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SOMERVILLE COMMUNITY HEALTH AGENDA
Click here to
read the Wellbeing of Somerville 2006: Special Edition on Youth
report.
Click
here to read the Wellbeing of Somerville 2002 health of the
city report.
Click
here for the Guide to Somerville Community Groups and Coalitions.
The Somerville Community Health Agenda (SCHA) is an innovative
partnership between Cambridge Health Alliance, Somerville Health
Department and the community that facilitates collaborative community
processes to improve the health of Somerville residents. The SCHA
is guided by the principles of Healthy Communities:
- A broad definition of health that goes beyond the absence of
disease to address root cause issues in communities
- A collaborative, consensus-based approach to problem-solving
that involves a diverse group of people from the community
- An assets approach that defines people and relationships based
on their skills and abilities rather than their needs and deficits
- Addressing our challenging at a broad systems level rather than
doing another short-term, low impact project
- Benchmarking and measuring progress and outcomes
- Realizing shared community values and projecting those values
into a compelling vision of the future
The SCHA recognizes that health is greatly influenced by many things
around us, including social, economic, political, and environmental
factors as well as our own behaviors.
Core activities include collecting, assessing, and disseminating
community health data, community visioning, coordinating systems
change efforts, and facilitating coalition development.
The SCHA supports community coalitions that work on issues which
affect health and quality of life such as substance abuse prevention,
suicide prevention, youth development, children's oral health, nutrition
and physical activity promotion, and environmental change and improvement.
In 2003-2004, the SCHA has been involved with implementing an improved
Youth Risk Behavior Survey, coordinating the process to establish
a citywide Youth Council, grantwriting to increase the capacity
of Somerville Cares About Prevention, and coordinating the Mayor's
Taskforce on Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Promotion.
The SCHA regularly produces the Well-Being of Somerville report,
and Guide to Somerville Community Groups and Coalitions.
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Contact
Information
Lisa
Brukilacchio
Director of Somerville Community Health Agenda
Somerville
Hospital
230 Highland Ave, SON Rm 502
Somerville, MA 02143
phone:
617-591-6940
fax: 617-591-6949
email: lbrukilacchio
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