Social Support Organisations Limit Impact by Avoiding Uncharted Territory

I was hillwalking this glorious weekend and a thought occurred to me as I was confronted with a choice of trails to follow. There was the well-trodden path—clearly marked, scattered with fellow hikers, and decidedly safe. Then there was the less travelled route—overgrown in spots, requiring more careful navigation, but promising stunning viewpoints not visible from the main trail.

It struck me how perfectly this mirrors the challenge within our social support sector today.

Too often, organisations cling to familiar, well-marked paths of service delivery. We follow the same routes because they're comfortable, well-documented, and—crucially—aligned with what funders expect to see. The paths are so worn that we've stopped questioning whether they actually lead to the best outcomes.

Meanwhile, innovative approaches—those overgrown, less familiar trails—often go unexplored. A brilliant community-led intervention might prevent vulnerability rather than merely responding to crises, yet implementation falters because it doesn't fit neatly within established frameworks. It's neither traditional casework nor standard outreach—it's uncharted territory.

Just as the most breathtaking views often require venturing off the beaten track, our most transformative social impact might demand approaches that initially feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar.

Perhaps we need to reconsider how we navigate. Rather than asking "Is this path well-marked and familiar?", we might ask "Does this route genuinely lead to better outcomes for those we serve, regardless of how unfamiliar it feels?"

True compassion requires courage—the willingness to step off well-worn paths when evidence suggests they're not leading where we need to go.

What are your thoughts? Have you witnessed promising approaches to social care abandoned because they ventured too far from the familiar trail? How might we encourage more organisations to explore those paths less travelled when the wellbeing of those we serve depends on it?