NEWS
We’re Hiring
Welcome Krissi!
We are pleased to announce that Krissi Spinoza has joined
the BCHC team as the Healthy Communities Program Coordinator. Krissi is a passionate advocate of community
development and healthy communities. She has worked extensively with
not-for-profits and local government organizations both in Canada and the UK.
Krissi enjoys working with people and organizations to improve the health and well-being of their community and has assisted communities to improve their environment, increase access
to parks and create coordinated support networks for vulnerable adults. Krissi
is currently overseeing the Municipal Alcohol Policy Program (MAP). For questions about the MAP program you can reach Krissi at hccoordinator@bchealthycommunities.ca
The Community
From Trust Me to Trust Us
By Jodi Mucha
As part of the Trust Me initiative I currently have the
honour and privilege to co-facilitate a series of dialogue and community project
planning sessions between a mixed group of 20 seniors and youth in the
Gorge-Tillicum community. The purpose of these group sessions is to not only
identify the typical barriers between seniors and youth being more connected in
the community, but also to unpack and dispel the myths and then create
positive, possible and ongoing solutions to addressing this issue in the local
community.
BCHC, in partnership with the Greater Victoria Eldercare Foundation, the Yakimovich Wellness Centre (VIHA), Saanich Parksand Recreation leveraged funding and launched the Trust Me initiative in Gorge-Tillicum in November 2012 as a way to build support
and momentum for intergenerational connections and opportunities. As partner
organizations we reached out to our vast networks and had many engaging
conversations in effort to recruit a diverse range of seniors and youth in
Gorge-Tillicum to participate in our 6-month intergenerational program.
Early December marked the beginning of our 4 part dialogue
series which focused on creating a shared vision for a common future for
seniors and youth, identifying the barriers, unpacking the myths and then
brainstorming innovative and do-able community action projects. With a long list of exciting potential
project ideas we are now engaged in weekly community project planning sessions
with the senior and youth participants. The
next step is that the project participants will take their ideas to the
streets, community centres, neighborhood associations and local businesses (to
name a few) to share about the possibility of the projects and what they would
bring to the community. Community
members will be invited to take part and contribute to fulfilling on the
project ideas.
“The main thing we saw out of this dialogue process was that
there are way more commonalities than differences between seniors and youth” one
of the youth participants noted early on in the process. “We want to spread the message about what a
valuable opportunity it is for young people and older people to connect. We don’t have many opportunities in our
community to do that. We’re out to
change that!” said one of the senior participants.
At our recent project planning session one of the
participants created a big aha moment for the group. “This is not about Trust Me, like one
way. It’s actually about Trust US". THAT’s the message we are trying to get
across. After nodding of recognition
around the room, the group agreed. Stay
tuned for more updates and information about the TRUST US intergenerational
project. For more information please contact Jodi at
Jodi@bchealthycommunities.ca
The Champion
Jennifer Nichols ~ Fraser Basin Council:Smart Planning for
Communities
Jen’s background in graphic design is evident in her passion
for visually recording work at community events in creative and artistic ways,
recently contributing to Victoria’s Building Resilient Neighbourhoods initiative.
She combined her graphic design skills and interest in active transportation to
win a public art competition for a municipal bike rack design. Jen’s
collaborative art project on storytelling and the joys of cycling appeared in
the Portes Ouvertes Montreal exhibition and the Definitely Superior Urban
Infill art show. She is currently researching and experimenting with de-paving
and lane gardening - tactical urbanism techniques that can improve community
health through local food and community collaboration.
As a member of the Society of Graphic Designers National
Sustainability Committee Jen recently developed a tool for designers and wrote
and article titled; ‘Sustainability planning for creatives – a brief exploration’. The tool is a version of a traditional graphic design project plan (typically
called a creative brief) that include sustainability principles. The updated
brief helps designers integrate a values-based approach to the design process.
You can follow Jen’s creative work on twitter @nicholscreative
The Article
Reflection
By Krissi Spinoza
By Krissi Spinoza
“Life can only be
understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”- Søren
Kierkegaard
In our busy lives it can sometimes be difficult to find the
time and space to pause and reflect. Rushing from meeting to meeting, busy with
tasks and chores, our unending to do lists seem to prohibit taking time to stop
and think; but on both a personal and professional level taking time to reflect
on our experiences can help us successfully plan for our future. Taking time to
actively reflect one experiences helps us to identify and build on success.
Reflective practice has long been championed in the
education and health fields where it is used to assist learning and improve
practice. [1] Its uses can be
generalized to many other situations and professions helping all of us learn
and develop. We can avoid the mistakes of the past and make plans for the
future. Various theorists propose that improvement, in its broadest sense of
the word, is one of the hallmarks of reflection.[2]
While reflection can be considered to be a solitary affair,
many of the formal frameworks for reflective thinking root the practitioner in
the community. For example, in Defining Reflection: Another Look at John Dewey
and Reflective Thinking, Rodgers identifies a key aspect of reflection as a systematic,
rigorous disciplined way of thinking that is located in a community with others
and values the personal and intellectual growth of oneself and others in order
to make meaning. By describing reflection as a process that values others and
the community, both Dewey and Rodgers encourage the practitioner away from self-absorption
and towards community and individual learning and growth.
As part of the Living Life Fully project, BCHC utilized Reflection on Action to assist participants in creating
change in themselves and their communities. This technique, identified by
Donald Schön in The Reflective Practitioner, enabled participants to develop an
inner commitment to the value of learning, and make deep and long lasting
improvements.
Whether our technique is to retreat for a week as in Naikan,
a Japanese reflective technique; to apply Gibbs’ questions to assist in the
evaluation of experiences and projects; to keep a journal; or simply to stop
and pause before moving on to our next task, reflection can help us find new
ways to develop and grow. As Confucius states “By three methods we may learn
wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is
easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest”. Let’s make 2013 the
year of taking time for noble reflection!
[1] A national study of 30 school-sponsored youth participation programs revealed that the key factor in stimulating complex thinking and improving the problem-solving ability of students was the existence, regularity, and quality of a reflective component (Conrad & Hedin, 1982).
“Perhaps even more central to adult learning than elaborating established meaning schemes is the process of reflecting back on prior learning to determine whether what we have learned is justified under present circumstances.” (Mezirow, 1990:5).
[2] Boud, Keogh and Walker (1985) refer to reflection as a term “for those intellectual and affective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understandings and appreciation”.
Events
Webinar ~ His & Hers: Perspectives on Health
Where: Online
When: February 7, 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
When: February 7, 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
The Read
The Barefoot
Guide to Learning Practices in Organizations and Social Change
