Friday, December 21, 2012

BCHC Newsletter - December 2012


CHRISTMAS ARTICLE SPECIAL
Plan for a Greener, More Relaxing Holiday Season
By:  Naomi Phillips – undergraduate political science student at the University of Victoria

Christmas comes once a year but the way we celebrate the holiday season has a lasting impact on our well being, our communities and the environment.  By making a few changes to your holiday routine, you can reduce both the waste and stress associated with the holiday season.

Shop locally, make gifts yourself or re-gift something special. Shopping close to home helps support local businesses while making gifts yourself cuts back on packaging and the green house gas emissions from shipping. Visiting a seasonal craft fair with friends and family is a fun way to support the local economy and pick up one of kind gifts. If you’re not sure about making gifts, the internet abounds with instructions for do-it-yourself projects for varying skill levels. Hosting a craft night is another option for making either gifts or decorations. This is a fun way to catch up and learn from friends. For some, re-gifting is a social faux pas but if you think another person would appreciate the item more, why not pass it on?

Reduce the number of people you shop for
If you find buying gifts for a lot of people stressful and hard on your bank account call a family meeting to discuss gift giving.  My family found that budgeting to give gifts meant each person received several small, not very useful items. Now we set a price limit and draw names so everyone only has to buy one gift. As a result, we have more time to spend visiting without the worry of shopping for gifts.

Get a locally raised free range turkey, plan you menu around seasonal produce and reduce food waste. Buying a locally raised turkey helps promote food security by supporting local producers. Eating fruits and vegetables in season is another way to support local food production and reduce reliance on fossil fuels required for shipping. To reduce food waste, try and prepare only enough food for your guests. If you enjoy having leftovers, make an effort to use up the food you already have on hand prior to hosting so you have room to store your leftovers and nothing goes to waste.

Donate to your local food bank and make plans to donate again in the coming year. Food banks rely on the food and cash donations they receive during the Christmas season well into the following year. This year, the Surrey Food Bank ran out of food donations in June, earlier than they ever had before. Other food banks in the province faced the same challenge. Food Banks BC can help you find a local food bank either to access services or make a donation.

List of foods by season

Christmas stock already gone at Surrey Food Bank . August 8, 2012. http://www.thenownewspaper.com/Christmas+stock+already+gone+Surrey+Food+Bank/7060592/story.html

Food Banks BC


Thursday, November 1, 2012

BCHC Newsletter - November 2012


THE NEWS

COSCO BC Volunteer Training Opportunity - Northern Vancouver Island
BCHC is excited to be working with the Council of Senior Citizens Organizations of British Columbia (COSCO BC) to provide regional training opportunities for "seniors helping seniors". Volunteers will learn to facilitate valuable health promotion workshops in their community on topics such as age-friendly communities and mature driver safety. On November 21, 2012 a training will be held in Nanaimo for new volunteers living anywhere in the Northern Vancouver Island region that are aged 55 and up.  

Please visit the COSCOBC website for more information on how to register or contact Sheila Pither at (604) 684-9720 or pither470@shaw.ca

Municipal Alcohol Policy Funding Opportunity
BC Healthy Communities (BCHC) is pleased to announce the Municipal Alcohol Policy Program for local governments in BC. BCHC is accepting expressions of interest from all local governments, including small, medium and large communities, for seed grants of up to $7,000 to develop a Municipal Alcohol Policy (MAP) in their communities.

Expression of Interest letter is due November 27, 2012 for the first round of funding. Please visit BCHC's  Municipal Alcohol Policy Program page for more information or contact Challayne Kenney at (250) 952-9177 or hccoordinator@bchealthycommunities.ca
 

Community Tables: Engaging Neighbours Initiative 2011-2012 Pilot Phase Report
In 2011-2012 the United Way of Greater Victoria (UWGV) piloted the Engaging Neighbours: Community Tables in the neighbourhoods of Oaklands, Gorge-Tillicum, and North Park. UWGV collaborated with BCHC and The University of Victoria’s Office of Community-Based Research (OCBR) on the Community Tables project to create the space for cross-sectoral community conversations. These conversations resulted in identified strategies for taking action at the community level.  The final Pilot Phase report, prepared by OCBR, is now available online here.

