Salford Healthy Communities - 0161 736 9207

Salford Healthy Communities helps prevent Long Term Conditions by involving local people in awareness raising and activities

We believe that 'People are not the problem. They are the solution'. That philosophy is at the heart of Salford Healthy Communities Collaborative. In fact, people are amazing. They come with ideas, creativity, local knowledge and insight about what the 'problems' are and what the answers might be,

By bringing communities together into local teams, we test out ideas about what makes a difference. We have teams based around local areas, we have teams of interest or identity (such as the Jewish Team) and we also plan to work with new teams (such as people with learning disability).

Each of these teams have regular meetings, where they make plans and catch up. People attend local community groups and events, to raise awareness about symptoms of cardiovascular disease and cancer. It's actually great fun and often very creative. We work with local services and often help them with their activity. Training is provided and expenses are met. We have a Salford HCC team who are there to help community members.

Our team members (or volunteers) come from all walks of life with a variety of reasons for wanting to get involved. One common theme reoccurs; that of wanting to do something positive. Because of this, Salford Healthy Communities focuses on encouraging our team members to really influence the choices of where and how we work. This includes going to community festivals, supermarkets, pubs and anywhere else that might be interesting to engage local people. We deliver a serious message by being as imaginative and fun as possible, through the power of local people

As part of the collaborative nature of the project, agencies like the British Heart Foundation, The Stroke Association, Macmillan Cancer and the NHS Health Bus have all been involved, offering training, providing resources and getting involved directly with local people.

If you would like to know more about the project, know of groups that might wish to get involved or have an interest, or would like to join one of the teams please get in touch with SalfordHC@uni.uk.net

Tags: Community Organization,Non-Profit Organization