What’s a community? Very simply, the social construct of the relationship that exists between a group of people with a commonly shared attribute. Whether it be the attributes of mutual beliefs, shared living environment, culture or identity, the health of a community has a great impact on the overall productivity and economy of a nation.
A healthy community:
- Is Prepared!
- Promotes wellness within 8 dimensions—physical, emotional, social, financial, occupational, intellectual, environmental, and spiritual.
Promoting health within communities requires a plain understanding of the people, available basic needs resources, and the overall capacity to maintain/sustain good health for all. When the design of healthy communities is dependent on the political will of local, state and federal administrators, achieving it can be difficult or unsustainable. Empowering individuals within a community to be drivers of change is therefore imperative to the design process.
A strategic approach to empowering communities is to raise a generation of advocates who are dedicated to values of service to others, environmental sustainability and social justice. With the objective being the development of strong social connections of individuals within a community, the following key imperatives should be included in the design process:
- The promotion of Intergenerational connections
- Promotion of service-learning activities among all residents and
- Intersectoral engagement in the planning and design of the community.
Equitable access to basic life needs and resources ensures that all individuals in the community are food secure, housing secure and mobile with short distances between homes, workplaces, schools, recreation. Having a mission of raising community health and wellness advocates means developing in young people, a sense of responsibility to themselves and their community that drives their decision-making process in adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Volunteering from a young age enhances an individual’s understanding of their community and the people in it. Investing in the development and enhancement of community-based volunteer experiences may prove to be an effective long-term strategy for building and sustaining healthy communities.
ThinkTank Unit 