The following posting comes from one of my colleagues Penny Theodore, and regards an exciting initiative taken with the Association of Ontario Health Centres to collect and share stories of people who are involved with their community health centre. The web-site is remarkable and worth visiting for an extended period. Many of the 25 stories have Real Audio, enabling visitors to listen to the stories (you can download RealAudio if you do not have it) - a wonderful feature! The stories are avaialble in plain text version, as well as with photographs, adding a dimension rarely seen on the Net. I highly recommend that CLICK4HP subscribers check out Real Stories. It may be a good opportunity for a discussion here on the use of stories in health promotion. Alison * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Alison Stirling, health promotion consultant Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse 1(800) 263-2846 ext 226 OR (416) 408-2121 ext 226 E-Mail: [log in to unmask] Internet: http://www.web.net/~stirling/ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Real Stories online now! http://www.opc.on.ca/realstories Real Stories is an interactive web site featuring authentic stories of individuals whose lives have been affected by their involvement at their local Community Health Centre (CHC). The website features over 25 stories submitted by several Ontario based CHCs. A selection of the stories are narrated using Real Audio technology and visitors to the website , whether they are health workers, policy makers or simply members of the public are given the opportunity to share their own stories, insights and opinions. The common theme in all the stories is that multi-disciplinary, community based primary health care delivery, like that provided CHCs in Ontario, makes a difference in the lives of individuals and communities. This evidence may be 'anecdotal'-storytelling is considered a soft science- however it is meant to be complementary to other more quantitative evaluations that have been done about the CHC program, the Centres themselves and the individual programs offered at the CHCs. For more information about the project please contact: Penny Theodore Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse 416-408-2121 x 230 [log in to unmask] Gary O'Connor Association of Ontario Health Centres 416-236-2539 [log in to unmask]