and an important sense of ownership, increase inclusion, improve wellbeing, empower residents and improve safety. HHS partnered with Village Well earlier this year to conduct placemaking engagement for our New Epping affordable and social housing development. Our New Epping Community Activation Plan has been developed through consultation with local services and place research. Through interviews and workshops, we sought insights about potential residents, community needs, what activities work well, what the risks may be and what services are on offer. Utilising these insights we have developed a Community Activation Plan for New Epping, to ensure alongside local organisations we can provide a place-based response and our communities are established from the beginning. This approach works towards establishing good neighbourhood behaviours and community connections as renters move in. The plan can be tailored to meet the needs of future residents, with the intent to build local capacity and ownership. We are proud to have created a Community Place Manager role to lead the implementation of the Community Activation Plan through activities, resources and partnerships.

The HHS and Village Well teams investigating public transport options as part of the community activation plan for New Epping.