In the final episode of the series, Suzanne Kelley and Richard Amore take a look back at how the Health Equity and Community Design Technical Assistance Pilot came about, share their takeaways from the program and reflect on how future work can take relevant concepts further. We’ll also hear from Charles T. Brown and Dr. Melicent Miller of Equitable Cities and Health Forward.

As part of the Health Equity and Community Design Technical Assistance Pilot program, about 25 Vermont communities applied for and received Technical Assistance, or “TA.”  When a community receives technical assistance, they get direct support and access to experts for consulting on public health projects. In this episode of the podcast, we’ll take you through two communities that received different kinds of TA from our support team. We’ll hear from Gail Isenberg and Meg Harris, community advocates in Cornwall whose vision for a place to play pickleball blossomed into a multi-purpose recreation and gathering area. We’ll also hear from organizer Michelle McCormick, who describes a mobility audit in downtown Marshfield.

Today, we dive into one part of the unique Technical Assistance Pilot program that wrapped up last year in Vermont.  One of the goals of the program is to provide extra capacity to municipal leaders who might want to, but not have the time, funds, or expertise on staff, to advance health equity through healthy community design and placemaking efforts.  When developing the idea for this project overall, Richard and Suzanne felt it was essential, if they were going to offer external “experts” to help towns advance health equity, that those experts included people from the populations we wanted to be sure were reached. So to make sure that the needs of all community members are being met, they developed the idea of  “Health Equity Ambassadors.”  Today you’ll hear from two health equity ambassadors about how working on the Technical Assistance pilot gave them a chance to make Vermont’s rural communities more equitable for everyone.

We’ve talked a lot on this show about community projects that inspire ordinary people to get involved in making the places they call home better. The Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development supports many of these grassroots projects through the Better Places program. In this episode of the podcast, we’ll explain what the Better Places program is and share how it empowers community leaders to create more vibrant, inclusive, and accessible places in small towns across Vermont.

In the spring of 2022, the US Surgeon General released an advisory calling attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection in our country. Social isolation is an issue nationally and people living in small and rural towns are certainly not immune. Rural places connected only by highways and dirt roads make it harder to get around if you don’t drive, and cold winters make it more difficult to enjoy outdoor activities and gathering places. Racism and socio-economic barriers can also make people feel isolated in the communities where they live. To make small towns into healthier places, we need to reduce isolation and improve feelings of social connectedness. We’ll hear from Arwen Turner, Executive Director of Come Alive Outside,  Sung-Hee Chung, activist and founder of Powered Magazine, and Kelly Stoddard Poor, Director of Outreach at AARP. Each of our guests today brings a different approach to enriching our social fabric and social connectedness. A sense of belonging can improve people’s lives by almost every measure, from physical health to mental well-being.

Having access to nutritious food is a key ingredient in health equity. But it can also be a key ingredient in building healthy communities where Vermonters feel connected to one another and their neighborhood. Food can bring people together to share their culture, their heritage, and give them a sense of belonging. Today we are focusing on gardening and produce. We are highlighting organizations and people that are helping to remove barriers to getting local fruits and veggies. Along the way, we’ll discuss the added social benefits of gardening together and sharing food. We’ll hear from Michelle Gates, the Executive Director of the Vermont Garden Network, and Nour El-Naboulsi, the Co-Director of The People’s Farmstand. We’ll also chat with Cindy Delano and Jethro Hayman, leaders in their respective community gardens.

On July 10th and 11th, 2023, Vermont experienced historic rainfall and devastating floods. Maybe you heard about this weather event on the news – or maybe you lived through it.  But you may not know how Vermont’s communities came together during the storms, and over the days that followed. Today, we’re focusing on stories of resilience. We’ll hear from the Mayor of Barre City, Jake Hemmerick, and the Executive Director of Montpelier’s library, Dan Groberg. We’ll also chat with the Executive Director of Friends of the Winooski River, Michele Braun, and Co-Director of The People’s Farmstand, Nour El-Naboulsi.

You might think that Vermont’s small towns have a lot of places for people to go and enjoy the outdoors. The state has so many opportunities for hiking, biking, skiing, and more. But rural towns don’t always have an accessible place for outdoor recreation and social gathering. Today, we’re going to share three different community projects in Vermont. These are outdoor gathering spaces that are designed for all to enjoy: Lake Paran , in North Bennington; Oakledge for All , in Burlington; and the Middlebury Skatepark Project , in Middlebury. Guests include Camille Kauffman, Director of Paran Recreations; Elizabeth Schumacher, Community Health Ambassador at Paran Recreations; Lindsey Restino, AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer at Paran Recreations; Annie Bourdon and Nate Besio, community volunteers at Oakledge For All; Jill Quackenbush, Secretary & Treasurer of the Middlebury Skatepark Project; and Ethan Murphy, President of the Middlebury Skatepark Project.

Active transportation like walking and biking is fun, healthy, and often more accessible than driving. Some people can’t drive, or can’t afford a car, and they’re disproportionately impacted when they’re unable to safely walk or bike to their destinations. Join hosts Suzanne Kelley and Richard Amore as they explore the joys and challenges of walking, biking and rolling in Vermont's small towns. You'll learn about implementing complete streets and pop-up projects, barriers to finding funding and political will for infrastructural improvements, and small actions that you can take to make a difference in your own community. Guests include Jonathon Weber, Senior Manager for the Complete Streets Program with Local Motion; Mary-Catherine Graziano, Senior Manager for Education and Safety Programs with Local Motion; Naomi Ranz-Schleifer, a community volunteer from Greensboro Village; Bryan Davis, a Senior Transportation Planner with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission; and Dan Castrigano, a climate educator who works with VPOP (Vermonters for People Oriented Places).

In this introductory episode to the podcast, you’ll learn about the importance of healthy community design in Vermont’s small towns and rural villages. Folks who live in these towns know that it can be hard to access fresh food, essential services, and safe places to exercise. Join hosts Suzanne Kelley and Richard Amore as they discuss how to revitalize towns that need a little spark; how Vermont community leaders strive to include everyone’s voices in their work; the state’s new Technical Assistance (TA) Pilot, and much more. Guests include Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont’s Commissioner of Health; Josh Hanford, Vermont’s Commissioner of Housing and Community Development; Michelle Gates, Executive Director of the Vermont Garden Network; Bryan Davis, a Senior Transportation Planner with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission; Lydia Petty, Vice Chair of the Select Board in Northfield, Vermont; and Annie Bourdon, a volunteer with Oakledge For All.