The hard to reach are often those in need of support to enhance their wellbeing, increase their participation in society and economy. They can be \u201chard to reach\u201d because they are not very visible or because they are not adept at accessing public services.\u00a0They are those in poverty and unemployment, the elderly, the young, the mentally and physically disabled and the outsiders by virtue of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.\u00a0 Many people also experience severe loneliness and social isolation, especially in areas where there has been much outmigration and an ageing population is left in a precarious situation.\u00a0 There are additionally those that feel disenfranchised by economic changes and who have struggled to adapt.<\/p>\n
The hard to reach in rural areas may be isolated from access to services by their immobility when those services are becoming more remote, or available only to those with digital literacy.\u00a0 Private and public services from banking to shops on one hand to social care, primary schools and libraries have tended to close and become more concentrated in urban service centres.\u00a0 Third sector bodies which increasingly work together with state agency or even replace it, but are often weakly represented in rural areas, so the hard to reach may be more difficult for support agencies to find in rural areas.<\/p>\n
Why should we be concerned about them?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Three main factors drive concern about the hard to reach. First, there is a humanitarian argument that structurally disadvantaged people need to be supported if we want more inclusive societies.\u00a0 This is why policies for affirmative action or positive discrimination have been developed.\u00a0 Second, empowered people with a degree of control over their own wellbeing are normally people with higher levels of subjective and objective wellbeing.\u00a0Third, it is clear, not least from the disruptive populism which has reared its head in recent years, that change comes at a cost to certain groups, and some among them can become a disruptive force.\u00a0 The disadvantaged and disenfranchised are often distanced from mainstream public service provision and their coping capacities are limited.<\/p>\n Can we find good practice examples of engagement with the hard to reach?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The SIMRA project introduced several examples of social innovations engaging with the hard to reach:
\n-IntegraTodos, a Spanish insertion company which sets up production activities in parallel of training programmes for women at risk of social exclusion
\n– Dagnja Cooperative, a veteran\u2019s cooperative in Croatia cultivating mussels to develop skills and gain a sense of inclusion through employment and direct sales
\n– The Joutsenten Reitti LAG in Finland chose quality of life as its priority and supports many grassroots initiatives, such as a Welcome House for immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.simra-h2020.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/LAUREN-MOSDALE-150x150.jpg\")