Hope Health and Well-Being Initiative yields early results

• The establishment of youth councils as part of a collaborative mobile youth health and wellness outreach program.
• The facilitation of 15 mental health and substance use workshops.
• The launch of a volunteer information website, volunteer database and Volunteer Week workshops.
• The coordination of more than 400 visits to the Hope Medical Centre to address health concerns that previously required patients to travel to Chilliwack. Now, specialists are brought into the centre on specific days of the week to provide obstetrics, gynecology, surgery, prenatal care, respiratory services and physiotherapy.
• The expansion of a volunteer door-to-door transportation program to serve people with mobility or transportation barriers living in Hope and the communities of the Fraser Canyon. Designed to better connect them to health and community services, the initiative has already logged 10,780 kilometres and more than 218 hours on the road.
• The formation of the Hope Food Collective Society and Smoking Bylaw Committee.
• The leveraging of a one-time $25,000 grant into $500,000 in funding by AdvantageHOPE, who used the grant to complete their active transportation plan and apply for a BC Rural Dividend grant. The funds will be used to build accessible trails throughout the Hope community.

“The early successes we have seen are truly a testament to the power of many partners coming together to achieve a common goal of a healthier, more engaged community,” said Petra Pardy, executive director for the Health Services of Chilliwack, Hope, Agassiz and the Fraser Canyon. “This work would not be possible without strong partnerships at all levels, and the organizations and individuals involved in this work should be proud.”

“While it takes time to address and improve indicators such as access to healthy food and recreation, it is inspiring to see the results our grant recipients have generated in just six months,” said Dr. Josh Greggain, site medical director at Fraser Canyon Hospital. “It takes a united community to improve the health and well-being of its residents, and I am looking forward to seeing continued achievements in the weeks and months ahead.”

In addition, Fraser Health awarded $50,000 in smaller micro health grants last year to several organizations in support of community-based projects that benefit the overall health of Hope and the surrounding communities of the Fraser Canyon. Early results include the creation of a family community garden in Hope and the pending construction of a new playground in the Silver Creek community. Four organizations were awarded new micro health grants earlier this week to support local initiatives, including helping children in low income families to participate in the arts and building a track at a local school. For the full details about each micro health grant recipient, please see the attached backgrounder.

“Hope is already a strong, engaged community, and I am inspired and extremely proud of the progress we have made in just six months to improve access to important health and social services,” said District of Hope Mayor Wilfried Vicktor. “The partnerships we are developing at all levels will serve us well as we continue towards our goal of improved health and wellness in our community.”