The Path to Good Health
Some already know exactly what they want to change in their community to make things better. Knowing where to start can sometimes be the hardest part. This section will ask you to think about what might be causing the issue or problem.
To get us thinking, take 4 minutes to watch the video we call “The Path to Good Health”. While you are watching, think about how your surroundings influence you and your ability to do what you want to do. You might also want to think about others in your community and how their surroundings may be different than yours. After you watch the video you can share what you think might be causing the issues you want to address!
What is Driving a Wedge Between Your Community and Health?
Did you see yourself in any of the story? How about the stories and paths of others? Is your path easier or harder? It is sometimes easy to forget that everyone’s path is not the same. But as the video points out, shaping the landscape or the environment that surrounds us all is a smart way to address the causes of the issues we want to change. Making changes to the environments that surround us makes it easier for EVERYONE to achieve their goals, and in the long-term makes our communities healthier.
In thinking about what you want to improve in your community, consider the change you want to see or the problem you want to address. What are some of the ‘causes’ of the problem? Identifying and addressing these underlying causes or ‘wedges’ are important for improving the health of a community.
unhealthy environment
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environment
Think about the issue or problem you want to address. The rock represents the health issue you want to move and change. The pieces of the environmental wedge are those things that make change either doable or impossibly challenging. If your team can remove some of those challenge wedges it can make moving the health rock much easier!
Let’s try it out… You can print the “What is Driving a Wedge Between Your Community and Health?” worksheet below to help your team explore various ideas. Pick the community change or health issue your team wants to move and write it on the rock. Then answer each of the questions in the environment wedge that are supporting or holding back everyone’s ability to move the issue or health rock. You may need to brainstorm with your team but see if you can come up with a few ideas for each wedge of your community’s environment.
