What is a Healthy Community?

June 20, 2006

What is a Healthy Community? By Deane Rimerman

Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington recently held a Graduate seminar to discuss the notion of Healthy Communities.[1] For 10 weeks our group of 20 students met each week for 4 hours. The sum of our readings, discussions, and guest lectures is vital to those who wants to live in healthy communities. May what we learned help you as much as it's helped us.

Healthy Communities as discourse, as intention, as an action plan, it's a unifying force or power that redefines how we live, how we dream of how we live, how we ultimately require each other to live. This is not a marketing or branding scheme. This is embracing how everyone has a different, yet similar, viewpoint of what a healthy community is.[2]

Foremost, a healthy community is what John Trudell calls: "…a culture of clear, coherent and initiated thought coming from people who like themselves."[3] His point is that people who don't like themselves ultimately create more reasons to not like themselves. In modern culture this illness occurs at an epidemic proportion. The cure is to do what it takes to find happiness and well-being inside yourself. Without this all actions, all motivations, all altruistic intent are ultimately tainted and infertile.

Thus, our seminar started by all of us sharing ways we maintained our health. This discussion taught us of the many tools we all had to keep ourselves emotionally, physically and spiritually well. From exercising, to quieting our minds, to being with those we love, to eating well, we realized that our ways of maintaining our health was almost the same thing as that which maintains our happiness. We also talked about how our ability to process information is always pushed to overload., about how we need more mind calming skills when it comes to so much information from so many sources every day.

Next we went into food. Several students chose research projects that taught us the value of Farmer's Market, and farming cooperatives, as well as the growing danger of obesity. Two guest lecture's from Washington state Department of Health 's (DOH) Victor Coleman and Kyle Unland explained innovative new strategies such as forming Healthy Community Partnerships, as well as Community Gardens. As obesity rates climb DOH has taken an active role in educating the public about how unhealthy diets increase health care costs to individuals as well as government. The Washington State Nutrition and Physical Activity Plan[4] seeks solutions like helping cities construct hiking trails and community gardens. In the future DOH plans to collaborate with environmental groups in order to increase people's involvement in outdoor activities.

Being out in nature is a primary ingredient of a healthy community. At Evergreen State we have a 1000 acre forested campus that is designed to encourage people to walk rather than drive. We even have interpretive nature walks called 'Teaching Gardens,' which explain native ecosystems, exotics plants, rooftop gardens. One student in our seminar studied how Evergreen's mapping and interpretive sign projects are continuing to grow, as well as inspire other Washington colleges to set up similar facilities. To learn more about Evergreen Campus and the surrounding neighborhood Peter Guttchen, a member of the local Neighborhood Association, spoke to us about the story of Evergreen state and its surroundings. This story leads us to the other side of what it takes to make a healthy community.

The other side of getting out into nature is the dark side of nature. Meaning, we live in a socio-political economic structure that functions because we continually consume the long term value from the landscape. All over the world this modern human storm turns primary forests into farms, farms turn to housing, and old housing turns to bigger cities, bigger freeways. One of the students in seminar kept warning us that laws that try to protect the natural world from the human storm may be eliminated in Washington if Initiative 933 is passed into law.[5] So how can we fend off attacks to our community's quality of our life? How can we protect our natural surroundings?

On of the most important tools we use to help us manage growth are maps. Every effort to save or destroy a piece of the environment is plotted out and planned out with a map. To help us better understand maps Prof. Martha Henderson spoke to us about the origins of map-based planning, as well as the various survey systems that are still in use. Her presentation was called: "Geography and the interface of class, race, and gender." To add to this a student researched the latest innovations of map-based learning and advocacy. With the advent of Google Earth and other computer generated visualizing tools activist are now gaining a distinct advantages in their demands for healthier landscapes.

Perhaps the most perplexing challenge to the creation of a healthy community is the industrial revolution. For all its conveniences, the drawback is that humans are now exposed to over 50,000 mostly untested chemicals. Prof. Lin Nelson and Prof. Anne Fischel of Evergreen State spoke to to us about their study of how a community is dealing with massive contamination from the Asarco smelter in Tacoma. This case dealt with an arsenic and lead contaminated superfund site in the middle of a neighborhood that was once run as Asarco's company town. Now that the smelter is gone and the primary contamination has been buried all the neighbors are facing a new threat of gentrification as Real Estate developers are poised to build hi-priced condos on top of the superfund site. This type of advocacy work that Lin and Anne do is known as Environmental Justice. It speaks to the disproportionate amount of toxic waste on land where poor and disadvantaged people live.

