I’ve observed a lot working with Chandler Park, but the thing that sticks out to me most is how the people working with the Healthy Neighborhood Initiative are ensuring everyone who wants to participate in the program has access. There are many barriers to getting individuals involved in the walking clubs, healthy habits meetings, and other parts of the program, and no matter how difficult no one is turned away. Just yesterday I sat in on a meeting about transportation. There are many individuals who want to be apart of the program but don’t have the means to get to the different events. In the meeting those involved with the HNI came up with multiple solutions to get those few individuals to the events. I think in the normal business world, if just a few people had an issue, they would just be unable to participate and be forgotten about.
Like our Tuesday speaker said, it’s hard to work to revitalize the neighborhoods of Detroit. It’s much easier to just throw money to building things downtown. I’ve observed that first hand at CPC, as we encounter many barriers to improving the community’s health through the Healthy Neighborhood Initiative.
