The social conditions in which we live and work have a profound affect on our health. Access to good jobs, adequate housing, a clean environment, a friendly and safe neighbourhood, fresh food, and good transportation all contribute to our health and well-being. These social determinants of health have an impact that goes well beyond an individual’s own “bad habits.” The St. James Town Initiative undertakes projects and activities that help us to understand how social determinants are affecting the health of residents, then to take actions to improve health in the community.

Visual Voices: Neighbourhood and Health

Visual Voices: Neighbourhood and Health is a Photovoice project by St. James Town residents, for St. James Town residents. Twenty-eight participants used photography to express their experiences of place and health in St. James Town. They took over 200 photos and wrote 77 stories that speak about a broad range of factors from the positive impacts of community diversity, to the negative effects of garbage and lack of ownership on community pride.

Mapping St. James Town: Health and Place

The St. James Town Initiative’s Community Mapping project set out to document lived experiences of residents in the neighbourhood in terms of social determinants of their health and the health of their families. Through mapping and interviews, 18 residents created an inventory of the community resources that are available to support their health and well-being, and have identified common needs. Hand-drawn maps were used to honour the residents’ knowledge of their neighbourhood, and became the basis for conversations that record both individual and shared experiences of health and place.