From the Ground Up: Building Healthy Communities in the Waterloo Region and Beyond

Healthy Communities Forum

The Healthy Communities Forum on May 3 and 4 was the central event of From the Ground Up. A key goal of this forum was for community members to get together to look at ways in which they can further support each other and to find ways to expand their efforts by creating greater synergy in their work.

We focussed our outreach on people who have already chosen to walk those extra miles to make their communities healthier. They were brought together in order to reap the benefits of combining “forces” in ways that could multiply their efforts for the better.

The forum was an opportunity for people to:

Share stories of their successes and challenges

Make new cooperative and supportive connections between themselves and other people (and organizations) for mutual support, one on one connections and sharing of resources.

Increase their sense of identification with Healthy Communities Principles and the recognition of the commonality of interests in our communities.

Identify networks for future support and collaboration

Healthy Community Forum Friday Night Overview

Friday evening was a great social opportunity to share success stories and to begin making connections. We had over 20 organizations set up displays with information on their initiatives.

The MC, Ryan Kennedy, set a fun and positive tone for the night. We had nine individuals sharing success stories and inspirational tales that were both diverse in their issue areas and in the ways in which they were presented. This was complemented with creative entertainment, with a political twist. Theatre on the Edge loosened everyone up and had us all laughing, the Raging Grannies had folks singing along to their catchy radical tunes, and the Radical Cheerleaders lifted peoples spirits and inspired us to further challenge ourselves in the work that we do.

Healthy Communities Forum - Friday May 3rd Agenda

6:30pm People Arrive - Mingling and checking out Displays

7:00pm Introduction - Ryan Kennedy (MC) and Welcome - Jackie McMillan (with a few logistical things from Ayal)

7:10pm First 3 Stories

7:30pm Raging Grannies

7:40pm Theatre On The Edge

8:00pm 3 Stories

8:20pm Theatre On The Edge

8:45pm 3 Stories

9:05pm Closing with inspiring words from Laird (he also led us in singing a gospel song)

9:15pm Mingling and informal discussions/sharing

9:30pm Farewell and reminders about Saturday (Ryan and Ayal)

Story Tellers for Friday Night

World Wide Opportunities for Women (WWOW) - Sadia Gassim

WWOW was established in 1994. Its purpose is to develop and foster initiatives that enhance the quality of our environment, and the economic and social development of ethnocultural women and their families, with the goal of improving their standard of living and quality of life. WWOW is a grassroots women’s organization which empowers women to take action and raise community awareness in regards to environmental issues and health concerns. Support and advocacy are also provided in order to empower participants to access community resources and information which will assist them in adjusting to their new communities. WWOW promotes inter-cultural exchange and support. Sadia spoke about the history of WWOW and about their current projects. She focused on WWOW’s Home Energy Saver Project and their great success in implementing an amazing number of home efficiency visits for new Canadian families.

Ebytown Food Co-op - Steve Izma

The roots of Ebytown Food Co-op go back to the co-operative buying of food by people in the K-W area in 1971. It has operated mostly as a store and sometimes as a buyers’ club in various locations in this area, but always with consistent principles: to supply local people with high quality, natural food through a non-profit distribution system; to attempt to acquire this food as much as possible from local sources; and to encourage healthy attitudes in not only the consumption of food but also in its production. Steve spoke of Ebytown’s success in surviving through a number of its own changes as well as societal changes (last year was the 30 year anniversary!) and in managing to stay a relevant and important initiative.

The Working Centre - Joe Mancini

Joe talked of the history of The Working Centre and how it has grown to be the vital and dynamic organization that it is today. He spoke of how The Working Centre was established in the spring of 1982 as a response to unemployment and poverty in downtown Kitchener, and that the Centre immediately relied on volunteers to learn about the realities of unemployment and to develop services of support. He went on to mention many of the diverse projects that are part of their work, including St. John’s Kitchen, Recycle Cycles, BarterWorks, Computer training courses, low-income housing, The Front Window, and others.