What's shared in common with all of the above efforts is that they require people to work together to solve significant impediments to the creation of healthy communities. They require people to work amongst their differences and ultimately find a healthier means of social interaction. But as John Trudell explained earlier, altruistic efforts are impossible if we aren't a person who is healthy and of coherent initiated thought.

Insight to this was provided by a male student who researched an all women's group that thankfully welcomed him and allowed him to participate. The group is called Kolo. They say they are "Intersecting women's advocacy, feminine representation and gender justice to halt gender violence both nationally and internationally"[6] Kola sees that you must have the power to heal yourself as prerequisite to having power to heal others. The group recognizes that we have to create very specific ground rules for communication if we are to be truly helpful to those who've been harmed. Kolo attempts to be a womb, a safe and sacred space where community and wellness can gestate and grow.

Author Frances Lappe wrote a book that speaks of womb-like, or Kolo-like spaces sprouting up all over the US. Her book Democracy's Edge[7] documents citizens getting organized. It documents citizen's learning to reclaim the power to guide the future of their communities. She proves that such endeavors are rapidly on the rise. Lappe paints the opposite picture of the popular media's storyline of darkness and ruin. She offers hundreds of examples of how communities in the US are taking larger and larger steps towards creating healthy democratic communities. Essential to the process is networking and connecting with others in the community. Coordinator Sylvie McGee of the Center for Community Based Learning and Action[8] came and spoke to us about the importance of "building a rolodex," and making connections as often as possible. She explained that many times over the decades she was allowed great success in her grant writing career simply because she maintained her friendships and connections with the community she was part of.

Again the importance of taking care of ourselves so we can take care of others can not be overstated. Our seminar spent much discussion time on this, and we related it to issues of Health Care. We talked about how the word 'care' in health care does not imply that we all truly care about everyone's health. Even though there is some care and modern medicine is compassionate, it is also economically constrained to be compassionate in a way that does not adequately ensures the preventive health care or community health care.

Constance Frey a local midwife came to our class to show us video of a baby being born. She suggested that being born, or giving birth is the most significant event of our life; that our notion of a healthy community is derived from the needs of childbirth. She spoke to us about the needs of babies and how that relates to what's healthy and unhealthy about modern medical care. She mentioned a new form of pre-natal care called 'centering.' Rather than just an expectant mother seeing a doctor for a brief visit, 'centering' is a regular gathering of expectant mom's who spend many hours with each other learning and sharing nutrition and medical knowledge. Constance made it clear that a community that's rooted in violence, poverty and oppression is a community that has higher accidental pregnancy rates, higher prenatal and para-natal needs. She emphasized that to the extent we all connect with mother's and babies from conception to age 2 is the extent to which we have a community of children who grow up to be socially competent, able to deal with stress, able to rise above hurtful and harmful behavior. If a mother feels loved and protected, if a baby feels loved and protected, a strong community can come out that. If not, our social fabric unravels in multigenerational ways.

Sadly, the state of our planet of communities is too often the opposite of the safe womb community that Kola creates. We are a world where there is too much malnutrition, domestic violence, drug abuse and teen pregnancy. Students in our seminar studied these issues and shared information with each other to help us better understand what it will take to address them in a significant way.

We also learned about the elderly and how the world's most resilient communities have elders who are actively engaged in teaching and caring for the children. Contrast this with the research of a student who spoke about the rapid rise of drug abuse among the elderly. The student explained how too often the elderly do not have access to drug abuse recovery programs because they are unfairly viewed as unrecoverable. To consider someone as unrecoverable is the antithesis of what a healthy community is.

These matters of life and death, of health and well being, of education and deliberation, of creation and destruction of our landscapes, they form the character and quality of our basic existence. On average each of us gets about 25,000 days of life on earth. What good can we do for others with this limited amount of time? Perhaps if we follow what's been outlined in this seminar our future generations will be grateful, rather than disheartened?

The first step is to look within, to start to figure out what inside ourselves need healing, what is it about ourselves that gives us a sense of contentment and joy. The next step is to embody and share these discoveries.

[1]

http://academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/mpahealthycommunities/

[2] See Appendix A (below)

[3]

http://kaos.evergreen.edu " Mole Medicine " with Lucas Anderson -Wednesday 8 to 9 p.m Native music and issues.

