ACHAT Walk Held in Adams County
On Saturday, October 11, the Adams County Health Action Team, or ACHAT, hosted their first community health walk, the Free Courage to Connect Adams County Community Walk. The walk took place Saturday morning at the Wye Campground outside of New Meadows. ACHAT is one of Southwest District Health’s Community Health Partnerships, where members of the community as well as community organizations collaborate on a shared goal related to the health of the community. The current priority for ACHAT is mental health, both increasing awareness and resources and decreasing the stigma of accessing those resources. This walk was in line with those goals and provided an opportunity for community outreach and awareness.
According to Tara Woodward, who is a program planning and Development Specialist for Southwest District Health, and the facilitator of ACHAT, the walk went really well. It was their first time hosting an event. Around 40 people showed up and there were around six vendors who were set up with local resources related to health and wellbeing in the community. There was an out and back trail with both a 5K and one mile option, and volunteers along the trail.
The walk was a part of the Courage to Connect campaign through the Valley County Opioid Response Project (VCORP) which seeks to bring meaningful connections to people in Adams and Valley County and help destigmatize mental health. More information about Courage to Connect can be found at www.couragetoconnectidaho.com/.
Next, ACHAT is looking forward to analyzing the results of the Community Health Needs Assessment which was recently completed. This will give insight to the health and wellbeing of the community. Woodward said the data will help them to see what to focus on moving forward. ACHAT also hopes to make this walk an annual event, “getting folks connected to the neighbors and resources,” said Woodward.
The Adams County Health Action Team is open to anyone who wishes to join, and holds meetings on the first Tuesday of every month at the Meadows Valley Library from 2:00-3:00 p.m..
