HEALTHY VALLEY 2000

Coalition for Healthy Cities and Communities in the United States

VISION: Healthy People, Healthy Communities in a Healthy Country.

MISSION: The Coalition for Healthy Cities and Communities in the United States is a partnership of entities from the public and private sectors collaborating to focus attention and resources on improving the health and quality of life of communities through community- based development. The Coalition stimulates and encourages collaborative action and efficient use of resources from multiple sectors and community systems.

GOALS/OBJECTIVES: The goal of the Coalition is to promote the initiation, development and sustainability of healthy people and healthy communities.

The Coalition has identified the following to assist in achieving our vision:

• To communicate the vision, mission and values to diverse community systems.
• To promote a concept of health that recognizes that people's health and quality of life are dependent on many community systems and factors - not just a well-functioning health and medical care system. There are formal and informal community systems. These systems can be grouped into Program Areas, e.g., schools, housing, safety, recreation, volunteer groups, workplace, family, non-profit organizations, preventive services, faith, media, nutrition, government, legal, public health, health services; and Process/Governance/infrastructure, e.g., planning, governance, education, transportation, sewage, water.
• To encompass a broad definition of community that goes beyond geographic and governmental boundaries.
• To explore ways in which collaboration could: assist to achieve greater results than through independent action, link the many initiatives geared toward promoting healthy communities; and maximize the use of resources at the national state and local levels.
• To examine and disseminate "lessons learned".
• To relate the healthy communities agenda to the agendas of other organizations whose goals and initiatives result in improving the quality of life of communities and their residents and to achievement of the Healthy People 2000 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives.
• To increase the diversity and broaden the Coalition partnership through continued development of the network of organizations committed to the Vision, Mission and Goals of the Coalition.
• To develop systems to measure progress and impact.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES: The organizations that form the Coalition have a strong history of commitment, concern and active involvement in improving the overall quality of life and the health of the people of the United States. Although much has been done by Coalition members and numerous others, there is still a great deal to do. While progress is made in some arenas, there is often a decline in others, leaving gaps in our standard of living and health status. The Coalition members, recognizing these gaps, have come together because of a sense of urgency to address these important issues at an accelerated pace. To be successful, the Coalition believes that its work must demonstrate shared values that are consistent with the civic and collaborative nature of its work.

The guiding principles below reflect the way in which work is conducted among the Coalition members and in relationship to communities it intends to serve.

• Our fundamental value is to further human dignity and social justice in all our endeavors.
• We will conduct all our work and relationships with a sense of courage, hope and the possibility for great achievements. In this, we will celebrate our successes -- big and small -- with joy and a sense of working towards a purpose greater than the sum of individual projects.
• All work will be conducted under a participatory process with all involved having an equal voice.
• We will work to understand, respect and promote the diversity of each other and the people whom we serve.
• We will establish a common ground from which our values spring and assure equity and reciprocity in all our dealings.
• We will have open and honest communication.
• Local and personal empowerment will be a tenet of our work. We will promote meaningful community involvement, the creation of a civil society and a focus on the common good.
• We will encourage the removal of barriers to improvement and create processes to assure long term sustainability.
• We will collaborate, work together and mediate areas of disagreement.
• We will be mutually accountable to each other and to those with whom we work by promoting the best use of institutional, community, and human resources.
• We commit ourselves to collaboration in which each entity is committed to the success of the efforts of other partners to improving community health and quality of life.
• The work done by the Coalition will be sensitive to and respectful of the work of each of the individual organizations. their autonomy and core business.
• We will "model" the type of collaboration that we encourage in others.

The Hospital Research and Educational Trust has volunteered to coordinate inquiries about the Coalition. For further information or if you are interested in participating, contact Cynthia Washington at HRET 312/422-2633.

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