THE COMMUNITY

And another update about the Chandler-Gonzales Pathway!

The last update, submitted by community member Hazel Currie in our April issue
indicated that the Victoria City Council had unanimously agreed to re-open the Chandler – Gonzales Pathway, a public walkway in Victoria, providing a safe route to a local elementary school and a pedestrian-friendly link for the entire community. 

The walkway served the community for the better part of seven decades, before being closed in the 1970’s due to concerns from adjacent neighbours – but the city had the foresight to retain the property as a public asset and is now officially re-opening the pathway on November 7, 2012 from 10:30am - 11:00am at the Chandler Street entrance to the pathway. Mayor Dean Fortin will help cut the ribbon and Olympian Simon Whitfield will lead a group of children through the pathway to commemorate the official opening.

Please rsvp to:  hazelcurrie@shaw.ca 

***  If you have been involved with, or have a great example of a community that 
demonstrates healthy communities activities please contact us at bchc@bchealthycommunities.ca  ***

THE CHAMPION  

Peggy Casey - West End Senior's Network

Vancouver’s West End is home to some 11,000 people aged 55+. It should therefore be no surprise that seniors have played a key role in shaping the character of the neighbourhood.  Like West Enders of any age, seniors are a diverse group. Many are financially secure, while others live on limited incomes. Many are physically and mentally healthy and active, while others live with a range of physical and mental/ psychosocial ailments. Some are relative newcomers, while many others have lived in the neighbourhood for decades. One thing they all have in common: they love their neighbourhood and they are committed to maintaining its health and vibrancy.

84 year old West End Seniors’ Network (WESN) member Peggy Casey exemplifies that commitment.  As a resident of the West End for the past 7 years, Peggy has always been an active person, balancing a challenging professional career with the duties of raising a family of six children. When she was forced to retire from work at age 59 due to macular degeneration, her activities shifted to the charitable sector. As a resident of Richmond BC, she got involved with the Richmond Committee on Disabilities and the CNIB. She started a support group for the vision impaired, and a lawn bowling group for the blind, eventually heading to the Paralympics in Atlanta in 1996. In 2005, Peggy made the decision to move to the West End.

“I walked into Kay’s Place [one of WESN’s three locations] to see if could help out in some way,” Peggy recalls. I ended up volunteering at the information and referral desk and taking the Senior Peer Counselor training!”

In 2010, Peggy joined the WESN board of directors as the Vice President. In addition to her involvement with WESN, Peggy also sits on Translink’s “Access Transit Users Advisory Committee” as well as hosting a twice-monthly group for vision impaired seniors in the West End.

Peggy is one of the nearly 700 members of the West End Seniors’ Network, the majority of whom are seniors, and many of whom volunteer their time at WESN and/or other organizations in the city.  Through their actions they demonstrate what it means to ‘age well’ and to contribute their time, energy and skills to making their community a better place to be for people of all ages and abilities.

*** BCHC is looking for Community Champions! If you know anyone that deserves to be celebrated
 in our Monthly Newsletter please contact bchc@bchealthycommunities.ca *** 

THE ARTICLE

Age Friendly Engagement for Addressing Climate Change
By Naomi Phillips, Political Science Undergraduate Student, University of Victoria

An aging population and climate change are two of the biggest issues facing Canadians in the 21st century (Statistics Canada, Klein & Barter, p.3). Seniors are a segment of the population with heightened sensitivity to climate hazards including heat-waves, cold snaps, poor air quality and water contamination. However, as both policy makers and community groups work to pass environmentally sustainable policies and promote changes in behaviour that reduce green house gas emissions and prepare the public for health challenges related to climate change it is important that seniors be included as more than a vulnerable group.  As we seek to identify solutions to the changing climate, age friendly engagement is an important consideration. Overall, engagement contributes to “building trust, relationships, personal agency and social capital,” and supports an approach to climate change that takes into account the relationship between the environment, social inequality and health. (Klein & Barter, 2011, p.12) Age friendly engagement, particularly when it comes to issues such as the changing climate, also recognizes the contribution of different groups, both young and old, as an asset to the community.

