Social Prescribing Community Quilt
A virtual quilt sharing the stories of individual health providers, staff, volunteers, and clients participating in the Links2Wellbeing: Social Prescribing for Older Adults project in Ontario.
For more info about our participating centres, see our map below or contact us here.
What is
SOCIAL PRESCRIBING?
A holistic approach to healthcare bringing together the social and medical models of health and wellness.
Social prescribing bridges the gap between clinical and social care by referring patients to local, non-clinical services that are chosen according to the client’s interests, goals, and gifts. It allows doctors, nurse practitioners, and interprofessional health providers to formally refer patients to community-based programs using the familiar and trusted process of writing a prescription.
In Ontario, reasons for referrals often include loneliness, social isolation, or other social and health challenges. These challenges tend to be rooted in social determinants of health, and can be difficult to address through conventional means of clinical care.
As a strengths-based approach, social prescribing allows people to direct their own care. Clients are empowered to improve their health by developing new skills participating in meaningful activities, and becoming more connected to their communities.
The Quilt
A community quilt is often a collective handcrafted project worked on by members of a community as a method of visual storytelling. Each quilt square tells a story and reflects the inner lives of the community member through symbolism and meaning.
During the first year of the Links2Wellbeing project, we collected stories from health providers, staff, volunteers, and clients to gain insight into their experience of social prescribing and its impacts. Click on any of the photos below to read some of these stories. All names and identifying details have been changed to maintain participants’ privacy.
For more info about the participating organizations, contact us or
click on the map below!
Legend
Community Health Centres
(CHC)
Seniors Active Living Centres
(SALC)
Funded by Anonymous Donor, implemented in partnership by