“Our group was founded with the recognition that those already marginalized and impoverished prior to the COVID-19 crisis may very well be the most vulnerable throughout the duration of the pandemic. That is why we strive to respond effectively to those groups first, making sure no one is left behind.”

Project Northern Lights

Meet Naomi Zingman-Daniels, our Community Star of the week!

Naomi works at Project Northern Lights, a Canadian non-profit, focusing on responsive and sustainable health solutions for marginalized communities.

In this post, Naomi share shares her passion for public health and global health by providing responses to the following questions:

1. What does public health mean to you?
2. What work do you do in public health?
3. What is your public health message?

What does public health mean to you?

Public and global health mean looking holistically at what is important to all the cultures and communities you’re trying to serve, and working with them and for them to address their specific needs, considerations, and traditions.

Health is not one size fits all and you cannot approach all communities in the same way – you have to look, listen, and do the leg work.

What work do you do in public health?

I work in a Canadian nonprofit, Project Northern Lights, which is a group that focuses on responsive and sustainable health solutions for those who have been largely left out of responses to the pandemic and other health crises, such as housing insecure communities, First Nations communities, long term care homes, and refugee centres.

What is your global health message?

I want to see more of a decolonized, inclusive focus on groups that aren’t the ‘hot topic’ right now.

Tens of thousands of people are left literally and figuratively out in the cold because society at large either isn’t paying attention or isn’t listening to their needs.

Connect with Naomi on Linkedin