Our Healthy Housing Action Guide was released in June! The guide is a helpful primer on how a Healthy Communities approach to housing policies can support health and well-being in your community. With a variety of rural and urban examples, the guide provides ideas and inspiration for communities across the province. Get the Guide.

We released our Healthy Community Engagement Action Guide in August! Full of information, strategies, community examples and resources, it’s designed to help local governments ensure their engagement processes are inclusive and equitable. Look for the checklist on page 10 guideline for a quick assessment of your community's community engagement processes. Get the Action Guide.

The City of Vancouver has a bold and ambitious strategy to build a healthy city for all by 2025. The Healthy City Strategy and Action Plan is a long-term plan for healthier people, healthier places, and a healthier planet. The strategy recognizes the collective responsibility to build a healthy city, encouraging all sectors to work together to accomplish powerful change. Read the story.

Northern Health covers the entire northern two-thirds of British Columbia, serving a diverse population of 300,000. There is no typical day in Hughes’s line of work. As a healthy settings advisor, she helps to support and connect communities with resources, data and funding opportunities. But her work differs depending on the context and needs of each community. Read about how she dedicates her time to cultivating trust and relationships.

The Province is providing $5 million over three years  to support local governments in reducing poverty at the local level. The Poverty Reduction Planning & Action program offers two funding streams of up to $150,000 per region to create plans or take action to reduce poverty. Applications require Council or Board resolution and are due February 28, 2020. More information on how to apply.

UBCM is accepting applications for the 2020 stream of Age-friendly communities grants until Jan. 17, 2020. Eligible communities can receive up to $25,000 for age-friendly assessments and action plans, and $15,000 for age-friendly projects. Learn more about the Age-friendly Grant program.

Island Health's annual Community Wellness Grant program has begun accepting applications for their 2020/21 grant stream. Eligible local governments and non-profit organizations in the Island Health service area can receive up to $12,000 for individual grants, while organizations partnering for a larger project can receive more funding. The application deadline is Feb. 26, 2020. For more information and to learn about past grant recipient projects, visit the Island Health Community Wellness Grants website.

Northern Health's IMAGINE Grants will begin accepting applications again in March 2020. This grant program has distributed over $2.5 million from 2008-2018, funding over 860 healthy communities projects in the process. IMAGINE grants focus on upstream approaches to chronic disease prevention, such as healthy eating and food security or positive mental health. For more information, read our PlanH Success Story and visit the IMAGINE Grants webpage.