Thank you for writing to us at the Community Tool Box. Especially since we are living in a time of limited public funding, we interpret community health support services broadly, and believe that many of them can be provided outside of formal health care organizations. For example: Many such "services" are preventive, such as walking clubs, or exercise groups. Walking or biking to work, and in general, helps improve general health. There's also good evidence that citizen-led self-help groups can be helpful in giving support for a variety of health-related conditions. In schools, citizens and parents can advocate for sound nutrition programs to build health and reduce obesity. Training and utilization of health care practitioners on a given block, as in the Block Nurse program started in St. Paul, Minnesota, or in a church, as in various parish nursing programs across the country, are excellent ways of maximizing available resources. There's also much evidence that having friends and a good support system in one's community provides actual health benefits for people. For those with Internet access, we also encourage use of Web sites such as WebMD and NetWellness. All of these options are of course available to everyone, but can be targeted more specifically to the uninsured or underinsured. None of this is meant to be a substitute for direct health care; policy change is clearly needed here. But these supports can be helpful while advocacy for such change is going on. We hope this may give you some ideas that you can develop further on your own. Thank you again for writing, and all best wishes for continued success in your community work.
