The Power of Healing

As I sat around with my cup of coffee, I was pondering over random ideas and thoughts for my next blog. Then an idea struck me, I thought why not I write something about the ways community programs have extended their support to families. In fact, in our seminar when we discussed about community kitchens, it reminded me of my own experiences as a co-facilitator for South Asian Heart health program organized by the Toronto Public Health.

Indeed I noticed similarities between the community kitchen and the program which I took part in. In these programs, mothers get an opportunity to cook healthy food and share recipes with other mothers who are part of the program. They are also allowed to bring their kids to these programs. Usually these programs are targeted towards lower income and middle income families. However, there were slight differences between both these programs. In community kitchens, participants are required to contribute a small amount of money to share the cost of purchasing and preparing healthy meals whereas the “Cooking for your Heart series” sessions are rendered to these families at a free cost. Mostly the community kitchens are usually held thrice a month. But these heart health programs run for 4 sessions each three hours long. At the end of the last session, participants are asked to complete an evaluation form which asks them to identify what they learned in these sessions and the heart healthy changes they intend to make. They are also mailed a certificate saying that they successfully completed the program. The South Asian Cooking “For your Heart series” programs is funded by the Toronto heart Health partnership. On the other hand, the funding for the Community kitchen programs is usually provided by the government. Now that I have given you a general overview of these programs, let me turn my focus towards understanding their power of healing families and communities.

Even though there were slight variations between these programs, but what I commonly noticed in these programs was that their goals and objectives were pretty much the same. These community programs provide an opportunity for these mothers to build their skill set around cooking and allows them to practice food safety techniques at home. By networking with others, individuals also get information about the various support groups which are available in the community. And the best part is these programs help create a sense of belonging. Being part of the program and talking to others helps people to share and discuss their problems and issues thereby creating mutually supportive relationships. Families also learn about affordable and accessible daycares which are available for their kids by interacting with others in these programs.

In our seminar two weeks ago we discussed if community kitchens are beneficial in reducing social/health inequalities. Surprisingly there were a wide variety of mixed responses. Some said yes, while others no and still others both yes/no. Those in favour of these programs felt that they help reduce stigma and provide immediate support for families. On the other hand, those who were not in support of these programs felt that it was just a band-aid solution and only reinforced stereotypes and victim blaming. They also felt that these programs were not effective in solving the major underlying issues like poverty. Yes, although it is true that that these programs only provide short term relief for families but when an individual loses a job what he/she requires is immediate support at that moment and not a long term solution for his problem. Having said this, I feel that these community programs are doing a tremendous job in helping families cope with their crisis. As rightly said in one of the blogs by Daniella, there is definitely no easy solution to the problem of social inequality but these little things can really provide a temporary relief. I fully agree with this statement as I feel that even small steps taken by the community can really help make a difference in the lives of people.

Be it places like Scott Mission or St Francis Table as Daniella mentioned or community kitchens or South Asian Heart Health programs, what I noticed about these programs is their power to heal families.

To read Daniella's blog follow this link http://thinkbreatheeat.blogspot.com/2010/02/lending-helping-hand.html