Pesticide Update - Susan Koswan

Susan Koswan presented a few highlights from the past few years where progress has been made in the turf wars to eliminate cosmetic pesticide use. They included funding for the EcoLawn Project, and the Supreme Court decision that confirmed municipalities’ legal authority to enact bylaws restricting the use of urban pesticides. She went on to discuss the local situation on pesticide use, and closed with some words on the great success of the annual Dandelion Festival.

Groundwater Contamination and Capping of Abandoned Wells - Bob McNichol

Bob is a citizen who has been fighting for clean water in this region for many years. He discussed the problem of groundwater contamination resulting from abandoned wells that can be sites for contaminants to enter our aquifers when homes are demolished overtop of forgotten old wells. He has been fighting earnestly to have either property owners or any level of government to take responsibility for capping these abandoned wells to prevent contamination of our ground water supply. Bob brought a model to display the process of contamination and to identify where the abandoned wells remain and shared his successes and the obstacles he has encountered while tackling this problem.

Alex Perlman - Building Community

Alex shared his vision for building conscious, healthy, intentional community. He believes his greatest successes have to do with the quality of community that manifested on the communal farm that he helped set up in the early 70’s and in a variety of temporary personal growth communities that he has facilitated since then.

Solidarity Network / IMC - Greg McDougall and Kevin Smith

The Independent Media Centre has been successful in creating a web site and print publication to bring the voices of the movement to the people of Kitchener-Waterloo and Ontario.

The K-W Solidarity Network has had success with promoting the community event calendar and many events in the area. Their networking has opened new avenues to bring people together.

Woolwich Healthy Communities - Inge Rinne

Woolwich Healthy Communities has been working since 1991 to enhance the social, economic and environmental health of their Township. They have a Coordinating Committee, a Trails Group, a Clean Waterways Group and a Sustainable Communities Group, all working to make Woolwich a healthier community.

Is Justice Really Sacred? (A Poem) - Michelle Bumstead

Society meanders
Like a parade.
Marching to different drums-
Coherent in basic path
But varied and diverse
In theme and pace.

And what leads us?

The invisible hand of the Market?
Benevolent self-interest of
Producers and consumers?
But if we each take direction
From self-centeredness,
What guides and protects
Our community?

Technology holds great promise.
So tempting to abdicate human choice
To computers
Bureaucracy
The system.

As long as there is a person held accountable-
We can appeal
Advocate
Persuade.
But you cannot argue with a machine.

What is it we hold sacred?
Hold to a trust so diligently
That no price will match its value?
No logos or trademarks on church
Stained glass windows-
Not yet.
Although they mark
Hockey arenas
Line the countryside
Even in schools

What about Justice?
Most sacred secular ideal.
True measure of our democracy.
How open?
Is it inclusive?
How wide is participation?
The test to measure true diversity,
Real democracy,
Is at the margins of society.
The margins which hold
Our most vulnerable citizens.
New life forms at the margins of the field,
Where planted crop meets
Wild harvest.
Do we encourage creativity at the margins?
Nurture or suppress?
Open doors or build barriers?

Is justice really sacred?

Or is it tied by strings
Like a puppet
Controlled by Adam Smith’s invisible hand?
Wired into the information
Technology system?
Remote control
From far away
Without human choice or direction?

Is Justice really sacred?
Beloved sister of Wisdom-
Gift for God’s Children to help us to
The promised land?

Or is she blind-folded
Beautiful in form
But prostituted to the market
Turning deaf ear to the weak
Who need her most?

Groups that had displays on Friday Night

Healthy Communities Forum

Saturday Overview

On Saturday the focus was on networking, identifying common ground, and exploring concrete action plans for positive change. Marc and Valerie, the facilitators/MCs for the day, welcomed everyone, explained the agenda for the day, and reminded everyone of the inspiration from the night before. They also gave everyone an overview of the principles of the Healthy Communities framework.

During the day people were able to visit a health room featuring a number of healing practitioners (including massage therapy, chiropractor, reiki, pranic healing) and yoga was offered during the breaks and at lunch. The food, fair trade coffee/tea, and natural juices were provided by local cafes (Muses and Mostly Organic) and Ebytown Food Co-op and was coordinated by Karin Kliewer. Most of it was locally produced and much of it was organic.

