The Spirit of Healthy Communities

There has been some tension in the community in which I live.  The developers love this place- earmarked to be the biggest and fastest growing regional seaside town in Victoria.  It is estimated that our growth will be 44,000 by 2030.

The town is divided as to which is the best way forward.  The tradies have never had it so good, and for city people coming to live here they are getting their dreams come true in as far as the houses they desire, beaches and the city only an hour away.

However what does this meant to the health of the community? This is a question I pondered yesterday as I walked my dogs through the reserve.  A reserve that is close to my heart, so much so that I became the founding member of an environment group dedicated to its welfare.  Planting trees, digging weeds, engaging with others in quiet banter and getting great joy and satisfaction of giving back. 

What makes a community healthy, and when one is healthy do we just take this for granted?  Do we all have an understanding of what it takes to keep a community healthy and indeed what our roles and responsibilities are in this?

I wondered, as I walked, what if we were all space lifted to Serbia.  How would we cope and how would we yearn for what we have come to expect as we walk out the door every morning.

Do we take for granted that our rubbish is picked up every week, and do we take for granted that because we pay our rates that everything that should get done does get done.

This thought was pondered as I walked and picked up rubbish left by locals.  Bags of dog poo are one of the most regular pieces of rubbish dumped each day.  Have some of us got to the point that we no longer think it’s our own responsibility to pick up and take home our dog poop.  Is there any thought as to where that ends up?  I picked up a plastic shopping bag full of household waste this morning, swept into the creek.  Do we really want to be swimming in that?  And just because I pay rates doesn’t mean I think picking up rubbish is not my responsibility and more or less than another – I think it’s the responsibility of us all.

A healthy community embraces the belief that health is more than merely an absence of disease.  It includes elements that enable people to maintain a high quality of life though community interaction and engagement and access to good health care.  It also includes the following

• Clean and safe physical environment
• Peace, equity and social justice
• Adequate access to food, water, shelter, income, safety, work and recreation for all
• Adequate access to health care services
• Opportunities for learning and skill development
• Strong, mutually supportive relationships and networks
• Workplaces that are supportive of individual and family well-being
• Wide participation of residents in decision-making
• Strong local cultural and spiritual heritage
• Diverse and vital economy
• Protection of the natural environment
• Responsible use of resources to ensure long term sustainability
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We are all unique, we all have differing views on aspects of life, however I do believe that we would all prefer to live in a healthy community, and that healthy community takes all us putting in energy in order to gain the long term positive outcomes.

Source. (www.ohcc-ccso.ca)