Recent research into attitudes on climate science in both Canada and the United States shows more agreement among Canadians of different ages that there is “solid evidence” of climate change than among Americans. Eighty-two percent of Canadians between the ages of 18-29; and seventy-seven percent of Canadians 65 and over believe in climate change (Lachapelle, Borick, & Rabe, 2012). The level of consensus that exists across age groups in Canada points to the danger of stereotyping seniors as uninterested or unable to participate in working toward environmental sustainability. Translating this level of consensus that climate change is happening into behaviour change requires attention to how policies are developed and communicated.

Over reliance on online communications such as the internet can create a barrier to the participation of some seniors who are not familiar with computers. Distributing information through organizations that are part of existing social networks (community centres, service groups, charities, and religious organizations) is an easy way to reach people who aren’t online. Including seniors in a dialogue around climate change means more diversity and participation as well as recognition of the knowledge, experience and skills they can contribute whether related to organic gardening, creative recycling around the home, emergency preparedness or organizing volunteers.

The overlap between the qualities of age friendly and environmentally sustainable communities underscores the importance of combining efforts to address these challenges at the local level and engaging community members of different ages. The role of culture in contributing to climate change is another connection between building age friendly communities and environmental sustainability.  A cultural shift toward seeking contentment through relationships rather than accumulating material goods would benefit both the environment and the health of community members of different ages.

One good example of intergenerational dialogues (between seniors and youth) is the recent “Trust Me Project”, which is a joint initiative between the Victoria Eldercare Foundation, the District of Saanich’s Parks and Recreation Department, the Vancouver Island Health Authority and BC Healthy Communities.  The purpose of the Trust Me Project is to promote dialogue between seniors and teens in Saanich around trust, judgement and shared community spaces. This exciting project’s focus on building relationships makes it a good model for future age friendly engagement on other community issues such as climate change.

References:
  1. Haq, Gary, Brown, Dave & Hards, Sarah.  (2010) Older people and climate change: the case for better engagement. Stockholm Environment Institute – Project Report.
  2. Klein, Kerri & Barter, Staci. (2011) Building healthy communities at the intersection of chronic disease prevention and climate change.  BC Healthy Communities.
  3. Lachapelle, Eric, Borick, Christoper P & Rabe, Barry. (2012) Public attitudes toward climate science and climate policy in federal systems: Canada and the United States compared.  Review of Policy Research, 29(3), 334- 357.
  4. Statistics Canada, Population gain fastest among the oldest 
  5. Trust Me Project
THE PRACTICE

Learning from BCHC’s Living Life Fully Project: lessons from an innovative intervention into the complex world of the “child and youth obesity crisis”

Over the past several years, Canada has experienced a considerable increase in obesity rates among adults, children and youth. Inactivity and obesity are linked to a wide variety of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart, kidney and vascular disease, as well as breast, colon and prostate cancer. The two primary strategies that have been widely employed to prevent obesity focus on healthy eating and active living. For example, Canada’s Childhood Obesity Foundation advocates the 5-2-1-0 rule which includes 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day, 2 hours of screen time or less per day, 1 hour or more of physical activity per day, and 0 sugar-sweetened beverages per day. Health Canada recommends that youth participate in a minimum of 90 minutes physical activity every day.  

