The heart of our communities – and a key to safe engagements. Celebrating Queensland Neighbourhood Centre Week

It’s Queensland Neighbourhood Centre Week – a chance to acknowledge, thank and celebrate the work Neighbourhood Centres and their staff do with and for the community every day. And it’s a chance we’ll gladly take, given all that Neighbourhood Centres have done to help us create safe engagements.  

This year’s theme – Neighbourhood Centres are the heart of our communities – reflects the vital and often behind-the-scenes role Neighbourhood Centres play.  

They strengthen overall community wellbeing and resilience by:  

• providing open, inclusive spaces that are often a first point of contact for people seeking support or connection.

• supporting young people, men, women, multicultural communities and diverse groups through programs, groups, classes and activities – often on important or sensitive topics.  

• offering practical, on-the-ground support as well as emergency or crisis assistance.

And we’ve seen all of this firsthand in our work and partnerships.

Our work with Neighbourhood Centres: How and why we collaborate  

At The Social Deck, we specialise in combining engagement, participatory design and behaviour change tools to help communities tackle issues and develop informed policies and programs.  

Our engagement work is guided by a commitment to inclusive, genuine and safe engagement so as many voices as possible can be heard.

Because our projects often explore sensitive, tricky or complex issues, we draw on the strong relationships Neighbourhood Centres have, to connect with people and safely engage with them.    

Neighbourhood Centres have strong local relationships, including often with harder to reach audiences. They are approachable for people who may not feel comfortable engaging in formal settings, like newly arrived migrants and young people. This makes them a natural partner for genuine community engagement.  

Collaborations with Neighbourhood and Community Centres  

We utilised Neighbourhood Centres when we recently worked on a research project for the Queensland Government to better understand the unique and additional barriers, challenges and experiences that people from multicultural communities' face when seeking support for domestic and family violence (DFV).

We knew this would be a complex and sensitive topic to talk about. Conversations like these need to take place in settings where participants feel safe, respected and supported. When this is in place, they’re more likely to show up, take part and speak honestly about the changes they want to see in their community.

We connected with local Neighbourhood Centres and community orgsanisations across Queensland – including in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Mt Isa and Cairns. These partnerships helped us reach community members, host engagements, co-facilitate conversations and offer informal translations and ongoing participant support where needed.  

Around picnic tables, over cuppas, or while sharing a traditional home-cooked meal — our conversations, with the help of Neighbourhood and Community Centres, took place in relaxed, informal settings. We met people where they were, in spaces that felt safe and familiar.

Going forward

Whether it’s picking up free pantry staples, joining a language class, getting help with a resume or just having a warm place to gather – Neighbourhood Centres matter deeply in people’s lives.  

Something we often hear in community engagements, is that people want governments to work more closely with local centres, hubs, houses and organisation so solutions are delivered in a local, tailored and safe way.  

Ongoing investment is important to keep these spaces open and accessible, and supporting their communities effectively.  

By working together with Neighbourhood Centres and community organisations, we can ensure a wide and diverse range of voices are heard.

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