In this section, we will discuss small-group and larger community-wide outreach events and methods to gather information and identify community living barriers and supports that fit the values of a community. This session is meant to be a general guide. Often in rural areas, you will need to get creative in finding suitable options and may need to make difficult decisions around venue, format, or other choices depending on cost and availability of resources.

Be transparent

You may need to communicate to your community the options that you had and the reasoning behind some decisions (cost, trade-off between accessibility features, and so forth) to provide transparency and build trust.

Meeting decisions

You may need to hold multiple events to take advantage of different choices, but this may also be difficult due to staff availability and the resources it takes to hold large-scale meetings. This can also be difficult due to the community possibly feeling excluded – perhaps a meeting was held at the local library which has a wide-open room that is good for wheelchair access but overly bright lighting. It is ultimately up to you and the people you work with to make the best choice when it comes to selecting venues or meeting styles that work in your location.