A former League of Ireland soccer player is putting his passion for health into the community. Sylvia Thompsonreports
HEALTH promotion is often considered to be the Cinderella of the healthcare system, neglected in terms of the funds dedicated to it and the public attention it receives.
On a most basic level, healthcare professionals get greater attention for making (or not making) sick people better than keeping people well.
And while organisations such as the Irish Heart Foundation and the Irish Cancer Society are household names, they are often much better known for their fundraising efforts than their specific health promotion work.
Martin Lawlor, community activist and former League of Ireland soccer player, is passionate about health promotion at its most holistic level.
He believes people of all ages should be given the chance to take a proactive approach to preventing cancer, heart disease, mental illnesses and other problems in their communities.
“I have been delivering health and wellness programmes over the past seven years to people in the disability sector, to sports clubs and other community groups.
“During the talks, I give people information about nutrition, the body systems [cardiovascular, digestion, musculo-skeletal, immune system, etc], so that they can learn how to look after themselves better. I also tell people that their homes are the best gyms because they can do light exercise programmes without being self-conscious.”
This year, Lawlor decided to take his health promotion efforts one step further and next Saturday and Sunday, he has organised a free health promotion fair that he hopes will be the first of many in community centres across Dublin and beyond.
Co-ordinated by Lawlor’s not-for-profit organisation, Community Health Ireland, the fair in the Artane Recreation Centre, Dublin, will have more than 50 stands from both national and local health promotion organisations.
“This is the first time that national health support agencies such as Grow, Teenline, the Samaritans, Aware, the Irish Cancer Society and Age Action, will be together with community- based support groups such as Northside Counselling and Sphere 17, an after-school service based in Coolock,” he says.
“I have asked all those participating to take a proactive approach to people attending the fair and to create a receptive environment rather than a reactive response to a particular condition.
“Hopefully, that will encourage people to follow up with an organisation that they think can be of help to them,” he explains.
The fair also has an eclectic range of speakers, who will talk about conflict resolution, addiction, depression and anxiety, obesity, good communications and other topics.
“We want to let people in local communities know that support agencies are there for them. A lot of people don’t know about these agencies – apart from their fundraising work. “We also want to build up people’s confidence to engage with services, so that they won’t fall into poverty through anxiety and depression,” says Lawlor.
Another stipulation he has given the participating organisations is that fundraising is not to be carried out during the fair.
Speakers are giving of their time free and stallholders are not being charged for their stands. The fair is sponsored by medical diagnostics/health screening provider, Euromedic Ireland.
The community health fair model ties in with a conclusion of the Building Healthy Communities report from the Combat Poverty Agency (now subsumed in the Department of Social and Family Affairs) earlier this year.
In this report, the authors concluded that when local communities are engaged in healthcare initiatives, the initiatives are more relevant and effective in meeting their needs.
And while that report was about projects in specific areas or sectors rather than entire communities, it did point out the importance of bringing health information into communities as an essential way of reaching people in more marginalised groups.
Community healthcare activists are also looking forward to the roll-out of primary healthcare centres throughout the State. “It’s good to centralise care of people in their own communities, but I’d love to see the inclusion of disease-prevention and nutritional programmes in these primary care centres,” says Lawlor.
“I’d also like to see the development of health activists – people who would go onto the streets and interact with local communities and talk about how they are keeping fit and well,” he adds.
If he reaches his target audience at the weekend, he will be on the treadmill to develop his community health fairs further. “I see this fair as a pilot for four or five others that I hope to run within each of the four Dublin councils. In the long term, I’d like to roll it out on a regional basis in rural communities.”
Who will be there?
The Community Health Fair in Artane Recreation Centre, Kilmore Road, Dublin 5 runs from 11am-5pm on Saturday and Sunday. There will be stands from national healthcare agencies such as the National Cancer Screening Service, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland, Asthma Society of Ireland, Headstrong, the National Youth Council, Bodywhys, the Irish Association of Nutritional Therapy and Alcoholics Anonymous. Local support groups and health services such as Maryfield Ladies Club, Northside Counselling and Beaumont Hospital will also be represented.
Experts will talk about dealing with addictions, depression and anxiety and therapists will lead workshops in conflict resolution, emotional freedom techniques and drama therapy for teenagers.
Admission is free. More details on tel: 01-4433100 or see www.chihealth.ie