Use it or Lose it!

High Point Residents watch the actions from the 'bumping space'

I attended the High Point Community Health Fair in West Seattle on Friday. Much to the relief of the organisers (and to me...we have had a lot of rain of late...) - it was a gloriously sunny day which resulted in a great turn out from the community. High Point is a very diverse community and it was great to see so many people from different backgrounds working and mingling together.

The Health Fair was held at the High Point Centre where I'd visited earlier in the week to learn about the 'Be Active Together Project' (not to be confused with 'Altogether Better'...but has some things in common...which I'll come back to in a later blog).  The High Point Centre is, "a home for anti-poverty services that strengthen local families and support the development of a healthy, vibrant and green community” (see their website for more) and the health fair was a real hive of activity!

There was a ‘Healthy Food Walks’ encouraging people to explore the neighbourhood to find places they could access healthy foods including impressive looking produce from local market garden, a range of stalls and information from community groups and service providers, acupuncture sessions and physical activity sessions of all kinds.

There were also demonstrations from local community groups, including a line dancing session from the Providence Elizabeth House (PEH) Line Dancing Group. PEH is an independent residential facility for seniors and I got chatting to Charlotte and Kay who live at PEH and are committed members of the Line Dancing Group. Charlotte and Kay were proud of the Line Dancing Groups slogan,  “use in or lose it!”, emblazoned on their bright blue t-shirts. They dance once a week and visit other residential facilities for seniors, to demonstrate their dancing skills and encourage others to join in. Kay told me how much she valued the class, “I love it. I would do it every day if I could.”

Both Kay and Charlotte have lived in High Point for 5 years and seemingly love it - they told me a little more about why...

Charlotte and Kay from the PEH Line Dancing Group
and happy High Point residents.

Charlotte told me how residents of PEH came from all over the world, and whilst some of them did not have English as a first or second language, they all got along – as Charlotte said, “we have times when we sit and we share our stories and our histories...so we learn about where people have come from and how they live their lives…it’s really interesting and helps us understand one another.” She grinned as she added, “We are friends despite our differences.  We hug each other a lot…”…and I guess you can hug in any language.

Charlotte also pointed to the 'bumping space' and the small amphitheatre on the grass outside of the High Point Centre. She told me this was where people met to sit and chat or watch some local perfomance or activity. It's just across from PEH so is a great, yet very simple, facility for the residents and other community members.

Seems High Point is a community residents of PEH enjoy living in - and that the line dancing keeps them active, keeps them engaged, allows them to socialise and meet new people and seemingly helps keep them happy! Physical activity and social capital rolled into one….

A great day and some lovely, lovely people! :)