Community Action Research

In summer 2022, Haringey Borough Partnership (HBP) commissioned Bridge to run the Haringey Community Action Research project. This work set out to identify key inequalities and promote open conversations on reach, access, outcomes, and experiences with various communities in Haringey.

The Bridge worked with six grassroots community groups, selected due to their expertise and experience in working with the target communities, to deliver the project:

  • Community Cook Up - supports people who are homeless
  • Dalmar Heritage and Family Development – Somali women-led organisation
  • House of Polish & European community (HoPEC)
  • Sewn Together – BAME women-led organisation
  • Turkish Cypriot Community Association (TCCA)
  • You Vs You – Young refugees and asylum seekers
What we did

We recruited an experienced researcher to train people from the target communities to become peer researchers. We ran focus groups, carried out one to one sessions in safe spaces to gather views around people's experiences of their own health and wellbeing on five priority thematic areas:

  1. Children and Young People (CYP) and their mental wellbeing
  2. Individuals with multiple complex needs
  3. Supporting older people and their carers
  4. Those requiring extra help to be supported into employment in health and care
  5. People with Long-Term Conditions (LTCs)
What we discovered
  • Vulnerable groups find it hard to keep re-telling their story at every meeting with medical professionals.
  • Young people and their parents or carers are often more afraid of the journey to activities that attending the activities
  • Language difficulties remain a key challenge for participants, particularly in relation to initially accessing services including knowing where to go and how to access help for which translation services are less available.
  • During the key transition years moving into adulthood, independence, and employment, young people and those around them face mental health challenges. The pandemic and educational isolation exacerbated this and the struggle to find support.
What next

We are working with our partners to involve participants in creating practical solutions to the problems raised.

Read the full report here

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