After the welcome and introduction to the day, participants were invited to decide which breakout group they would join for the morning. Eighteen facilitators had met earlier that morning to go over their roles and plan for the day. They split up into 9 pairs of co-facilitators for the breakout groups. The breakout group discussion topics were based on the input we received from the participants’ registration forms. The facilitators introduced the different topics and people had the opportunity to add topics or amend the ones already mentioned. The participants split up into the different groups (see breakouts - section 4c - ii) and reconvened to report back after an hour and a half.

Ken Seiling (Regional Chair), Doug Craig (Mayor of Cambridge), and Mark Hildebrand (City of Kitchener Community Services) all joined us for lunch and spoke of their support for the event, healthier communities and the work of the participants. (The mayors of the municipalities in the region and the regional chair were all invited to join us at the forum and to say a few words on their commitment to building healthy communities. We received a positive response, although most of them sent us regrets).

In the afternoon an opportunity was made for people to discuss ways that their organizations could help with some of the challenges and needs that others had mentioned in the report back, this included a number of the groups represented on the Steering Committee.

In the afternoon most people stayed with the same breakout groups. After the afternoon reports from the breakout groups, Trudy and Laird, who had been visiting the different breakout groups, summarized what they had observed and gave some insight into what work might come out of the forum. Marc and Valerie invited the participants to comment on what they felt they had gotten out of the forum. See Section 4d - ii). We wrapped up the forum with participants announcing future events and activities.

Healthy Communities Forum

Saturday May 4, 2002

Agenda

(See the full agenda with details - Appendix D)

Time Activity

8:30 - 8:50 a.m. Breakfast and Registration

8:50 a.m. Welcome & Preparation for the Day

10:15 a.m. BREAK

10:30 a.m. Discussion Groups

12:00 a.m. Summary of Discussion Groups

12:30 p.m. Lunch, Networking and Self-care

1:20 p.m. Re-Convene

1:40 p.m. Discussion Groups

3:15 p.m. BREAK

3:30 p.m. Summary of Discussion Groups

4:00 p.m. Conclusion and Summary

Healthy Communities Breakout Group Summaries

Note: These are only brief introductions to the different breakout groups. See appendix E for a more detailed description of the discussions in each group.

1 - Resource Development (Fundraising)

This group was formed to discuss the fundraising aspect of resource development. Aside from introducing themselves, the initiatives in which they are involved, some successes, and a number of challenges in this area, they discussed the following topics:

Written proposals

Fundraising for groups

How to develop sustainable income sources

How to consistently look at resource development in broad context

This group felt that having a resource person with a lot of knowledge in this area would have been very helpful.

2 - Resource Development (Volunteers)

This group was formed to discuss the volunteer aspect of resource development. They were joined in the afternoon by a couple folks from the diversity group that met in the morning.

They focused on issues such as: retaining volunteers, relations between staff and volunteers, building diversity, decreasing overload/burnout/turnover, and institutional memory retention. They also specifically discussed these problems and some practical solutions for each one.

3 - Decision Making/Consensus Building

This group discussed decision-making processes, consensus, and facilitation, using the interests of the participants to guide the discussion. The morning discussion focused on the differences between voting and consensus, and the long term effects of the two: voting creating schisms, factions, and hurts, and consensus creating group cohesiveness and community. In the afternoon session the group spent its time talking about diversity and interpersonal challenges, and how they affect group process. They also discussed the dynamic tension between inclusivity and group preservation.

4 - Partnership Group

This group formed to discuss partnership building. In the afternoon the group was joined by a number of participants from the morning discussion on diversity and accessibility.

The group spent a good deal of the morning introducing themselves and discussing the different initiatives and projects that they are working on.

They went on to discuss issues such as:

Building between groups with seemingly diverse interests

How do we engage the business community?

Are healthy communities (HC) for business and HC for people different?

