Social Prescribing USA Newsletter - October 2024

This newsletter is the Social Prescribing USA Public Town Square - a central place to catalyze our growing movement in the U.S.

Insights from SPUSA and out network, important events, philosophy on advancing the movement, important articles, plus updates on the rapidly growing social prescribing community.  We will be shifting to a new newsletter format soon! Have things to share in our newsletter? Contact info@socialprescribingusa.com.

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AMAZING Social Prescribing Conference on our Shores - Canada - A first person report!

Last week, a contingent of Social Prescribing USA leaders, SPUSA Community of Practice members and others from the U.S. attended the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP). It was the very first national and global social prescribing conference in the Americas!

The CISP set a very high standard for programming and positive energy, with a particular focus on the deep roots of indigenous communities in Canada and how it can help us have perspective on social precribing. There were many social prescribing programs represented from across Canada, the UK, and Australia. And it even had great food! I had the opportunity to represent the U.S. on the global social prescribing ‘fireside chat’ to compare and contrast what is happening in the U.S. with leaders from Canada, Australia, the U.K., Singapore, and Brazil. We saw a lot of great energy in Canada and appreciate all that is happening in the U.S. to advance social prescribing as a national movement. As JD Baker, the CEO for ASPIRE (the leads of SP in Australia) said, ‘we have many levers in the U.S.’ 

We are excited to help pull some of those levers with SPUSA’s Community of Practice, our new Health Professional Champion group, and all of you. We are planning for a strategic planning summit at the time of International Social Prescribing Day March 19, 2025, and we announced that we are starting to plan for the first U.S. national conference on social prescribing in late 2025 to early 2026 to bring together our stakeholders, our partners, our community of practice, and the growing network of leaders who we need to make this happen on a large scale in this country. Stay tuned for more information on these exciting plans!

We need to address our epidemic of loneliness, social isolation, mental health, aging, and chronic disease with the tools of social prescribing to bring social connection, the arts, and nature. Come join the movement! There is a lot of work to do!!

— Dr. Alan Siegel, Co-Founder & Director, Social Prescribing USA

UPCOMING EVENTS

Introduction to Social Prescribing Webinar, Tuesday October 8 12pm PT

Don’t miss our upcoming webinar: Introduction to Social Prescribing on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm PT.

Join Social Prescribing USA as we kick off our new quarterly webinar series next week! This introductory session will provide a comprehensive overview of social prescribing, highlight successful international examples, and spotlight providers, organizers, and students driving the movement.

Discover how you can get involved & start making a difference today! Register HERE or use the QR code below.

In ths program, we are pleased to feature Hathor-Ra Adwoa, of TAIBU Community Health Centre , which was among the recipients of the 2024 Social Prescribing Innovation Award in Canada. Their outstanding work on the Black-Focused Social Prescribing Project continues to inspire and lead the way in advancing social prescribing initiatives.

Healing Arts Atlanta October 7-14

Healing Arts Atland Tackles Systemic Racism as a Public Health Crisis through the Arts from October 7-14, 2024. Healing Arts Atlanta, a partnership between Performance Hypothesis and the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, is leading efforts to use the transformative power of the arts to address systemic racism and improve public health. For more information and tickets, visit healingartsatlanta.org.

HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAM

Each month, we will feature one trendsetting organization that is leading the way for social prescribing in the U.S. This month, we are focusing on the VA’s Compassionate Contact Corps. This amazing program, with has spread to over 90 VA’s across the country, works with volunteers to address loneliness among US veterans. Its leader, Lori Murphy, recently won a prestigious Service to the Citizen Award for its efforts You can read more about that program and award HERE.

ARTICLES/MEDIA

Prescribing nature can improve happiness - Recent research in England on the effectiveness of green social prescribing continue to generate headlines, including this Sept 5th BBC piece and a major Sept. 4th article in the Guardian.

Loneliness: Time for Medicine to Address This Risk Factor, Indu Subramanian, MD; and Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD in conversationl. Medscape, Sept 17, 2024.

Loneliness is hurting our health, but these policies could help. Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health. Sept. 11, 2024.

The orchid and dandelion phenomenon in brain aging: Personalizing cognitive health approaches for older adults. An interesting piece on improving cognitive health in older adults, which notes the promise of social prescribing in helping identify patients who most may benefit from interventions focused on social connection. Also links to a British Medical Jounral paper our organization contributed to on global trends.

TOOLS

If you missed our Fall kickoff program in early Septenber, Social Health: Why Connection is Essential to Wellness, featuring Kasley Killam, Julia Hotz and Kat Vellos, you can find the event video HERE.

Policy Brief: Social Prescribing to Advance Health Equity. Full brief for advancing health equity from Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice.

Health Beyond Healthcare: Addressing Workforce and Equity Challenges Through Community webinar featuring Dr. Alan Siegel, and Dr. Liz Markle and Carolina Ayala, founder and health coach from Open Source Wellness.

Bridging Arts and Public Health: A New Framework for Collaboration If you're curious how the arts can improve public health, this article's your quick overview!

The Learning Network of the Nature and Health Alliance. The Learning Network serves as a collaborative platform for academics, educators, students, design professionals, and healthcare providers to work together on projects that prioritize the connection between nature and health. This is an open-source digital archive of case studies showcasing effective strategies for increasing access to nature and improving health.

CALENDAR

October 9, 2024. 12-1:00 PM EST. Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists. 1-hour webinar about social prescribing. Cost is free for members. $25 CAD for non-members.

October 16th. Foundation for Social Connection anniversary webinar for Building Socially Connected Communities. 10AM PST. Register HERE.

October 23-25, 2024. Houston, Texas (Virtual Day November 12) National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH Con) https://thenoah.net/2024-conference/ A great conference with national leaders concentrating on Arts in Health.

November 9-12, 2024. Pasadena, CA. OT Association of California Annual Conference  (SPUSA’s Ivory Rose will be presenting about SP on Nov. 10 for a breakout session).