Changing the Narrative

01/28/19 • 52 min

Stories surround all of us, and the way they are told shapes how we make decisions in both conscious and unconscious ways. What influences the stories we see and hear? Whose voices are heard the most and who is being left out?

In this episode we examine these questions through the work of ThreeSixty Journalism, a nonprofit that uses principles of strong writing, reporting and media production to help diverse Minnesota youth tell the stories of their lives and communities.

For the second year in a row, during the summer of 2018, ThreeSixty and the Center for Prevention partnered together to conduct a one-week TV Broadcast Camp for high school students. The theme was health equity, with the goal of inspiring more active participation in creating more equitable, healthier communities. This work illustrates how changing the narrative, who is telling stories and how they are created, is an integral part of this goal.

Previous Episode

Special Edition: Leading Change in Health Equity

Minnesota is one of the healthiest states in the U.S., yet we have some of the worst health disparities.

The factors that play the greatest role in these health disparities — race, income and ZIP code — require community-led changes and solutions. It’s changes at this level, through workplaces and policies, along with communitywide change, that will lead to long term, sustained health improvement.

In this special edition of the State We’re In podcast, Anika Ward, Director of the Center for Prevention, has a conversation with her brother, Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, about his leadership in Saint Paul, and the City’s role in the health of its residents. They talk about bringing all voices to the table, especially those who have been excluded, to undo the policies and systems that have created the gaps we see in health, wealth, and education, and what it will take to create healthy and strong communities for generations to come.

The conversation continues with health advocates throughout Minnesota who talk about their different approaches to this work.

Next Episode

Independence and Interdependence

One of the key messages guiding the Center for Prevention’s mission to tackle the leading causes of preventable disease is around the importance of community. A thriving community is made up of people who care for and about each other; people who depend on one another.

The dominant health narrative says that health is about individual choices and behaviors. However, because of inequities built into our systems, policies and environments, not everyone has the opportunity or access to make healthy choices. We need to work together to change the systems and structures that hold us back from our full potential as healthy thriving communities.

In this episode, we invited LaTrisha Vetaw and Jill Chamberlain to have a conversation about the roles of individuals and of community, the importance that lived experiences and seeing yourself as a part of your community play in shifting the narrative around health – especially physical activity, access to healthy spaces such as parks and walking paths. LaTrisha has over a decade of experience serving her community, both as Health Policy and Advocacy Director at NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center and most recently as a Minneapolis Park Commissioner At-Large. Jill is passionate about supporting policy and systems change work around active living, serving as Senior Community Health and Health Equity Program Manager at the Center for Prevention.