Event inspires community to be healthier
Health in the Park held to bring awareness to health
Junior Zoe Frank talks to a St. Louis Park business woman attending her booth at the Health in the Park event Feb. 22. Many SLP residents attended to learn more about the health resources that are available for residents.
March 3, 2020
The city of St. Louis Park came together to talk about their health and well-being Feb. 22. Laura Smith, the wellness and volunteer coordinator for the city of St. Louis Park, said it is important for people come together as a community to talk about their health.
“Healthy is a foundation of our society and our city and it makes us live better lives. It’s an important event for people to learn about health and well-being, all the dimensions that we focus here on nutrition and physical activity and mental well-being,” Smith said.
Smith said Health in the Park includes many organizations, each specializing in a certain area of health. Healthy people create a healthy communit — Pam Gronski
“We have 22 different organizations here. We have everything from community education to our city park and rec. We have different yoga vendors, physical therapists, and a dental health person,” Smith said. “We also have our police department and some local non-profits like Seeds, who does gardening education and food advocacy.”
Junior Zoe Frank said the event helped small companies get in contact with people to keep them healthy and give them resources.
“It was a good way for smaller health-related organizations and businesses to get some recognition and to people that come into contact with them,” Frank said.
Pam Gronski, a patrol officer with the city of St. Louis Park said the event gives her a chance to interact and provide resources for the community.
“We want the community to understand that we are not just as law enforcement. We are here to help people that are in crisis, and we have a lot of resources available for people that are experiencing a crisis,” Gronski said.
According to Gronski, a healthy community is the outcome of healthy people, so whatever healthy resources the community can be provided with is important.
“Healthy people create a healthy community, so anything that we can do to let them know when resources are available, especially if they’re low cost or no cost,” Gronski said. “Let’s bring the community together and let’s be healthy together so our community can thrive,”
Frank said students can get more involved in making their community healthy by attending events and by being aware of their surroundings.
“Just being conscious of the events that are going on and if they’re interested in becoming more healthy or connecting with these groups, and showing up to events can be helpful,” Frank said.
