Northern Health announces Men’s Health seed grants

Northern Health’s Men’s Health program is providing up to 15 seed grants of $1000 each to communities across the region to build a Men’s Health Coalition, modeled after the award-winning Road Health initiative that brought partners together to successfully reduce rates of motor vehicle crash-related deaths and injuries.

NH’s Men’s Health initiative launched with the November 2010 release of then-chief medical health officer Dr. David Bowering’s report on the health and wellbeing of men and boys in Northern BC. The report recognized the need to build stronger links to communities, since so much of what determines health outcomes for men and boys happens in the community rather than the health care setting. The grants are available to community partners who can establish and sustain local Men’s Health Groups that will feed into a larger, region-wide Men’s Health Coalition.

The goals of the Men’s Health Coalition are:

* To build a coalition of Men’s Health Groups that will provide sustainable programs, services, and activities that promote healthy eating and safe, active living for men in the North

* To create knowledge networks across the North that promotes new and innovative health promotion tools and techniques

* To showcase people and organizations working in the North to improve men’s health in local communities

* To create linkages between industry partners and the Men’s Health program

Men’s Health seed grants can be used to build on existing relationships between community-based organizations, businesses, industry partners, faith and cultural organizations and service clubs, or to launch new partnerships.

To learn more about this new grant opportunity or to obtain a copy of the Terms of Reference and Application, interested parties can call (250) 645-6348 or send an email to menshealthnorthernhealth.ca