by Markus Fortune
Socializing, to some, comes very naturally. In fact, humans on a fundamental level are very social beings. We can engage in various levels of communication, engage with one another in ways we are most comfortable with, and form deep bonds through these engagements. We have the freedom to explore means of communication that work best for our needs. But what happens when those needs are not being met?
Socialization and our health go hand in hand. When considering what makes us healthy, something called the social determinants of health can shed light on the contributors to our health that need the most attention. Different organizations measure these factors in different ways, and we’ll look at reachAbility’s interpretations below. But the important part to remember is that these determinants measure not only general health and wellbeing, but importantly for my work finding employment for marginalized clients, they are also a great measure of work readiness.
Economic status and stability, the physical environment we were born into, the state of our health care, our access to education, and the community we engage with all impact our health in a short and long term sense. If all five of these aspects are properly tended to, we stand the best chance to be the healthiest person we can be. Even if we find ourselves struggling with all five social determinants of health, we can still be healthy and functioning members of society. The difference is it may be much harder for us to function well. There are of course other factors, especially biological ones, that play a huge role in our overall health and wellbeing, but today I will be mainly speaking to social factors.
If we see these five determinants of health as pillars that hold us up, we can understand what is needed to keep us from losing our stability. If our economic status pillar is unstable, we may feel uncertain of our financial future. Other pillars may need attention first in order to shore up the pillar of economic stability. If our environment pillar is crumbling, we may feel unsupported and unable to flourish in our current environment. It can sometimes feel like we’re too weak to step out of that environment, and not strong enough to find a way out without help.
If our health care pillar is in shambles, even the slightest ailment can set us back on our progress with our goals and keep us from spending time with those who are most important to us. With an unstable community pillar, feelings of isolation and frustration can stay with everywhere you go outside the home. This can even lead some of us to stop engaging outside the home altogether. Lastly, if we are barely able to hold up our education pillar, we are going to have a difficult time accessing and learning the necessary skills needed for our goals and dream jobs.
If we have all of these social determinants of health or pillars well structured and stable, we stand the best chance to be the healthiest and most employment ready individuals possible. But what can we do to repair or strengthen our pillars, especially ones that are crumbling or have already fallen apart?
I have worked with many clients over the last three years. One thing I have learned in that time is that regardless of whether an individual is a client, colleague, community partner, or even myself, we all have at least one pillar or social determinant of health that needs attention. One way I address this, especially with my clients, is addressing what need(s) require attention and work backwards. As Jane Fonda once said in Grace and Frankie: “Figure out where you want to end up and don’t start there”.
When working with clients, I like to get to the root of needs to support clients in becoming employment ready. When we first meet, of course the first thing I always hear is “I need a job”. It’s a very pressing, immediate need for these folks, and I understand that. Bills have to be paid, and people need to feel like they’re contributing. However. the job is an ending, not a beginning. By working backwards, I always find that the client I am supporting needs resources to shore up at least one of their pillars before they can even think about entering a new place of employment.
My job is to provide resources for the path to employment and to make accessing these resources as easy as possible so that the gap between the client and employment does not seem so daunting. But ultimately, making the effort to access these resources is up to the client. Mapping out a clear path from fulfilled health factors to successful, lasting employment and identifying the resources available is often all a client needs to get motivated and start making progress. Seeing this progress every day reminds me as well to check in with my own social health factors and take the time to do my own necessary pillar maintenance.
We all owe it to ourselves to see to our social determinants of health to not only become employment ready, but to access the full range of our personal goals. Take some time and consider, what is the state of each of your social health pillars? How is that state impacting your ability to achieve your goals? And finally, do you have the support and resources to work on those pillars of social health? If not, by now you should know exactly who to call. The team at reachAbility is here to support you, your overall wellbeing, and your goals. You can contact us today at 902-429-5878, or by email at info@reachability.org.
