Jamaican (Ottawa) Community Association

THE HEALTHY LIFESTYLES COMMITTEE

Vision

The purpose of this program is to enhance the quality of life of people in the multicultural
community with an emphasis on Ottawa’s Jamaican community.

Goals

To educate people on nutrition

To promote health awareness

To promote physical fitness

To empower the multicultural community to be more actively involved in
improving their overall lifestyle

To identify, develop and disseminate cultural appropriate information on nutrition,
physical activity, early detection, health screening and prevention

To increase the awareness with the Jamaican and multicultural communities
about chronic diseases, risk reduction and healthy lifestyle practices.

The Healthy Lifestyles Committee consists of:

Ethnic Diabetic Group:

To enhance the quality of life of people in this group

Seniors Group:

The seniors group endeavours to work with other seniors within the association
and the wider community.

We hope to also reach out to seniors who are “shut-ins” at home due to illness or
lack of resources to get them more active in their community or to provide services
such as referrals.

Another community of seniors we hope to support are seniors in long-term care
facilities and/or nursing homes. We hope to become a resource for these
institutions when it comes to providing quality care to seniors of Afro-Caribbean
ancestry.

Physical Fitness Group (Aerobics and walking groups):

To promote health awareness

To empower the Jamaican and multicultural communities to be more actively
involved in improving their overall lifestyle

To encourage the community to begin and maintain regular physical activity.

Youth Group:

To provide a better understanding of the needs of youth in our community

To promote the Jamaican culture by linking and partnering with various levels of
government and other community associations; maintaining contact with
government of Jamaica through its official representatives; and developing social
and cultural programs.

To assist the youths of Jamaican descent to develop self-esteem, leadership
skills, cultural awareness and academic excellence by enhancing the programs
provided by the school system.

To empower the youth in the Jamaican community to maintain or enhance their
physical, mental and spiritual health behaviour and become advocates for their
health and well being.

To encourage and increase youth leadership between the ages of 13-18 years, by
providing services, which enhance their leadership skills and abilities; while at the
same time, providing support, mentoring, motivating and practical experience
optimizing their learning in after school programs.