LAUNCH (Toronto) - Women's Health Circles Handbook (OWHN) - March 31/09

From Toronto Women listserv:

"There are many things we want to talk about. We could have more discussions like this." (Focus Group Participant)

Are you interested in conducting Women's Health Circles in your community with women who experience marginalization?

SAVE THE DATE! Please join us on March 31 for the launch of the Women's Health Circles Handbook and the companion Key to Women's Health: Stroke Resource Guide for Women's Health Circles.

Women's Health Circles are:

* Collective education forums for women: participants determine the health topics of discussion, engage with other women to learn from each other's thoughts and experiences, ask questions of health and social service providers and learn about community resources.

* Learning spaces for health and social service professionals: health and social service professionals learn about the lived experiences of women to create more appropriate and sensitive care.






The Women's Health Circles Handbook demonstrates approaches from three pilot sites to coordinating and conducting Health Circles and offers examples to help you meet the needs of women in your community.

The Key to Women's Health: Stroke Resource Guide illustrates how to link discussions on the social determinants of health or other topics chosen by women attending Women's Health Circles to the risk factors, signs and symptoms of stroke.

Mark your calendars and be sure to join us:

Date: March 31, 2009
Time: 9:30 am - 11:00 am
Location: Parliament Library
269 Gerrard St. East (just west of Parliament), Toronto
2nd floor, Community Room
Hosted by the Ontario Women's Health Network, Inclusion Researchers and project partners:

Women's Health Circles: Asset Mapping Research Project (AMRP) of the Toronto Christian Resource Centre, Immigrant Women Services Ottawa, Sudbury Women's Centre (SWC)

Key to Women's Health: AMRP, SWC, Region of Peel, Public Health Department, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Southeast Toronto Stroke Network

The Women's Health Circles Handbook and Key to Women's Health projects have been generously funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion, respectively. The views expressed in the projects and at the launch are not necessarily those of the funders.

For more information please contact: Ontario Women's Health Network at owhn[at]owhn.on.ca or 416-408-4840