By Marty Demarest

Coming to the end of a project like Growing Up Healthy can feel intimidating and rewarding simultaneously. When we initiated the partnership between Spokane Public Radio, The Spokane Regional Health District, and The Pacific Northwest Inlander, we hoped to gain a better understanding of the health care challenges children face. We also wanted to learn how to change these problems for the better.

As journalists, the only way we can really change the world is by disseminating information. With Growing Up Healthy, we hope we’ve brought some important topics to attention. While the project is unable to directly affect some of the challenges faced by children’s health in the region, we hope that the larger community can continue what we’ve started.

Three issues in particular seem to need regional attention: services for special-needs children, the alarming rise in childhood obesity, and preventing injuries in children. The Growing Up Healthy partners will hold a live forum on Tuesday, Jan. 6 to address these issues, and search for answers.

Modeled on the live call-in programs we broadcast during the year, the forum will feature guests speaking with Doug Nadvornick, Pia Hansen, and Ann Colford. Elected leaders, including Spokane Mayor Jim West and County Commissioner John Roskelly, will be present to learn more about the topics and take part in the community discussion.

The forum will start at 7 p.m. in the Champions Room at the Spokane Arena. We hope that all interested members of the public are there to further the community dialogue and help find a direction for these issues to move in the future.

In the end, Growing Up Healthy has achieved what Spokane Public Radio’s mission has always encouraged us to do: “enhance and enliven the cultural life and civic discourse” of our listening communities. We hope you will join us as we conclude the project, and explore the ways in which that discourse can become action.