New Haven Independent

That altar took shape as part of a public-health campaign launched in conjunction with the Arts & Ideas Festival.

An original piece by Anderson, an artist, the altar was created in the shape of two cows. The pastoral animal is “peaceful and serene,” Anderson explained. And “cows are sacred in many different cultures.”

Borrowing from a Mexican tradition, participants in the project were asked to think of a wish related to health, then to make a small copper milagro (the Spanish word for “miracle”) amulet to hang on the cow statue.

The community altar was one of several hands-on activities offered under the “Community Interventions for Health” tents at the festival. They were designed to engage the public and promote healthy living. Other Community Interventions for Health activities that encouraged the public to “Create, Eat and Move for Health” included a pledge wall where community members made individualized vows for better health; a healthful cooking demonstration by “The Food Dude,” Tim Cipriano; and a game of parachute led by city public-school gym teachers.

Community Interventions for Health: New Haven Collaborative is an initiative of the Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE). The global project seeks to improve public health worldwide by “turning information into action” said Jeanette Ickovics (pictured left, first from the left with Members of the CARE staff (left to right): Alycia Santilli, Susan Peters and Maurice Williams), director of CARE and Yale public health professor. New Haven is the first city in the U.S. to participate in the project.

The family weekend activities represent only the first of CARE’s efforts to turn information into action. This summer, the group plans to begin a community mapping project that will document, “what’s available to support healthy living in New Haven” said CARE Assistant Director Alycia Santilli. The map will look for community assets like parks and other open spaces in addition to grocery stores and restaurants that offer healthy fare.

The New Haven Collaborative plans to work with young people from The Color of Words, a digital writing project, on the mapping project. They will capture video footage of the neighborhoods this summer to digitally document New Haven’s healthy lifestyle resources.