October 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 49

Public Health at Work
Case studies of successful programs at the local level

ith the understanding that parks and recreation are powerful catalysts for physical activity and engagement, NRPA fosters change at the local level-reducing barriers to health
and wellness and decreasing chronic disease and obesity among youth and adults. Since
2009, NRPA has worked with 44 communities across the United States to implement strategies focused on improving access to healthy food, increasing opportunities for physical activity and alternative transportation, and decreasing tobacco consumption.
Programs such as Action Communities for
Health, Innovation, and EnVironmental changE
(ACHIEVE) and Communities Putting Prevention to Work, funded by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, have
enabled NRPA to support local park and recreation agencies as they build healthier communities across the country.
In November, NRPA will release a publication
that highlights successes these communities have
had while offering valuable insights for others
seeking to overcome challenges. The two case
studies that follow are a glimpse of the successes
we've seen among local park and recreation agencies that we hope will inspire other communities.

WIKIPEDIA

CASE STUDY 1
A Free Ride in Helena
Linking youth to local activities
The community of Helena, Montana, has plenty
to do, but until recently, the local transit infrastructure made getting to trails, pools, and parks
difficult. A collaboration between the park and
recreation department, public health department,
public transit, and other community stakeholders
sought to improve access to the trail system and
ended up creating a free trolley system for youth.
The original plan was to add new stops to the
existing routes, but this proved to be just the beginning. The transit director was wary of adding
stops, as this changes the timing of the routes,
but suggested creating a new, separate route speciﬁcally for activities for youth. A key partner,
the executive director of Youth Connections, a
nonproﬁt organization committed to creating
safe spaces and partnerships with the youth of
Helena, emerged as another leader in this effort.

H E A LT H & W E L L N E S S

BY ERIK A LEHMANN AND NICOLE OEHMKE

Helena, Montana

The collaborative learned that access to the trail
system was not about the trails themselves, but
about getting to the activities.
In June 2012, a trolley system was created that
takes youth (no adults allowed unless they are supervising) to the trails, the pool, the parks, the library, and a host of other activities-for free. The
local collaborative hired a chaperone to collect
statistics on ridership while creating a culture of
safety and respect on board the trolley. While the
system is new, ridership is increasing and there
are already stories of success.
The trolley runs ﬁve hours per day, and has stops
identiﬁed based on feedback from users and other stakeholders. The trolley runs from mid-June
to mid-August, to coincide with school holidays
and the local recreation program for youth in the
city. By extending the route into the county, the
collaborative was able to receive funds from the
county for its operation.
The collaborative views the trolley as a starting point for creating a culture of health for the
community. As more people use public transportation, they begin to care more about the quality
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October 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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