PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF ATLANTA DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
A City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation staff member leads community members in an aquatic fitness class.
While community wellness hubs work toward the same overarching goal of ensuring all people can thrive where they live, learn, work and play, there is not a one size fits all approach. Each hub should be people-centered and unique to the community it serves — this includes ensuring the community has a voice at the table, making sure that programs and services are accessible, inclusive, and culturally relevant, and ensuring that resources are distributed and prioritized based on need.
Health Equity as a Guiding Principle • Park and recreation professionals are dedicated to protecting and promoting health and well-being for all people, with equity at the core. • We recognize that unjust and unfair practices and policies have created added barriers for Black, Indigenous, people of color and low-income communities, to access the physical and social conditions that lead to optimal health outcomes. • NRPA believes that health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing these obstacles and barriers to health — as poverty, discrimination, and addressing lack of access to healthy food, safe environments, including parks and recreation, healthcare, good jobs with fair pay, and quality education and housing.
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