Palmer nonprofit promotes healthy, sustainable communities

The concept of “One Health” seeks to understand the connection of healthy functioning of all segments of an ecosystem. It is especially significant in the far north, where indigenous world views have embraced the concept over generations and link it to development of a sustainable future in the Arctic.

A Palmer-based nonprofit, Onward & Upward, has worked since 2007 to extend this concept to everyday challenges and adversities facing youth and families. The organization’s name is based on the idea of moving toward a better condition with resilience and a learning mindset when confronted with struggle, suffering, despair, or ill health.

Randy Dowd, a nonclinical community psychologist who is also the organization’s founder and executive director, said Onward & Upward’s mission is to promote a culture of One Health through evidence-based action, by applying the science of health, well-being, and sustainability to maximize impact in the Mat-Su and beyond.

Programs are offered in well-managed risk environments that actively engage students and encourage them to step outside their comfort zones in order to discover their strengths.

“By applying our novel One Health Education curriculum, O&U’s highly credentialed instructors help students to develop their comprehensive health and wellness, and an improved sense of wellbeing,” he said. “These outcomes extend outward to families and the public; thereby creating healthy impacts community-wide.”

Dowd said Onward & Upward strives to promote a culture of one health by engaging and encouraging the community to come together to support and celebrate one another. To that end, the organization held its third annual One Health Fest on Mothers Day.

The event was made possible by a $15,000 grant in March from the Mat-Su Health Foundation, as well as contributions from MTA, MEA, and the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation. The funding helped O&U promote its health and well-being programs alongside its risk-factor reduction and prevention programs.

Dowd credited the financial support and partnerships forged across the community for services being offered for free or at significantly reduced rates for the most vulnerable and disenfranchised populations.

“Most notable have been the many generous support and grant contributions, both professional and financial, from the Mat-Su Health Foundation since 2014,” he said. “Without their incredible support and belief in us and our programs, we would not currently exist.”

Investing in community health and wellness has been part of the plan for the nonprofit Mat-Su Health Foundation since its inception in 2007, when it became part owner of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Through scholarships, sponsorships, and grants to nonprofits across the Valley, like Onward and Upward, the Health Foundation has returned more than $138 million to the community.

In its 18 years of existence, Onward & Upward has been a voice for positive, proactive approaches to health education. Dowd said rather than focusing on what is wrong, the One Health path looks to build on unifying people through healthy strengths and growth mindsets.

“Through specially crafted experiences expertly facilitated by our instructors, we carefully nurture healthy relationships and healthy, prosocial psychological connections,” Dowd said.

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www.onwardandupward.org