Last year I wrote my first article for Historic Union News on “Union County Health Council Working Hard to Improve Lives in Our Community.” Of course, the Coronavirus derailed so many things including Health Council meetings — although the Health Department continued its important work of keeping services available to our community while also striving to educate and address the pandemic.
With the new year, the Health Council is looking for ways to be more effective in making life better in our community.
One program that Tiffany Tate had brought to the council was the formation of a Community Advisory Board (CAB). A CAB is a cooperative effort between the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) and the community it serves to address the needs of at-risk children and families. This program was created in 2006-2008 and has developed a toolkit to aid in the formation of each local CAB.
The purpose is to look into the life of the child and family in need, especially those in danger of being removed from the home. The goal is two-fold: first to prevent removals by supporting families in crisis, and second to restore the family unit when it is safe and in the best interest of the child.
Although DCS workers can be involved in the CAB, they cannot hold office. This program is very intentional about being community-led. Although there is no specific funding set aside for CABs, a CAB can do fundraising or apply for grants to achieve their goals. It has been proposed that we invite each local church to set aside $100 of their benevolence budget to meet needs as they arise and to invite them to send a representative from their church to participate in this program and to decide which need their church chooses to meet.
Twenty-seven participants from Anderson, Monroe, and Union counties met via Zoom on January 13, 2021, to work on developing a CAB for Union County, as had begun discussed in the winter/ spring before COVID.
Here is some of the information shared:
- Ursula Manning of the Union County Health Department has put together a Resource Guide.
- Tiffany Davis of the Department for Children’s Services shared some of the current needs in our community: food, personal hygiene items, laundry detergent, and car seats — contacting the sheriff’s department to see if there is already a car seat program or funding available.
- We discussed the need to create a social media page and a volunteer to keep it updated.
- Mindy Grimm of Icare shared that she can offer recovery classes for parents who have lost their kids and an educational program to help them take the necessary steps to reunite the family. To take advantage of this and other services available through Icare you may contact Mindy Grimm at (865) 216-0475 or unioncountyicare@gmail.com.
- Mindy Sidwell of the Relative Caregiver Support Group shared that although meetings are suspended due to the pandemic, she is still enrolling families in the program and offering support to them. If you or someone you know is raising a relative’s child, you may contact Mindy at (865) 216-7541 or msidwell@omnivisions.com.
- Kathy Wright of Pearls of Grace shared that their focus this year is on trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and building a community alliance for trauma informed care and training the trainer for ACES. To learn more visit PearlsOfGrace.org.
- Free homework help is available at 615-298-6636 or visit homeworkhotline.info.
- Beth Sexton, Public Health Educator shared a new reading program with mentorship including Highway Department officers willing to read to kids.
- 4-H has a youth development program that features student-to-student mentorship.
A doodle poll will determine when the monthly meetings will take place, although for now they are via Zoom. Keep an eye on HistoricUnionCounty.com’s event page for future meetings.