Guests from the North Country attended the 1.15.2022 RAC Convocation, and shared their perspectives. These included:

• Courtney Vashaw, Director of the Whitefield Public Library
• Kris van Bergen-Buteau, Director of Workforce Development & Public Health Programs at North Country Health Consortium
• Ed Shanshala, CEO Ammonoosuc Community Health Service North Country
• Peter Ames, Exec. Dir. Foundation for Healthy Communities

The Gap and Solutions charts from the 1.13.2022 RAC Convocation are HERE.

The recording of the 1.13.2022 RAC Convocation is available HERE.

People networked with our Community Coordinators were recommended to us for interviews by the Warren and Whitefield Community Coordinators.

Warren and Whitefield Word Clouds.  The more frequently a word is found, the larger it becomes in the word cloud.

The responses to two questions were used to create the word cloud: (1)What experiences or challenges in your community have caused   your organization to be interested in increasing resilience, increasing disaster preparedness, or supporting health, wellness and well-being? and  (2) What outcome(s) for your community would you hope for from your organization’s involvement with the ACHS-RAC initiative?

Warren Word Cloud

Whitefield Word Cloud

Interviews included residents of Warren, Whitefield, Plymouth and Lancaster.  The most frequently used descriptor to describe the communities was “close community.”

The list of names included people from different sectors of society. This question helps us understand where the capacities exist in formal and informal networks of individuals and organizations.

Warren Phrases in response to two questions

Whitefield Phrases in response to two questions

The preliminary results of Town of Whitefield Mission Critical Functions Surveys (N=18) identified 7 Mission Critical Functions with a ranking of 3: elevated vulnerability. These included Sheltering in Place and Evacuation Systems, Climate Threat Mitigation, Renewable vs Grid Energy, Value Chains, Community Security, Psychosocial Resilience and Management and Governance.

Additional questions were added to capture detail on specific Mission Critical Functions in the Town of Whitefield.

Responses to housing questions indicated that a majority of respondents felt that both affordability and availability had decreased over the pat 3 years.

Detailed questions on infrastructure indicated that public lighting had remained the same (14) or improved. Most respondents felt that environmental conditions (11) and Public transportation (10) remained the same over the past three years.

Sports fields and recreation areas and children’s play areas had mixed responses.

Sports fields and recreational areas were not applicable to 5 respondents. Of the remaining respondents, five thought sports fields and recreational areas had worsened over the past 3 years,2 thought they had remained the same, and 3 felt they had improved.

Sports fields and recreational areas were not applicable to 5 respondents. Of the remaining respondents, five thought sports fields and recreational areas had worsened over the past 3 years,2 thought they had remained the same, and 3 felt they had improved.

11.1% of respondents reported the quality of theirhousehold internet service was poor.

In the past year,

• 11 of 18 respondents reported they had met with a medical professional using a phone, a tablet or a computer.
• Half (9 of 18) of the respondents reportedthey had met with a medical professional in a public space,
• A third  (6 of 18) of respondents would contact a medical professional in a private setting at their local library if a tablet or computer was available.

A postcard questionnaire was tested in mid-August 2023. Preliminary data from 14 respondents showed:

• 28.6% interested in both virtual and in-person Walk With Ease physical activity programs,
• 14.3%  interested in in-person Enhance Fitness Older Adult Fitness, but only 8.3% interested in a virtual Enhance Fitness Older Adult Fitness program, and
• 7.1% were interested in an in-person Tai Ji Quan for Better Balance program, with none interested in a virtual Tai Ji Quan for Better Balance program

The free response to the question What types of programs or recreation opportunities would you like to see your town provide?

5 of the 8 responses were programs for children or youth, and 3 of those 4 responses included providing food.

2 of the remaining activities were outdoor recreation, and the remaining program explores happiness through community connection.

Details are below.

On the call for this discussion:

Hosts: Ed Shanshala (ACHS) and Dr. Michael McDonald (RAC)

Community Coordinators: Austin Albro (Town Administrator of Warren), Courtney Vashaw (Whitefield Public Library)

Guests: Kris Bergen-Buteau (North Country Health Consortium), Frank Pinter, Katelyn Robinson (NCHC), Colleen Dowling (Bi-State Primary Care Association), Jeff Jones (ACHS), Melanie Robert (White Mountain Community College), Rob Scott (SAU 36), Frank Pinter (Software Expertise)

RAC Technical Support Team: Jan Booher (RAC), Jeff Booher (RAC), Leah Booher (RAC), Yajaira Santiago (SNHU Intern/ACHS-RAC), Erin Schlumpf (SNHU Intern/ACHS-RAC)

Offers:

• • Kris van Bergen-Buteau (North Country Health Consortium) offered letters of support for generators and such (energy) to Courtney Vashaw (Whitefield Public Library) for grant applications
  • Melanie Roberts (White Mountain Community College) offers the White Mountain Community College as a resource for the community, and an offer to collaborate with Courtney Vashaw (Whitefield Public Library) and others to connect to existing programs and partnerships offered through the community college
  • Courtney Vashaw (Whitefield Public Library) offered to work on academic programs that attach students to RAC Tools/Methods/personnel
  • Katelyn Robinson (NCIC) offers to share past successful telehealth and medicine grant application as a model of a successful application to Ed Shanshala (ACHS)
  • Dr. Michael McDonald (RAC) offers to connect Katelyn Robinson (NCHC) to regional financial players
  • Colleen Dowling (Bi-State Primary Care Association) offered to connect RAC to the NH Food Access Coalition
  • Jeff Jones (ACHS) offers to help as places for him to contribute emerge
  • Dr. Michael McDonald (RAC) offered to Melanie Roberts (White Mountain Community College), Kris Bergen-Buteau (North Country Health Consortium) and Courtney Vashaw (Whitefield Public Library) to coordinate RAC’s developing Community Resilience Worker program with efforts to create academic programs/certification programs
  • Dr. Michael McDonald (RAC) offered to work with Ed Shanshala (ACHS) and Tara Giles (Community Builders Hub) to build a campaign for recruiting community leaders and members to attend the December 7th Serious Games Kick-off  and the April 2024 Serious Games