LiveSmart, part of the Jasper and Newton Counties Community Health Collaborative (CHC), focuses on the following three aspects of area residents' lives:

• The Community Environment, or where families spend their time in physical and social environments such as in the home, at church, etc.
• In schools and in childcare facilities where our children spend much of their time.
• At worksites where parents and adults work and spend significant amounts of time.

The biggest barrier to a healthy two-county community is the gap between people knowing how to live healthy and putting that knowledge into practice. The CHC is dedicated to improving opportunities to live healthily and connecting people to those opportunities, thereby moving more people from the education stage to the participation stage. These changes will provide an environment that encourages an active lifestyle with support to sustain that lifestyle. This will build healthy Jasper and Newton Counties.

Social economic conditions in the two county area can also be a barrier to access to proper exercise and diet. The LiveSmart campaign will work to improve proper exercise and diet regardless of this status. Examples of this might include – expanding access to free, safe walking trails, or improving the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables via farmers markets.

A healthy two-county area would be one in which families and individuals are comfortable being active and able to make informed choices about proper diet and exercise. It would include making facilities, parks, and walking/biking areas throughout the area easily accessible. Restaurants and grocery stores would post nutritional information to help people make good food choices. Employers would proactively encourage employee wellness. Schools would encourage healthy children by allowing for safe in-school and out of school active time and by adopting policies that encourage healthy eating on campus. Children would learn healthy practices at school and bring those practices home to their parents. Parents would learn healthy practices at work and bring these home to their children. Families would hear of healthy practices throughout the community in the media, at places where they do business, and at their faith community. This vision can become practice only if supported at all levels and throughout the community.

Click here to visit the LiveSmart website.