6 - Art to build community

This group met to discuss using arts and creativity to build healthy communities. They discussed issues such as:

Art as the vehicle for healing and creativity, both personal and at community level

The competitive paradigm and economics: traditional vs. associative

Ego attachment - maintaining balances - inferiority/superiority

Mindful living

This group seemed to really bond and get to know each other well, and some of the members have met after the forum to continue the discussion/exchange (this includes the living room community workshop - see waterlooregion.org)

7 - Diversity and Making Membership More Accessible

This group discussed ways to increase (and ensure) diversity and how to make organizations and projects more accessible. They met for the morning breakout session and then participants joined a number of other groups. Their discussion included topics such as:

Thinking about meeting locations - universities, churches might be difficult for some people

Dominant groups/people of privilege in group should take the initiative and do 90% of work in creating bridges and increasing inclusiveness

Meeting culture

How do we address issues of oppression without being confrontational? Can we?

8 - Motivating Others

This group formed to discuss motivating both people already involved in community work and those that aren’t. They discussed things such as:

Feedback and personal input

Focussing on common ground

Bringing larger issues to the local level - making the connections

9 - Capacity Building (or Capacity Deepening) and Skill Development

This group formed to discuss capacity building and skill development. Their discussion led them to using the term “capacity deepening” rather than “capacity building.”

They identified three aspects - self, relationships and skills - as levels or layers (as an onion) and as interconnected aspects of capacity (each need attention since they are seen as feeding into and supporting each other).

Continuity and renewal were discussed as critical aspects of capacity deepening and the work that we do. They were also able to come up with a number of evaluative questions for groups to look at when considering capacity deepening.

Healthy Communities Forum Evaluation Form Input Summary

This is a summary of the input received on the evaluation forms from the HC Forum. See appendix F for the full contents of the evaluation form input.

We received a lot of positive feedback on the evaluation forms.

Participants comments on what they liked best about the event included:

A number of participants also commented that we were quite successful in achieving our goals of:

We also received constructive feedback and suggestions on the forms.

These included suggestions such as:

“Have a list of groups and individuals present and/or more time for to them to present”

“I hoped to see a broader area represented”

“A handout summarizing org’s with mandate & contact info to facilitate connections past weekend”

“Would have liked to see more places to sign-up to receive info/join groups”

“Although a larger area was contacted the literature was very KW specific, if this had been modified a broader area could have been involved.”

“Identifying networks could have been improved upon - more visuals and printed info etc.”

“At the end of the day it was difficult to concentrate on longer presentations”

“More inclusion of enthno-cultural groups - still have work to do to build links here - also with people from different socio-economic backgrounds”

“Start a bit later”

 

1 - Excellent

2

2.5

3 - Good

4

5 - Poor

N/A or no answer

Friday Evening

6 (38%)
24% of total

9(56%)
36%of total

1(6%)
4% of total

 

 

 

9
36% of total

Agenda

6 (26%)
24% of total

10 (44%)
40% of total

6(26%)
24% of total

1 (4%)
4% of total

 

2
8% of total

Participant Package

6 (25%)
24% of total

9 (38%)
36% of total

8 (33%)
32% of total

1 (4%)
4% of total

 

1
4% of total

Skill of Facilitators

8 (38%)
32% of total

10 (48%)
40% of total

3 (14%)
12% of total

 

 

4
16% of total

Health Practitioners

6 (55%)
24% of total

3 (27%)
12% of total

2(18%)
8% of total

 

 

14
4% of total

Location

13 (54%)
52% of total

8 (33%)
32% of total

3 (13%)
12% of total

 

 

1
4% of total

Meeting Spaces

9 (38%)
36% of total

11 (46%)
44% of total

3 (13%)
12% of total

 

1 (4%)
4% of total

1
4% of total

Food

23 (92%)

2 (8%)

 

 

 

 

Cost

18 (72%)

4 (16%)

3 (12%)

 

 

 

HC Forum Comments at the End of Saturday

At the end of the day, participants were asked to share some of their impressions and experiences from the day. Their comments (paraphrased) included:

“I did Yoga for the first time”

“There is a lot of knowledge within the organizations that exist in the Waterloo region. We need to link these organizations. ”

“I found out about organizations that I was not previously aware of”

“Reaffirms that people are working together on common themes”