[4]

http://depts.washington.edu/waaction/

[5]

http://protectcommunities.org

[6]

http://www.kolocollaboration.org/

[7] Lappe, Frances Moore (2006) Democracy's Edge: Choosing to Save Our Country by Bringing Democracy Back to Life, Wiley: San Francisco, CA.

[8]

http://www.evergreen.edu/communitybasedlearning/

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Sidebar: Giving feedback is essential to the creation of Healthy Communities (HC). In this spirit I've offered a sample of each student's definition of a HC and then provided feedback for each.

A HC is a dynamic web of relationships assiduously educating all members about propitious lifestyles: nutrition, exercise, recreation, emotional health, lifelong learning, local economics, planning techniques, global and environmental awareness. –Robert

Feedback: The term dynamic web of relationships is a good way to explain what a healthy community is about. Within that dynamic web is "everything under the sun," which is a challenge to comprehend. This terminology and its use is essential to our intention, which is to move "everything under the sun," in the direction of a healthy community.

A HC is two components: dialog and fluidity. Dialog engages every person on an individual, group and global level through listening, learning, sharing stories, teaching, and exchanging ideas and information in an open cooperative environment. Fluidity involves the individual, group, or global ability to adaptively manage well being for all. –Alison

Feedback: The rigid social structures that built the Pyramids, the enslavement structures that built the economic engine of the US South, even the essence of the military industrial complex that creates huge profits for certain shareholders: It ceases to function in systems of dialog and fluidity. When the needs and interests of everyone involved are taken into account we cast off hierarchy and learn to grow and be healthy rather than violent towards each other.

A HC is a group or groups of people coming together for the mutual benefit of their respective organizations. A healthy community reflects values of diversity and pluralism in addition to physical, social, and mental health. A healthy community is that which seeks input from and empowers its participants / members to make change. –Evan

Feedback: What motivates us to come together? This seems like a primary concern if we are to be successful at creating a HC. It's fascinating how often our judgments of things as good or bad interferes with our ability to let diversity flourish? And how do we give people power? People have to truly want power in order to claim it, and most often we want power for ourselves rather than our greater community. Empowerment is a slippery slope.

A HC is where every voice is heard and considered, where every person feels valued, and a place where I want to raise my children. –Tracy

Feedback: It's curious to me what it takes for someone to feel valued. I imagine that everyone of us wants to feel valued, but none of have the same notion of how that is best done for us. In Buddhist teachings the ability to value everyone, to care and love for everyone, it's how we heal ourselves of our own suffering. Can you imagine if we were in a world where all of us were allowed to trade in our obsession with making money for an obsession with helping others?

A HC is where each member contributes to the well-being of the group in some way. These contributions, small or large, are not only essential to the stability of the community, but are enjoyed and encouraged by everyone. A healthy community does not exclude anyone, but instead welcomes individuals to join, learn, pitch in, and grow. -- Kate

Feedback: Too often I run into people who don't have much well-being to offer. At the times when they are asked to share a little well being with others they act insulted that someone wants kindness from them when no one offers them any kindness. The lesson is that what you give out is what comes back to you. So when we exclude others a sense of feeling excluded ultimately comes back to us. Therefore the way to a HC is to be the opposite exclusion.

A HC offers its members: safety; quality of life; clean environment; diversity; democracy; sustainability; resources to ensure basic human needs such as food, healthcare and housing; support systems; and an overall mental, social and physical well-being of the entire community. '-- Jessica

Feedback: It's interesting how the word 'safety defines' all the needs of a HC. Our current dilemma is that at least for a little while longer we understand the word safety to mean 1 out of every 365 US citizen's is in Jail. Safety also means making war on whole civilizations on the other side of the planet. To much of our attempts at creating safety are actually just a source of extreme misery.

A HC is an inclusive and engaged network of people that through open dialogue, flexibility and perseverance are working together to make positive change for the benefit of the community at large. …an intricately woven feedback system, necessitating the commitment of all able parts of the system to achieve an optimal balanced and healthy state for themselves and the entity as a whole. --Ariel

Feedback: Perseverance is so important. What do we persevere for everyday? Yet the perseverance Ariel is talking about is different than day-to-day perseverance. It's a demand even greater than perseverance through each day. It's forward thinking that wants to make life better for posterity. It reminds me of how much our forbears used the word posterity in reference to their offspring rather than how today we use the similar word prosperity in reference to our bank accounts. It's as if getting more than your share of money is what it means prosper in this world? What are the long-term impacts of such notions?