However, as Dr. Phil Hanlon and his colleagues in the Public Health Section at the University of Glasgow note, “no country in the developed world that has been experiencing the obesity epidemic has succeeded in reversing the trend”. Further, they argue that, “the worsening challenge of obesity remains profound and will require new ways of thinking, being and doing”

BC Healthy Communities (BCHC) agreed and in 2010 they embarked on a one-year pilot project funded under Health Canada’s Innovation Strategy to test out an experimental intervention into the complex world of the “child and youth obesity crisis”. The key lessons from that pilot project – and implications for its next iteration - are shared in the article "Learning from BCHC’s Living Life Fully Project: lessons from an innovative intervention into the complex world of the “child and youth obesity crisis”

In addition we created 3 Thinkpieces based on the project that reflect our learnings and aim to provide some practical tools for our readers:


EVENTS

Discussion ~ Strengthening Community Resilience: How to do it in your neighbourhood
Where: Victoria  
When: November 6
When: An introduction and shared discussion about ways for creating resilient communities going on around the world, plus an overview of the coming events in the Resilient Neighbourhood series. More >>>

Workshop ~ Doing It Better Together II - Community Action Plan on Poverty Next Steps
Where: Victoria
When: November 8, 9:00 AM to 12:00 NOON
What: Featuring Keynote Dan Meares and his famed TEDx presentation "Time To End Poverty" Community Social Planning Council presentation, panel and workshop on priorities and next steps for the Community Action Planon Poverty.  More >>>

Workshop ~ Resilient Neighbourhoods: Growing a "Resilient" Neighbourhood
Where: West Shore 
When: November 15, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
What: 
Learn to evaluate the level of "resilience" your own neighbourhood has, and how to move towards greater resilience in every area of your community. More >>>

Dialogue ~ Building Community, Building Health
Where: Vancouver
When: November 20, 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM (PST)
What: 
The goal of the day is to refocus health care from treating illness to preventing it by building a healthy community from the ground up. In small working groups, you will have the opportunity to collaborate on one of the three topics below. More >>>

Webinar ~ Home is Where Your Health Is with Michael Shapcott, Director of Housing & Innovation - Wellesley Institute
Where: Online
When: November 22, 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM (PST)
What: This two-hour session invites dialogue from northern communities on specific topics that are critical to improving the health outcomes of northern people, recognizing that community and civic involvement is a cornerstone to healthy people and populations. To register click here

Course ~ Public Engagement and Communication: Influencing Change for Sustainability 
Where: Royal Roads University – Victoria
When: December 7,  9:00 AM -5:00 PM 
What: This course will explore the “people change” dimension of climate change. It will include an overview of emerging research on behaviour change and present a spectrum of methods for engaging individuals in lower carbon choices, including community-based social marketing. This day will be interactive and learners will be supported in applying specific methods to a chosen issue. More >>>

THE READ

Essentials of Utilization-Focused Evaluation
By: Michael Quinn Patton

Based on Michael Quinn Patton's best-selling Utilization-Focused Evaluation, this briefer book provides an overall framework and essential checklist steps for designing and conducting evaluations that actually get used. The new material and innovative graphics present the utilization-focused evaluation process as a complex adaptive system, incorporating current understandings about systems thinking and complexity concepts. The book integrates theory and practice, is based on both research and professional experience, and offers new case examples and cartoons with Patton’s signature humor.
(Source: Google Books)

Friday, September 28, 2012

BCHC Newsletter - September 2012


THE NEWS 

National Seniors Day – October 1

Celebrate National Seniors Day on Monday, October 1st. On this day we pay tribute to seniors by celebrating and showing appreciation for the important role they play in Canadian communities. The Government of Canada offers tips and resources on their website to help you recognize this National celebration. To visit their website click here

The City of Victoria Youth Council is Recruiting!

The City of Victoria Youth Council (CVYC), a BC Healthy Communities program, is recruiting new members and is looking for youth under 24 that live, work and hang out in Victoria and would love to get involved in their community. This group of passionate young people takes action and raises awareness about issues important to them and share youth perspectives and experiences with the community.

If you would like to get involved or if you know of any youth that would love to join please visit www.cvyc.net to apply. Questions? Email the CVYC Coordinator Kluane Buser-Rivet at info@cvyc.net. 
Deadline to apply is Tuesday, October 9th.


