About
Community Health Networks
Island Health’s Community Health Networks bring together multiple partners to improve community health and wellness by catalyzing collective action to address locally prioritized social determinants of health and modifiable risk factors in a way that no one group, or sector could alone. CHNs enable a societal approach to health promotion by mobilizing the influence and resources of local leaders and partners from across sectors including local governments, local First Nations, educational institutions, Divisions of Family Practice, non-profit organizations, business sector representatives, provincial ministries; as well as the influence and action of community members from diverse backgrounds who may not be affiliated with any particular organization.
Health Networks facilitate dialogue and understanding amongst citizens and stakeholders, build partnerships and capacity; share ideas and resources and create innovative solutions that impact the social determinants of health and work towards sustainable healthy communities. CHN’s are grounded in research, facilitate collaboration, action and connections for good health in our communities. Together stakeholders focus on prevention, wellness and health promotion, leveraging existing resources, building on community strengths and assets, generating system change and co-creating equitable and health promoting policies, programs, infrastructure and amenities.
NOW is one of seven Community Health Networks (CHNs) across Vancouver Island working towards sustainable healthy communities and is funded in part by Island Health.
Who We Are
The NOW Network is a network of people, agencies and organizations within the Regional District of Nanaimo who share a vision of enhanced wellness for all those living here. Working together NOW members seek to foster a shared understanding of our communities’ strengths and identify opportunities where we can collaboratively support community driven initiatives to positively impact social determinants of health taking a preventative and upstream approach.
We do this by:
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"Networking the Networks" across the region
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Providing support to and building capacity for collaborative systems change across the region
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Acting as a community conveners to catalyze collective action to improve wellness
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Fostering collaborative and shared communication across communities
By "journeying together as one" (Naut'sa mawt), we are leveraging our regional funding, reducing duplication of effort and increasing the capacity of member organizations, agencies and community members to improve wellness for every resident in our communities.
Our Vision
Naut’sa mawt - Journeying together as one, we strive to improve health equity and wellbeing for all community members in the Regional District of Nanaimo.
Our Values
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Collaboration – Building relationships and partnerships with integrity, honesty, transparency and having a willingness for open dialogue and sharing.
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Belonging – Creating an inclusive and culturally safe space for all. All are welcome.
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Respect – Honouring each other’s strengths and celebrating different voices
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Courage – Taking a leadership role when appropriate, staying strong when faced with adversity, speaking up when others cannot, and being willing to listen to ideas other than our own.
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Compassion -Meeting people where they are at and taking action to build equity and resilience.
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Love - It equals the passion that gets us up in the morning. It drives the change that needs to happen in the world. It can move us from the status quo to making systems-level changes.
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Enjoyment - Connects us. Anchors us in the community and helps us stay the course.