Outreach programs are targeted at
communities to build up community bonding, wellness and identity. Outreach
programs usually encompass a wide range of different programs geared towards
the need of a certain community. Some of the common areas that outreach
programs work at improving are:
- Health services
- Nutrition services
- Educative services
These are the most important areas in
which communities need help. Apart from that, depending on the community, other
programs may be offered. For example, if the outreach program is geared towards
the Spanish communities, the program may include services to help the children
of the community understand their culture. If it is a farming community, the
outreach program may include tips on self sufficient farming and helping the
farmers work out how best to get returns for their products. Outreach programs
are diverse and only restricted by what the community needs.
A look at how outreach programs help
Outreach
programs are geared to empower communities
into making lifestyle changes that will help make their lives better. Let us
take a look at some of their services.
Health services
The health services of these
community programs educate communities on hygiene, pregnancy, contraception,
diseases etc. They ensure that families in the community are observing basic
hygiene, and that teenagers are educated on the harms of substance abuse and on
sex. They check if children are being given their immunizations and are taken
for regular medical checkups, and that older people are looked after. They have
free health screenings for blood sugar, diabetes, pre-diabetes, Body Mass
Index, and blood pressure at clinic events, and home visits. They may also
provide health education to the community regarding chronic disease prevention
and wellness promotion.
Nutrition Services
Communities are educated on what a balanced diet is and helped to plan a healthy diet with the resources they have. They are also taught how important a fitness program is to ensure a healthy life. When checking them medically, if any deficiencies or anomalies are detected, then individuals are counseled on what kind of food they need to eat to supplement or overcome the deficiency or reduce their risk for other ailments. Outreach programs usually have a registered dietician / certified diabetes educator who provides nutrition education and cooking classes. Individual nutrition services are available as well as monthly nutrition classes.
Education services
The educative programs do not just
address education for children. They have adult education classes too.
Volunteers make sure that children of various communities are attending school
and receiving education. If not, many outreach programs actually have educators
and facilitators going to communities, to take classes for children.
Aim of community outreach programs
Community programs do not just
restrict themselves to building awareness of the community, towards education
and health. They also try to help a feeling of oneness to develop in the
community. They have family days, parent’s days, children’s day, senior’s days
etc. They also celebrate national holidays and holidays that are of relevance
to that community. They make it interesting by having art programs or other
activities which help the children understand their heritage better.
These programs aim to better the life
of communities by making them aware of many resources that they can get, which
will help them make their life better. They also help bring the members of a
community together, get to know one another, understand each other and help
themselves and their neighborhood. This kind of bonding brings a self of pride
to the community and very often the lifestyles of the members of the community
improve by leaps and bounds.
Outreach programs are usually run by
volunteers who want to better the lives of their community!
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