‘Health’ Archives
Update on the Backyard Initiative An Integral Community Care System
By Janice Barbee, Cultural Wellness Center and Lovel Trahan, AmeriCorps VISTA, Allina Health Systems On September 23, the Circle of Healing CHAT of the Backyard Initiative hosted a community forum entitled “An Integral Community Care System: Responding to the Health and Wellness Needs of Community” to present a framework for developing a community care system that will combine community resources and knowledge with conventional, professional resources. The Backyard Initiative (BYI) is a partnership between Allina and community residents to improve the health of the community. Residents of Central, Corcoran, East Phillips, Midtown Phillips, Phillips West, Powderhorn Park, and Ventura Village have formed Citizen Health Action Teams (CHATs) to work together on health-improvement projects they have designed. The Circle of Healing CHAT is working to blend traditional community knowledge of health and healing with institutional Western medicine. At the September forum, [...]
“Talking in the Backyard” Gardening Grows More than Food
by Ariele Strachan, Cultural Wellness Center The Backyard Initiative (BYI) now has 13 Citizen Health Action Teams (CHATs) implementing health strategies developed by members who are local residents. The Growing the Backyard CHAT was given support by the BYI Community Commission on Health for their Family Garden Project in April of this year and have been working with families on gardening since late May. The Family Garden Project has connected with eight families in the Phillips, Powderhorn, Central, and Corcoran neighborhoods (the Backyard area) and has helped each of them to install a 4x4 foot raised bed garden. The Family Garden Project works with whole families ”” parents, children of all ages, grandparents and other members of the family ”” to make gardening a natural part of everyone”'s day where different gardening activities are less chores and are more activities to bring the family and the community closer together. (more…)
Making Connections in Community
By Diane Long, for Out in the Backyard CHAT On Tuesday, June 16, 2011, a little over 30 people gathered at the Cultural Wellness Center to share dinner and watch the film “Bullied.” It told the story of a young man named Jamie Nabozny, who was bullied in middle school and high school for being gay. The event was sponsored by Out in the Backyard, the LGBT Queer and Allied (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) CHAT. People are bullied for all kinds of reasons ”“ because of sexuality, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, physical ability, size, etc. This film addressed bullying based on sexual orientation and showed how prejudice and stereotypes are used to justify discrimination. Young LGBT people are especially at-risk for bullying, harassment, physical assault, and suicide. In 2009, the National School Climate Survey found that: ”¢ 80% of LGBT students had been verbally harassed at school ”¢ 40% had been physically harassed at [...]
