It Takes a Village
COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING … is a way of working with people to develop their ability to jointly influence what happens in their community.
Often the first stage in working to build community capacity involves building and strengthening links with communities. TorchLight has taken important steps to collaborate with influential community groups who have recognized the value of the service we provide. We are now involved with providing practical advice on planning, building, sustaining, monitoring and evaluating various capacity building initiatives in our community.
One such collaboration has developed with HealthLink where TorchLight is able to provide valuable call-out/ check-in support service to help sustain the health and safety of people living in our community.
“Wherever you turn, you can find someone who needs you. Even if it is a little thing, do something for which there is no pay but the privilege of doing it. Remember, you don’t live in a world all of your own.”
-Albert Schweitzer
In April 2014, the Guelph HealthLink Committee identified a need to:
- Deepen community provider engagement
- Initiate and engage Community Para medicine
- Link Guelph HealthLink processes with other community-wide “engagement hubs”
- Deliver regular communication for Health Link stakeholders via monthly/quarterly updates
TorchLight was invited to participate in a ‘think tank’ with like-minded organizations and agencies i.e.: CCAC, EMS, Hospice Wellington, etc. The stakeholders were entrusted with the responsibility of creating five projects to be developed and implemented that would address the identified needs. We are pleased with the enthusiasm clearly demonstrated by many community organizations that reaching out to citizens of our community would have a significant impact on the isolation and loneliness many people presently experience.