THE COMMUNITY

The 411 Seniors Centre - Vancouver

The 411 Seniors Centre is a resource and drop-in centre for seniors that provides tools, services, programs and activities that enable low income seniors to live independently and thrive in our communities. The 411 Seniors Centre aims to enhance the quality of life of older adults, to assist them in achieving and maintaining independence and to improve and sustain their physical, mental, social health and wellbeing.  The centre strives to empower older adults to build and strengthen a sense of community and to change and enhance their quality of life. The Centre’s organizational governance and volunteer constitution provides opportunities for seniors to be proactive.

The 411 Seniors Centre offers year round programs and workshops. Each program and workshop provides older adults with opportunities to meet new friends, acquire new skill sets and abilities, improve overall health and enrich their respective quality of life and that of the broader community. They also offer free Information & Referral services run by volunteers who assist in connecting seniors and those on disability with resources and services within the community. 

Some of the issues they can assist with include: seniors benefits, housing, income tax among many others. They provide this service in other languages such as: Punjabi, Mandarin, Cantonese, Swedish and Dutch. To find out more about these great services and their program calendar please visit: www.411seniors.bc.ca.

THE CHAMPION

Kimberly McLeod – Self-Management BC

Kimberly McLeod grew up in Dease Lake, BC and graduated from The University of Northern British Columbia in the spring of 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and worked as an RN for two years at Stuart Lake Hospital in Fort St. James. Having decided that a nursing career was not for her, she began working in Prince George as the Community Outreach Coordinator and Liaison of a joint pilot project related to the prevention of respiratory illness though education with the Prince George Metis Community Association and the Asthma Society of Canada.

In 2011 she began working with the Self-Management BC, first as a volunteer and then as an employee.  When she first learned of the program, she knew right away that she wanted to be a volunteer leader. Self-Management BC offers free, interactive workshops for adults with chronic health conditions (such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, mental illness and COPD) and is led by pairs of trained volunteer leaders in their home community. As a health care professional, she believes in the importance of providing the knowledge and tools for those dealing with ongoing health problems and the need to live healthy, active lives.  As someone who is living with a chronic health condition herself, volunteering with the program was a way to help others and learn new ways of managing her own condition.

Currently, she is the coordinator for the programs in Northern BC and she is working hard to build relationships with community organizations and to get the word out about self-management programs. In her spare time, she is a Spark leader with Girl Guides and is a member of Parish Council at St. Michaels and All Angels Anglican Church where she also writes the newsletter.  If you would like to contact Kimberly, her email is kamcleod@uvic.ca. To find out more about Self-Management BC and the free programs offered across the province, visit www.selfmangementbc.ca.

THE ARTICLE

Effective Multi-Sectoral Committees: Getting Started
By: Challayne Kenney, MEd, BMLSc

“Today, we are beginning to understand that a community, like the people within it, is a living organism, and its health depends on all its systems functioning, both on their own and together. [...] It also recognizes that health, social and economic policies need to be coordinated, and that communities can provide an atmosphere that supports policy makers to make the right choices.”1 While working together for a common purpose is simple in concept, it is far from easy.

Local governments are one of many key players leading change in our communities. Armed with administrative structure and community-oriented mandates, it makes sense that they would take the lead on initiatives within a community. Local governments wear many hats and work to balance a complicated array of responsibilities, so how do grassroots community issues get attention? Multi-sectoral committees that include or are lead by local government can make real change happen, but only if we learn to work together effectively.

What multi-sectoral committees look like and how they work will vary by community and the purpose. What they have in common is a group of people that come together for a shared interest from a variety of backgrounds (healthcare, research, business) and organizations (not-for-profit groups, school districts, faith groups), all bringing with them their own reasons for participating. These committees may have ongoing work that focus on broad topics like food security, sustainability, and physical activity or they may have a particular purpose and end-point like going through a process to create a specific healthy policy change. Regardless of the purpose, a multi-sectoral committee can benefit from taking time to create a collaborative experience that is less about being politically correct and more about what can be created together.

