Choices for A Healthy Lifestyle
A community outreach program presented by the
Victoria Community Health Co-operative
Supported by:
About the Program:
We work to create and support a community where everyone enjoys optimal well-being. In 2010, with the help of a Vancity grant, the VCHC started Choices for a Healthy Lifestyle as our first community outreach program. Choices is offered as a group program of 4 to 8 sessions in drop-in centres, churches, community housing locations, community centres, and libraries.
We work with the host organization and potential participants to select topics based on the interests of the participants and the availability of presenters. Topics have included:
- Choices for healthy movement and exercise regardless of your level of mobility
- Choices for healthy eating on a tight budget
- Choices for recreation and relaxation on a tight budget
- Choices for transportation on a tight budget and with mobility challenges
- Choices for best selection of food and supplements to avoid incompatibility with medication
- Choices for dealing with stress, sleeplessness, anxiety
- Your Choices of useful resources in your community – learning from all participants what resources and organizations have helped them, or gather new ideas for fun activities
- And the ever-popular: Choices for glamour on a budget
Other topics can be offered including: mobility and gentle exercise, getting better sleep, relaxation techniques, entertainment on a budget, caring for animals, safe and affordable transportation options, dealing with stress, making friends, how to break bad news, and staying active even with a disability. If preferred by the host and participants, these can be action-oriented, participatory sessions that encourage questions, storytelling and group discussion or simply a lecture-style session.
How It Works:
A volunteer organizer from the Co-op is present at every session to help and to receive feedback from the participants, presenters and host organizer. If requested, we prepare resources, posters or flyers for use by the host organization as reminders of the program content.
For each of the sessions, we provide complimentary homemade and healthy snacks for the group. All of our presenters, snack makers and session organizers are volunteers – we enjoy organizing the programs and feel it is a useful way to serve our broad community.
What topic would work for your small group?
CONTACT US AT: vichealthcoop@gmail.com – phone or text to 250.857.3572