5 Ways to Embrace Your Community for Your Health

Part 2: Embrace your community: Boost your health

In Part 1, we discussed how your community has the potential to boost your health.

We also covered how healthy communities are those that make opportunities for their members to grow in their control and transformation of health and wellness.

Now lets make this really practical so we can all begin creating healthy communities wherever we live!

After all, getting connected with your community might just be the missing part of your health journey.

1) Participate:

Being an active part of your community looks different for everyone but we can all do it. Get to know your community by connecting with your local library, city government, community programs, the arts and more. As you develop connections, more opportunities will come to benefit your community and your health.

2) Healthy Community Initiatives:

Find out if there is a healthy community initiative in your area. Do they host events and education you can participate in? Is there a way to get involved perhaps even giving of your time and talents to boost the program? When you do what you can, others will naturally want to get involved too.

3) Get Moving in Your Community:

Locate local parks, walking trails, recreation centers, programs and other opportunities to get physically active in safe and healthy ways in your community. You might be surprised at how much is available to you at little or no cost. And if you can’t find a local class or group, start one yourself. I am always amazed at what happens when a few local people band together for a common interest!

4) Community Revitalization:

Many communities have programs in place to help those in need or seniors who cannot take care of their properties on their own anymore. These programs help keep the community healthy by lowering the risk of crime, helping identify community members who might be falling through the health system cracks,  helping maintain property values, reducing pest & chemical hazards and much more.

5) Volunteer:

Giving of your time and talents is one of the most powerful ways to impact your community. Whether it is mentoring a teen, tutoring a child, visiting a senior, serving water at a local 5K, cleaning up trash or shelving books at the library, you are able to better the place you live and the people around you. Check out volunteer opportunities in your local community and jump in today!

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There are lots of other ideas you can try. The key is to pick one and get started now.

It is never too late to begin.

And make sure to tell me about your own community experiences by commenting below.