A HC strengthens and enhances a sense of belonging in the community. Provides a physical environment that supports the health of the community. Recognizes the value and expression of all members in the community, provides and facilities for the economic well being of community members- employment, transportation, childcare, banks, grocery stores. Enable resources to accomplish measures by bringing communities / people together so they can communicate, relate and identify their own needs. --Taniwha:

Feedback: This a great encapsulation of what our needs are as a HC. It reminds me of how important language and words are when it comes to understanding the why and the how of what we do when we say we want an HC.

A HC is a close network of family, friends or mentors that are there to guide each individual member. Elders sharing many years with youths, which allows them to stay alert and mentally healthy. It's a place, where meaningful social interaction is possible for all members. It's a place where everyone knows one another and is able to develop long-standing relationships with family, friends, church members, and colleagues. --Madina

Feedback: So often in western cultures our sense of importance is about how new, pure and refined something is becoming. The notion that something is outdated and often replaced by something that is newer and better is a notion that dehumanizes us. The lack of elders engaged with the raising our offspring is a greater concern than we are currently aware of. We need to integrate life and death. It's like how we are so quick to cut down a dead or dying tree when in truth nature needs dead trees to keep standing so there is housing for birds and bats that consume bugs like mosquitoes.

A HC is when individuals lead by example for others and not only take care of themselves and their immediate family but EVERYONE within their community.

--Shannon

Feedback: A HC works when there are enough people who have enough success in their own life that they want to give back and help others. Also important is that their giving back to others is not based on favoring any one type of social group or culture over another.

A HC is: a place where people are able to dwell and engage without worry of time constraints, lack of basic necessity, or fear of unjustifiable repercussions for an individual merely being themselves. It is a peaceful place and a happy place, a vibrant place and a holistic place. My definition of a healthy community is as small as each individual and as big as the world. This definition has expanded over the course of this program. --Jacob

Feedback: Taking back our time is essential to healthy living. An education on time, the history of the Calendar, the Mayan calendar and all other kinds of calendars need to be better understood. Mayan time understands that each day has a different personal-growth oriented atmosphere about it. How it works is that in cloudy climates in Olympia, what if the sun comes out? If we live by a clock that doesn't permit us to enjoy a rare day of sunshine we are not going to feel healthy. So how can we redefine the work of our community so the schedule isn't so strict? The Mayan calendar offer a solution to this dilemma.

A HC is cumulative effort between the numerous communities I feel a part of. Also Values 1) Incorporate principles that can agree on 2) Access services, general goods and transportation 3) Social services available to those in need 4) Limit gap between rich and poor 5) Ongoing options for involvement and action 6) Safe, secure housing. 7) Incorporates spiritual and individual needs for growth 8) Collaborative efforts for the greater good 9) Access to education 10) Gender, race, class, age, sexual orientation and all of the isms are appreciated and valued 11) Freedom of expression 12) Access to healthcare and means to live healthy lives. --Kris:

Feedback: It's interesting how this list can raise so many red flags of conflict if you imagine applying each them to the current local and global political climate. Regardless this itemization represents a simple decree of what every human being, (maybe every living being) ought to have as a birthright. The battle of the day is earning that birthright for future generations. Our ancestors too often squandered our rights to a healthy community at birth, now it up to us and future generations to reclaim these rights.

A HC is about looking at how community services are delivered, how information is shared, how local government operates and how business is conducted, and then determine better ways of how resources are allocated and decisions are made. Simply starting from existing community strengths and successes and building off those ideas, we can continue to develop an infrastructure that encourages and invests in the natural gifts of our resources and talents of people that would foster the "positive" change we so desperately need for our children's future. –Susan

Feedback: A central infrastructure that is more like friends and family and less like government is the essential ingredient. The extent we all work together on creating this living infrastructure, is the extent to which we live a quality life. What are our strengths?

What are we good at? We're good at lawn maintenance, we're good at building fences, we're good at dreaming and pursuing what we want. But with 6.7 Billion of us perhaps what we pursue on the landscape everyday can improve rather than degrade. Of course that depends on changing what 6.7 Billion humans dream about.

A HC is best summed with words of Wallace Stegner: " For somehow, against probability, some sort of indigenous recognizable culture has been growing... It is a product not of the boomers, but of the stickers, not of those who pillage and run but of those who settle, and love the life they have made and the place they have made it in. There are many of these, too, than there used to be, and they know a great deal more, and are better able to resist and sometimes prevent the extractive frenzy that periodically attacks them. " –Deane

Feedback: enough said!