Yes, I could not agree more. At the heart of all our health is to have
sense of security and confidence that we will have all our basic needs
met- work, family, housing, security, etc. However, even when these are
provided, many individuals are still unable to make the appropriate
selections regarding "lifestyle" - smoking, diet, social supports,
active living,etc. We need a more holistic approach to health promotion
that incorporates the integration of lifestyle with the structural
foundations of life. It would be very useful for people to share their
 experiences in bringing to fruition  more "holistic" programs and
services that build on inclusion as opposed to exclusion of the
lifestyle from the structural.
Joe

NVHCC / Youth Aflame Ministries wrote:

>I have been following the discussions around the issue of poverty,
>Health Units, health promotion activities, lifestyle choices, etc. with
>a great interest. I am a member of a couple of small community based
>organizations who are trying to make our local community a healthier
>place in which to live, work and play.
>
>
>
>Lately, there has been a few community meetings held to discuss health
>promotion initiatives, mainly dealing with issues of heart health and
>early years. These meetings have continued to emphasize the need for
>lifestyle change programs with these programs being run by the
>'professionals' and delivered to those in the community who 'need to be
>taught' how to make healthy choices. My experience has been that many in
>the community know already the changes they need to make but when faced
>with the pressures and stress that poverty brings, they are simply
>trying to survive.
>
>
>
>Our organizations have emphasized the need for programs that supply (and
>usually need to initiate) the resources and expertise to the
>communities, but allow them to run their own programs (although we offer
>supervision and support). Too often, I have seen good community-based
>programs end when (i) funding has been obtained by an outside
>organization for a similar program, (ii) the program is brought into the
>community and run by paid staff from this organization, and (iii) when
>the funding ends, the program is finished - but the original community
>run program is now dead.
>
>
>
>So, can we please start to share some very practical ideas on good
>community run programs that improve the health of the whole community? I
>tried to get our local health unit to consider allocating some of their
>early years funding to providing small healthy community grants like our
>district health council used to provide but there was not any interest
>in doing this. I do not have time to search a lot of sites but believe
>that there are a number of people on this list who are running or have
>run effective programs. Please provide a brief synopsis of the program,
>who it was (is) targeted to and whether or not you believe it was (is)
>effective. Potential sources of funding to assist the community in
>running a similar program would be appreciated.
>
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>
>
>
>
>Peter Jones
>
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
>
>****
>
>North Victoria Healthy Communities Coalition
>
>Youth Aflame Ministries Inc.
>
>4094 Monck Rd., P.O. Box 322
>
>Coboconk, ON   K0M 1K0
>
>(705) 454-8875
>
>(705) 454-9197 Fax
>
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>

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