If the goal of healthy public policy is to create improved conditions which in turn improve population and community health, then as a whole, healthy public policies must also be equitable and serve to reverse health inequities.
For many, it’s been easy to be active and social while physically distancing during summer and fall. As we move into colder months, local governments can take action to make it easier for folks to continue to get outside and be active despite the colder and shorter days ahead.
Healthy Natural Environments have become some of our most coveted spaces during the COVID pandemic. However, the inequities that COVID have highlighted and exacerbated across society extend to these natural environments.
The new PlanH Healthy Natural Environments Action Guide is for local governments across the province working to create healthy, equitable natural spaces.
When talking engagement, we often discuss designing processes to ensure less-heard-from voices are heard. This is incredibly important, but it only addresses the fair distribution of one element of equity—opportunity—among community members.
In many communities across B.C., most public activities have been halted. These unprecedented times have led to equality in public participation—none for anyone.
Most days at BC Healthy Communities I feel two things: fortunate and conflicted. I feel fortunate because my workplace is welcoming and safe and my coworkers are bright, caring and compassionate. I also feel fortunate because I get to work on projects that attempt to address complex social matters, which I find interesting and important. But I’m conflicted because there are days where I feel as though the work I do, engaging and researching with communities, might be more effectively done by someone who is actually experiencing the challenges and successes we as an organization try to understand and support.