A study about hiring and training staff from the local geographic and cultural community was conducted with aboriginal family services agencies within a large Canadian inner city. Forty-four participants provided ninety-three unique responses to the question: what are the benefits of working in your community? Participants grouped their responses and groupings were analysed using a concept mapping procedure. Results showed benefits in nine areas, including: having a sense of belonging, helping each other out, having the trust of their neighbours, knowing local realities, being part of established networks, building from within the community, shared values and similar experiences, as well as contributing to supportive organisations in the area. These results were compared and contrasted with the existing literature.