Connected Conversations: Health Creation in Cumbria

Free, facilitated walks bringing local civic folks together to share perspectives that create places where people & communities can thrive. Our Health Creation walk offers you an opportunity to think out-loud in the company of senior allies from the local authority, NHS, education, policing, local businesses & community groups. We go upstream of illness prevention, to explore how we create the conditions for healthier neighbourhoods to thrive. Because health cannot be delivered by any one organisation. It requires strong relationships and open discussions across sectors and organisations for the creation of the right soil conditions needed for good health outcomes to emerge. As one community member said, “You cannot change an individual’s behaviour without changing the relationships and environment that surrounds them”. We are best served by starting with “what’s strong” rather than “what’s wrong” about the place, and asking “what matters” rather than “what’s a matter” to the people who live there. In other words, how can we be on tap - rather than needing to be on top, to help communities become healthier? Our walk offers no hierarchies, no job titles, no performance pressure – just space to chat openly about what you’re noticing and what’s really happening in this sphere. Who should come along? People whose work or lived experience connects with the health of our communities, including: • NHS, public health, community health and social care colleagues. • Council colleagues working in neighbourhood services, housing, planning and transport. • Voluntary organisations, charities, community groups and social enterprises. • Education, policing and local business colleagues. • People of all ages bringing lived experience and knowledge of their communities. The walks are hosted by experienced facilitators Jane Fisher and Steve Shepherd who encourage different perspectives and hold a space to sit with the uncertainty of these complex challenges, allowing a fuller understanding to develop. Be prepared to come away with fresh perspectives, new allies and ideas to inform your work. Because all of us are smarter than any one of us…