Community Development

There are more than 80 ongoing projects involving Horizon’s Community Development team. These projects stem from Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs). Our community developers are also leading or participating in approximately 50 active projects throughout Horizon as part of our organization’s plan to help improve health care in our province.

Community Developers: Horizon has a network of Community Developers who work within communities across New Brunswick. When a CHNA is taking place in a community, the Community Developer joins the CHNA engagement team. They play a huge role in supporting the work of planning and facilitating the CHNA. They are also responsible for supporting collaborative action that integrates the health needs identified by a CHNA. It is important to understand that Community Developers consider community members to be experts in their communities, and they value community knowledge and wisdom. Community development is led by community and supported by governments and organizations at every stage: from identifying issues and analyzing them, making decisions, implementing, and evaluating actions. Community development has an explicit focus on the redistribution of power to address the causes of inequality and disadvantage with the goal of having healthier, more vibrant, and sustainable communities.

“For as long as I can recall, the province of New Brunswick has had a unique focus on addressing the social determinants of health and on pursuing health equity.

My role as a community developer at Horizon Health Network reflects this priority.”

Heather Chase, Horizon Community Developer

Contact Information

• Ask us about our COIN-G grant program, which funds initiatives or projects within communities. This is one of the many ways Horizon supports our communities as they work to find innovative solutions to help New Brunswickers be healthy. Get in touch with the community developer in your area if you’d like to learn more about the COIN-G program.