Living healthy, well and strong in our neighbourhoods A Photovoice project How can we find out about living healthy, well, and strong in our neighbourhoods? Partnership Development This was the ques7on posed by partners who came together to do research on being well in Building on relaonships with community members from previous neighbourhoods in Guelph. projects and ini7aves, partners from the City of Guelph, Family & Children’s Services of Guelph & Wellington, Neighbourhood Groups, The project was framed in several ways. First, we defined being well quite broadly, to include many kinds of Guelph-Wellington Task Force for Poverty Eliminaon and the well-being and health—physical, social, economic and spiritual. Research Shop at the University of Guelph worked collaboravely on this project. The Research Shop provided technical exper7se and Second, we used an ecological approach that includes a range of sites and circumstances where health and facilitated training of community researchers. Mavis Morton, the well-being play out: in our families, neighbourhoods, and workplaces, or in our personal and community Principal Inves7gator, is a faculty member in the department of relaonships. Sociology/Anthropology at the University of Guelph. Finally, we also thought about the social determinants of health and how they determine or contribute to aspects of our well-being: …the condi;ons in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, Neighbourhood groups of the Brant, Grange Hill, including the health system. These circumstances are shaped by the Onward Willow, Parkwood distribu;on of money, power and resources at global, na;onal and Gardens, Two-Rivers, and local levels, which are themselves influenced by policy choices. Waverley communi7es. hBp://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/ Process Themes and recommendaons for change Between March and October 2011, twenty community members, U Analysis and reflec7on led to iden7fying, exploring, formulang and interpre7ng themes that included barriers of G students, faculty and staff were trained over two days on (lack of access to income, housing, food, health care, recreaonal facili7es etc.) and supports (neighbourhood Photovoice methodology. Using a social determinant of health groups & community partners, access to nature, sustainable prac7ces etc.) Iden7fied themes led to ideas and framework, we were asked to consider ques7ons such as: recommendaons for ac7on and change. • what does living well mean to you? • what puts your health at risk? • what needs to change to promote health and wellness in The Experience of Living in Poverty The experience of living in poverty is a constant bale with barriers and your neighbourhood? brick walls. Insufficient income prevents people from accessing safe Following the training, researchers were divided into three Themes included: housing, healthy food, affordable transportaon, and recreaon geographic groups and for four months we took photographs opportuni7es. capturing images that illustrated opportuni7es or barriers. Bi-weekly groups met to discuss and share the photographs they took and to Accessibility Supports for Living Healthy, Well, and Strong promote cri7cal dialogue about community strengths and concerns. While community planners are be4er at taking geographical Local neighbourhood organizaons can be the primary sources of support locaon and physical accessibility into account, we need to become for families and people living in poverty. Community members can gather be4er at understanding and addressing psycho-social barriers. in a posi7ve space to discuss issues that affect the neighbourhood. Community groups are plaorms for people who tradi7onally lack power, to come together with a collec7ve voice and advocate for jus7ce and Unique aspects of our communi7es change. Different communi7es within the city have a flavour that is unique to that area of the city and the members of that community take pride in their favourite quali7es. Barriers to Living Healthy, Well, and Strong Lack of adequate income is the first barrier to living healthy, well, and strong, with associated challenges such as access to public transportaon, Transi7on and change substandard housing, inadequate emergency food support, and lack of This past year the evidence of growth and change has permeated facili7es for affordable recreaon and exercise every corner of the city…it is not surprising that the Ward, surrounding the downtown core, needs to adapt to accommodate the city’s growing populaon. Recommenda2ons Increase social assistance and the minimum wage, and support advocacy programs. Improve public transportaon. Increase access to healthy and affordable food. Support accessible health care. Annual free city-wide large item garbage collec7on. Equitable distribu7on of city resources for recreaon. Reduce the red tape… Research results-based methods of increasing inclusion. Protect our green spaces. Acknowledge and address the transportaon Disseminaon problem in the city. Support and empower neighbourhood groups. Community researchers become advocates for themselves and their neighbourhoods, researchers wanted their photos, themes and recommendaons View full recommendaons and images at photovoice.drupalgardens.com publicly available. Large posters displaying representave photos, text and recommendaons were printed and put on display in a downtown indoor mall, in city hall, in a community organizaon, and in a par7cipang neighbourhood. Our research project caught the aen7on of the public and decisions makers. When asked by the Guelph Tribune about her biggest surprise for 2011, Mayor Karen Farbridge named the Photovoice project: "I was blown away by the size of it, the depth it achieved, the power of Researchers for the Living Healthy, Well and Strong in Our Neighbourhood project: the photos that were taken and the Carlene Gunn-Carr Lynne Kloostra Revee Orr Deliliah Keang Martha Inglis Sally Belogus interpreta;ons . and the learnings Evelyn Herron Ma Reeves Sarah Wilbee they reveal.” Gayle Goldstone Mavis Morton Sonia Waraich h4p://www.guelphtribune.ca/community/mayor- Janet Dilbey Michelle Lebon Stephanie Baker charts-guelphs-future-path/ Jenny Walker Michelle Pilgrim Susan Richardson Kathleen Bowron Montanna Goldstone Tina Brophey Linda Hawkins Niki Henry *Mavis Morton* and Linda Hawkins** *Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology; **Director, ICES/Research Shop; University of Guelph .