REPLAY: North End Matters Episode 1

Welcome to the inaugral broadcast of North End Matters.  This is the first in a 14 part series on the social determinants of health in Halifax’s North End explores the subject of Finance.  Host Charla Williams talks to business owner Pam Cooley and local councillor Dawn Sloane.  They’ll examine everything from how micro-financing might help disadvantaged people change their prospects to businesses in the North End.

“Can We Talk?” becomes “North End Matters”.
 
Many academics are happy just to get their research papers published, but Dr. Ingrid Waldron
of Dalhousie University’s School of Occupational Therapy has taken her findings out of
Academia and to the streets. Starting Wednesday, June 20th at 4PM, and every second
Wednesday all summer, Dr. Waldron is reaching out to the people most affected by policy
decisions in the North End and offering real dialogue with the decision makers.
 
Produced by Pink Dog Productions for Dr. Waldron, and hosted by haligonia.ca, this online
series is based on her 100 page research study ‘Challenges and Opportunities: Identifying
Meaningful Occupations in Low Income, Racialized Communities in North End Halifax’.
In the winter Pink Dog Productions produced a video that served as a stimulus for a diverse
group of people to discuss and maybe even find solutions to the cycle of poverty and its
devastating effect on health (and therefore on our economy). A forum was held at the North
Branch Library in February that stimulated dialogue and offered new and creative ideas.
 
But so often that is where great ideas end – at what “should” be done. Not with Dr. Waldron.
 
North End Matters is the next step in her research about the social determinants of health.
Through her research, Ingrid shines a light on the alienating effects of poverty, race and gender
inequalities, and how they relate to health in the North End. Combined with a lack of meaningful
occupations and meaningful opportunities, the effect is deleterious to the future of the North End
and, in turn, to Nova Scotia. Ingrid’s research brings modern tools and previously unthought-of
humanizing solutions to alleviating these issues.
 
North End Matters is an online talk show that brings in policy makers and service providers
to discuss upcoming changes in the North End. We hope it will be a lively and enlightening
series that finds solutions that suit all interests. We are designing the show to live stream and
use chat services like windows live messenger so that even the most disadvantaged can pose
questions to our guests about how these changes will affect their community. Ingrid and her
production crew are looking to organize computer hubs so that people who do not have access
to a computer can join in.
 
This is a very exciting project. We hope it will inspire meaningful dialogue and creative ideas.
 
For More Information:
 
Aaron Johnson or Sarah Wakely at: pinkdogvideos@gmail.com or 429-3647

 

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