We start from the premise that Nelson is a wonderful place to live for many people, but it can become a healthier, an even more caring, inclusive, dignified and socially just community for all its citizens. 

We believe it is vital to identify and stress the common ground we all have, which is to make Nelson the best community it can be — a place where healthy social, economic, and natural environments give all citizens the opportunity to live to their full potential, regardless of their circumstances.

We want to be part of encouraging and helping to facilitate community participation in making our community stronger and healthier. This way, social planning becomes a local, democratic process that sets priorities based on common community interests, arrives at equitable compromises and takes action that builds and sustains our community as a whole.

Community health and well-being need to include all aspects of community life and their inter-connectedness, which is where the social determinants of health play out, individually and collectively — and where lasting solutions are best identified and then realized.

Nelson at its Best endeavors to facilitate a community development approach to social justice, built around the four pillars outlined in the City of Nelson’s Path to 2040 Sustainability plan, that is, Cultural, Economic, Environmental and Social.

We function in collaboration, cooperation and coordination among all sectors of the community, striving for and encouraging community participation and input from a variety of voices around a range of current and emerging social issues.

In identifying and responding to community needs, we share power and leadership; operate transparently; and share information and resources and communicate in ways that everyone can understand.

In working toward a healthy community, we feel it is particularly important to be sensitive to the most vulnerable in our community, in terms of both their needs and their capacity to contribute.