Assessing Local Needs and the Importance of Diversity: Reflections from a Youth General Assembly Workshop

I participated in the Finnish Red Cross Youth General Assembly in Tampere on 27–29th of March 2026. The programme included plenary sessions, working groups, and workshops on a variety of topics. One workshop that particularly stood out to me focused on assessing local needs. Around twenty young people attended the session, which was facilitated by Maija Erpestad from the Finnish Red Cross headquarters.

During the workshop, we discussed ways to identify local needs as part of volunteer activities. Understanding local needs is essential if volunteer work is to respond effectively, flexibly, and in a timely manner to the challenges and needs that arise in a community.

Assessing Local Needs

Local needs are shaped not only by population demographics, wellbeing, and inequality, but also by the services and other civil society activities available in the area. Activities should be adapted according to the needs identified: sometimes the Red Cross may take primary responsibility for delivering a service, while at other times it may act as a partner.

Food aid, for example, looks different from one local branch to another depending on what kind of support is most needed in the area—whether surplus food distribution, community meals, or social cafés—and whether other organisations already provide food assistance locally.

The workshop explored how statistical and indicator data can support needs assessments. Quantitative data at a broader level helps build an overall understanding of different regions and highlights which needs are most pronounced in particular areas.

For example, Diaconia University of Applied Sciences’ Disadvantage in Finland indicator provides information on social exclusion and the accumulation of social, economic, and health-related challenges at the wellbeing services county level. Statistics Finland’s PAAVO database offers statistical information by postal code area. In addition, THL’s Sotkanet service provides a wide range of regional wellbeing and health indicators.

Alongside statistical and indicator data, experiential knowledge of local needs is equally important. Volunteers often gain valuable insights through their observations and experiences in the field. Listening to the perspectives of local people encountered through volunteer activities also provides important information.

Volunteer Diversity Helps Identify Needs

For me, the most interesting part of the workshop was the discussion about which issues, needs, and groups of people may go unnoticed or remain unreached. Even when we know our communities well, certain perspectives and groups often remain in the background.

It is important to stop and consider which groups of people in need of support are difficult for us to reach and why. For example, we discussed how to engage young people who use substances in training sessions focused on overdose prevention and first aid.

Equally important is considering who in our communities might benefit from Red Cross support but has not yet been identified, along with their needs and the activities that could help address them.

This is also a question of volunteer diversity—who is already involved as a volunteer and, conversely, who remains excluded. Some people may not know about volunteering opportunities, while others may have encountered barriers to becoming involved.

Volunteer diversity is essential for identifying local needs because a more diverse volunteer base recognizes a wider range of issues and understands people’s needs more comprehensively.

When volunteers come from different backgrounds, they notice different aspects of our work: one may identify accessibility barriers, another language-related challenges, and a third may recognize that activities are not reaching young people. Volunteers with different experiences also find different ways to connect with, support, and engage people.

Community Walks as a Tool for Identifying Needs

Volunteers can use a range of methods designed to support the identification of local needs. One of the tools discussed during the workshop was the community walk—a group walk through an area that participants want to observe and better understand.

The purpose of a community walk is to identify important locations, activities, and phenomena within a neighbourhood. This helps build a broader picture of the area’s risks, strengths, and the factors affecting residents’ daily lives. Alternatively, observations can focus on a specific issue or theme.

Volunteers carry out the walk together with local residents. It is important that the group participating in the walk is diverse. When participants come from different backgrounds, the observations they make are also more varied, reflecting different perspectives.

During the walk, participants observe their surroundings and discuss what they notice. They consider questions such as: What are the area’s most common challenges or needs? How could these be addressed? What kinds of partnerships might be required?

Community walks provide a practical way to understand local needs and identify issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. The information gathered together complements data from other sources, such as statistics and indicators, and can deepen understanding of local safety, wellbeing, and health challenges. The observations can then be used to build a situational picture and support planning within a local Red Cross branch.

Points for Reflection

To ensure that our activities respond as effectively as possible to local needs, it is important to recognise the diversity of both people in need of support and volunteers themselves. In addition to volunteers assessing local needs, it is equally important to listen to the views of other local residents.

Could a nearby youth centre, language café, community hub, or another open meeting place be a venue where volunteers could engage with people and develop ideas together? What about a school, food aid queue, child welfare institution, senior housing complex, activity centre for people with disabilities, or a day centre serving people who use substances?

Every local perspective matters. It is essential that individuals and communities are actively involved in identifying local needs. Outreach activities can also help attract new volunteers from a variety of backgrounds.

Could a community walk be a new approach that your local branch might try this year as part of assessing local needs?

Want to learn more? See more materials here.

This blog post was written by volunteer Oona Lipponen. She serves on the board of the Kuopio Branch and works as a food aid trainer, as well as a volunteer in food aid, sexual health promotion, substance use support work, and youth community activities. This is a translation from the original blog post.