Transformative Change in Action

Over nearly a decade working as a health promoter at Bridges Community Health Centre in the south of Niagara Region, Lori Kleinsmith has driven herself and others to find ways to impact public policy to support health and wellbeing. 

Healthier Community Builders are people who work in partnership and cooperation with others to create the conditions for everyone to achieve their best possible health and wellbeing. They could be staff or volunteers at an Alliance member centre, or even a board member from the community. Or perhaps they are a partner who works more widely, but whose work intersects with health and wellbeing, such as a coach, community organizer, or local leader. 

On May 9, Country Roads Community Health Centre celebrated 30 years of exceptional primary health care in rural Southeastern Ontario. The occasion was marked with live music (with Executive Director Marty Crapper throwing down some mean bass alongside local musician Melanie Weber), a shared meal, and some poignant reflections by community members and leaders. People shared stories of helping to steward the CHC from humble roots – half a day a week in a single room – into the hub of community-governed comprehensive primary health care that it is today.

Last week, Jodi Pearce, a health promoter at Windsor Essex Community Health Centre, received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from Health Promotion Canada. We spoke to Pearce about the importance of health promotion and what's made possible when the role is embedded in comprehensive primary health care