Healthy Active Living Oamaru (HALO) Community Network

The Halo Group was formed in late 2004 with the aim of working smarter and linking fragmented groups from within the Waitaki District that have similar briefs and goals. HALO is a non-profit volunteer organisation that is made up of members from across all of the community sectors in the Waitaki District. HALO aims to share, link and better utilize member groups' resources by focusing on making a more sustainable impact on the Community's health and physical activity. The base areas of impact are in Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Family Lifestyles and are seen by HALO as core building blocks in addressing the wider health, social and community issues.

The Waitaki Family Health Trust was formalized in May 2003 with the aims of improving coordination and equity of access to health and disability services for child and family within the Waitaki District. This involved health and disability education, promotion, awareness and a desire to see equity of access to locally delivered, responsive, out reach specialist services for the Community. The Trust also aimed to build and maintain sustainable relationships and communication with service providers and advocate in partnership with these groups and individuals, on health and disability issues for the Community.

It is hoped through the successful merger of these two groups a sharing of information, resources and briefs will address the population based funding patterns, geographical impacts, regional uniqueness, social impacts and technological advancements currently impacting on the operational abilities of local community groups, non profit organizations, clubs and associations. Through the strategic planning process it is hoped that over the next three years member groups can break away from less effective silo style operations and create a collective push towards a positive cultural change, one which fosters healthier lifestyles. The collective sharing and collaboration will not only mean better sustainability, awareness, financial efficiencies and community impacts for member organizations, but also provide better coordinated and planned services to the Waitaki District and its wider community - 'Working Smarter'.

Mission Statement

"To promote, support and advocate on behalf of the Waitaki District towards healthy lifestyles and the services that sustain such an environment."

Vision

A community that collaborates, informs and supports healthy lifestyle choices.
This is a community that has access to the services and knowledge that provides individuals in the Waitaki District with the opportunity to make informed choices.

How we are going to make the Vision a reality for the Waitaki District

Introducing the 3 'A's

To achieve the aims within our mission and vision we have created a scope within the operational boundaries. In order to foster and promote a high standard of healthy lifestyles, nutrition, and physical activity within the Waitaki District our areas of operation incorporate work in the form of the 3 'A's:

1. Awareness

   - To link, inform and create a central hub for community networking and information.

2. Action

   - To facilitate successful event promotion and assist with linked community projects.

3. Advocacy

   - To effectively identify and support related community advocacy issues.

Structure

- To have a strong and well resourced committee with clearly defined roles.