COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP ACTION MODEL

Creating healthy communities requires people, lots of people. But the beauty of the Community Health Trust is that much of what needs to get done is accomplished by volunteers. Sometimes, volunteers can even do the job better because they share a stake in the outcome. That's why it's best to organize volunteers from the very towns you're trying to impact. We call it the Community Partnership Action Model.

For our pilot towns, health officers and educators from the two counties took an active role in helping to introduce and launch projects in communities. They met with local government officials to review the mission of the Community Health Trust,

Representatives from the communities expressed both excitement and cautious optimism. As with any unique concept, careful questioning by boards of health and education, town councils and citizens alike were fielded by health officers and school leaders as concerns were addressed to help avoid misconceptions. As the action teams move forward, the Community Partnership Action Model calls for the local public health departments and school superintendents to serve as the hub for all activities and efforts in reaching out to towns.