“Holistic Chamber of Commerce could be developed”

“Trusting group atmosphere was established quickly that provided a base for continuing work”

“Thank you for connections”

“I was able to meet and compare notes - with the possibility for working together in the future”

“I really appreciate the FIC presence and knowledge”

“There was an open atmosphere for feedback to facilitators”

“Connecting with individual resources”

“I feel supported by the people here and the great healthy food”

“Trusting relationships were established so that risks could be taken”

“Positive energy”

“An opportunity to reconnect with folks I haven’t seen in a long time”

“A greater awareness of the arts medium’s application to activities”

Evaluation and Analysis of Healthy Communities Forum

Overall there was a very positive response to the HC Forum. The Steering committee felt that the following objectives were accomplished:

Much of the positive feedback we received came from the evaluation forms (see sections 4di/Appendix F). We also received positive comments from participants over the weeks following the event. One participant sent an email saying:

It was good to see so many unfamiliar faces there. I think there was a fine mix of people, inclusive of interests, ages and abilities. I thought it was also a fine blend of the various factors involved in being healthy with food, fun, and opportunity for bodymindandsoul.

We also received constructive feedback and suggestions from peoples evaluation forms and comments at the forum. Following the Forum we held a steering committee gathering to debrief and evaluate the event. Comments from this discussion, the evaluation forms and e-mails and discussions with participants since the forum (see appendix D) are the basis of this evaluation.

A few people commented that Friday night seemed to be somewhat drawn out. It was suggested that it could have been shorter and upbeat throughout as well as being more focused on the activities of the next day. It was also suggested that it could have been more interactive.

The suggestion to make the forum be a full weekend event was repeated several times. A benefit of this would be having more time for sharing successes, as well as possibly doing so in a more intimate context (similar to Stories From the Front?) It could also mean having more “free time” (and starting later) as well as having the flexibility to have a greater diversity of activities while still holding a vision and focus. A number of people mentioned that this “free time” is often the time when the best connections happen and the “real work” happens.

One of the most difficult aspects of planning and implementing this forum was attempting to balance the desire to have concrete action plans and partnerships created, at the same time as having a dynamic space for people to get to know each other, open up, share, and communicate. This was the most challenging aspect for the Programming Committee. The comments of one participant shows that this was not entirely dealt with:

(a)You need to let the participants offer sessions on what they are excited about IN THE MOMENT, and not topics based on the responses that they sent in weeks ago about their organizational needs. Or (b) if you go to the trouble of doing the research to pre-identify the needs, then the group would be best served if you would identify (and recruit) workshop presenters on those topics who have experience grounded in success, and enthusiasm that’s contagious.

There were a number of comments about groups either wanting less structure - in order to get to know each other better, or on the other hand wanting more structure, including having resource people or workshop leaders there, in order to learn something specific or to come up with concrete action. Some people were frustrated one way or the other, however the majority seemed to find the group with the type of structure they were looking for.

Another suggestion that came up consistently was that of having the opportunity to learn more about different organizations and being able to sign up for this information or have it provided at the forum. This was something that we hoped to have more success with and did attempt to do at the forum. By sending reports to participants that will include a participant list with the initiatives that the participants are involved in we have accomplished much of this. For future events it would be useful to expand this and to include peoples skills, interests, and possible resources along with their contact information.

Facilitation was mentioned a few times. Generally people were pleased with the facilitation and it appeared to be a great opportunity for those who volunteered to gain experience. The facilitators had an excellent debrief after the forum (see Appendix G) and had some good feedback for the organizers. Some suggestions were:

Logistically the event went quite well. We made sure that the event was physically accessible and we did have a few participants in wheelchairs. The food was an especially well appreciated aspect of the day, and the holistic health partitioners were also a huge success. One negative logistical aspect was that the acoustics in the main room on Saturday were awful. This made it difficult to communicate when everyone was gathered together. Some of the rooms were also quite stuffy.

Overall the HC Forum had an excellent response and although participants had very different experiences, they all appeared to either learn something new, make an important connection, or at least leave the event with some renewed energy and ideas.

www.waterlooregion.org/healthy