Process is key. Intention is important. Creating a multi-sectoral committee can be likened to organizing a potluck meal. Who should be invited? That depends on the purpose of the gathering. What should they bring? Something they are proud to bring to the table. In order to make the most of these valuable partnerships and keep the big picture in mind through it all, there are a few key points to consider when getting started:

1. Have clear expectations
  • Roles and responsibilities for all members should be established in a collaborative manner so that members are contributing what each does well and is achievable given their capacity. Leave room for wide-range of opportunities for involvement and keep the group small enough to allow full participation. Strong leadership is necessary to facilitate the process, keep on track and help stay focused on the purpose for the committee.
  • The purpose for the committee should be established right up front so that those involved are buying into the concept from the start. This may be dictated by the funding source, event being planned, policy being reviewed or may be kept very general to leave room for the committee to grow and change. Avoid duplication and look at other committees or work that has been done to see why this one is different.
  • The objectives (also known as Terms of Reference) of the committee are also something where a collaborative process is helpful at gaining buy-in from the members. Be sure to link these to the purpose for the committee’s existence and they will help manage members who may try to steer the group in a direction that better fits their mandate.
2. Make sure you establish context
  • This goes beyond being clear on the group’s purpose and objectives to make the work of the committee more sustainable. Even though the group may have a specific purpose and clear endpoint, orienting the work as a piece of a bigger picture provides legitimacy, direction and lasting effects beyond the targeted outcomes.
  • Being intentional on how each member fits with the purpose and link to the bigger context of the group’s work can be a collaborative process that leads to identifying the strengths of the group as a whole.
 3. Forming and maintaining commitment
  • Going through the exercise of finding personal and organizational meaning for participation in the committee can go a long way in building a team atmosphere of dedicated members. Consider having all members name what meaning(s) exists for them out loud to the group and give space for this diversity. It is far easier to work together when you know what viewpoint everyone is coming from.
  • The more group members are celebrated for their strengths and included in conversations about purpose, roles and objectives, the more committed they will be to the team. This doesn’t have to mean that everything is up for vote or discussion since funding sources or other factors may dictate direction, but communicating about any constraints and sharing why they exist can go a long way in facilitating the process of working together as a team. 
This is by no means a comprehensive list of all facets of an effective committee and is intended to provide a direction for starting out. The following resources may be helpful in guiding you in working on or setting up an effective multi-sectoral committee and creating healthier communities:


References
  1. http://carbc.ca/HelpingCommunities/TheoreticalFoundation/IntrotoHealthPromotion.aspx
  2. http://www.ocdpa.on.ca/OCDPA/docs/HealthyCommunitiesBackgrounder.pdf
  3. http://humanresources.about.com/od/involvementteams/a/twelve_tip_team.htm 
EVENTS

Lecture ~ With New Eyes to See: Engaging Communities on Climate Change with Visual Learning Tools
Join for a free public lecture by Dr. Stephen R. J. Sheppard based on his newly released book, "Visualizing Climate Change: A Guide to Visual Communication of Climate Change and Developing Local Solutions". Click here for more info and to register.
Where: Victoria When: OCT 4, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM (PST)

Webinar ~ Integrating Health Considerations into Community Planning: example & lessons learned from Fraser Health Authority, BC
This Fireside Chat will provide helpful ideas and food for thought for those interested in operationalizing day-to-day, collaborations between health and planning. Click here for more info
Where: Online When: OCT 23, 01:00 PM– 2:30PM (EDT)

Webinar ~ Home is Where Your Health Is
These two-hour sessions invite dialogue from northern communities on specific topics that are critical to improving the health outcomes of northern people, recognizing that community and civic involvement is a cornerstone to healthy people and populations. To register click here
Where: Online When: NOV 22, 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM (PST)

THE READ

Designing Healthy Communities
Author: Richard J. Jackson

Designing Healthy Communities, the companion book to the acclaimed public television documentary, highlights how we design the built environment and its potential for addressing and preventing many of the nation's devastating childhood and adult health concerns. Dr. Richard Jackson looks at the root causes of our malaise and highlights healthy community designs achieved by planners, designers, and community leaders working together. Ultimately, Dr. Jackson encourages all of us to make the kinds of positive changes highlighted in this book.
(Source: Amazon)