Author: Neil Allen

Reducing Behavioral Health Disparities Webinar

Reducing Behavioral Health Disparities Webinar

Posted on by Neil Allen

Reducing Behavioral Health Disparities:
The Role of Substance Abuse Prevention
Thursday, March 6. 1:30pm-3:00pm
Parks Place
Bellows Falls

Come join us on Thursday March 6th for an interactive webinar. This is part of a series GFC is hosting looking at poverty, health disparities and where substance prevention fits in.Description
Achieving health equity begins with understanding how to recognize and address disparities in our work. This interactive webinar is designed to help substance abuse prevention practitioners better understand the constellation of factors associated with health disparities, the impact of disparities on health outcomes, and what we, as prevention specialists, can do to mitigate this impact.After participating in the webinar, participants will be
able to:

  • Define health disparities
  • Identify ways to assess the presence of behavioral health disparities
  • Describe the impact of health disparities on the provision of prevention service
Presenter
Iris Smith, Ph.D., M.P.H., Coordinator, CAPTSoutheast Resource Team
Dr. Smith oversees training and technical assistance provided to states and territories in the CAPT’s Southeast Service Area. In addition, she is an Associate Professor in the Behavioral Sciences and Health Education Department at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, where she teaches graduate courses in program evaluation, substance abuse, social determinants of health, and mental health. Prior positions include Director of National Evaluation Services for the American Cancer Society and Deputy Commissioner for the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice.
New Community Garden Gathering

New Community Garden Gathering

Posted on by Neil Allen

New Community Garden Gathering
Sunday, February 23. 1:30pm
Stone Church
Bellows Falls
Light refreshments provided.

The Food Security Collaborative is partnering with the Stone Church to establish a new community garden on the church grounds for the 2014 growing season!  The garden will offer plots to community members who live and work in the Bellows Falls area.  If you live or work in the Bellows Falls area, see below for details on how to get involved and sign up for a plot!

The garden will be built with the help of local experts during hands-on
workshops designed to teach gardeners and community participants how to build
the soil and get started with planting.  Throughout the growing season
gardeners will have the opportunity to attend additional workshops and will
have the support of the Food Security Collaborative to have a successful
gardening experience.

To kick-off the garden planning, a gathering will be held for anyone
interested in having a plot at the new Stone Church Garden.  This gathering
will be held on Sunday, February 23 at 1:30pm at the Stone Church in the
Chapel.  Light refreshments provided.

For more information and to RSVP please contact Food Security Collaborative
Project Manager, Kari Gypson at kgypson@yahoo.com or 802-282-8669.

Update From D.C. What's New In Prevention?

Update From D.C. What’s New In Prevention?

Posted on by Neil Allen

Happy February y’all! GFC staff is back from attending the CADCA National Leadership Forum & SAMHSA’s Prevention Day in Washington D.C. What an amazing, inspiring four days! We’ll be sharing everything we learned from the conference at our upcoming coalition meeting Friday, February 21st (postponed from 2/14) from Noon-1:30pm at Parks Place. Click Here to RSVP on our Facebook event page. In the meantime, check out Chad’s “mini-recap” below.

Free Tobacco Cessation Classes

Free Tobacco Cessation Classes

Posted on by Neil Allen

Tobacco Cessation Classes
Wednesday, February 19. 12:30pm-1:30pm
Parks Place
44 School St.
Bellows Falls

Congratulations on taking your first step towards being a quitter! This FREE, 4-week class runs every Wednesday from 12:30pm-1:30pm starting Wednesday, February 19th.

Learn useful tips, tools and tricks to quit smoking and stay quit. Terri Kneipp, a Vermont Quit Partner, will lead each class. By working with a Vermont Quit Partner, you can have free Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), like gum and patches or lozenges shipped directly to your home. When you combine nicotine replacements, like gum or patches, with the support of a Vermont Quit Partner, your chances of a successful quit double.

The classes are FREE, but you must pre-register. To register, call Terri at 802.251.8456.

For more information and other ways to quit smoking, go to 802Quits.org.

 

January is National Mentoring Month

January is National Mentoring Month

Posted on by Neil Allen

Happy New Year! Feels a bit late throwing that out there, but this is our first blog post of 2014. We’ll get on that this year, for reals. We hope everyone had a beautiful holiday and finding ways to stay warm during the prolonged freeze. Burrrrrr.

During our January 17th coalition meeting, we had the opportunity to hear from two amazing local organizations and discuss the power and importance of mentoring. January is National Mentoring Month. And while it’s only celebrated one month a year, the role mentoring plays in strengthening the community can be felt 24/7, 365.

Michelle Bos-Lun from Youth Services and Adrien Bagatelle from Big Brothers Big Sisters each talked about the numerous mentoring opportunities available within the Greater Falls community.

Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Windham County, a program of Youth Services, is dedicated to matching adult volunteers with children in a one-on-one mentoring relationship. There is currently a list of young people waiting to be matched with a Big and several opportunities to become a mentor. Adrien talked about a new school-based mentoring program starting up at Central Elementary School this year. Click Here to read local mentoring stories. For details, volunteer registration or to enroll a child, contact Adrien by email or calling 802.257.0361 x 138.

Youth Services provides programs and services that promote the healthy development of local youth and families in Southeastern Vermont and help them gain the skills necessary to lead constructive lives within the community. One of those programs is RAMP (Ready to Achieve Mentoring Program), a high-tech, career-focused mentoring program for youth. Area youth meet weekly to discuss life goals, career options and build community. Adults, businesses and community organizations come in to talk about their work and role within the community. Youth also have the opportunity to do site visits. Check out the video below for more information about RAMP. Interested in being volunteering? Contact Michelle by email or by calling 802.257.0361 x 120.

We are very blessed to have such passionate, dedicated people in our community. Mentoring builds trust, relationships and a connection to the community. We may only have a few more days left of January, but mentoring a young person can have profound, life-long impact.

Cheers!

Community Connection Workshop-Part 2

Community Connection Workshop-Part 2

Posted on by Neil Allen

Community Connection Workshop-Part 2
Monday, March 31. 1:00pm-3:30pm
Bellows Falls Union High School
Westminster, VT

**Update** Wow! We’ve had an amazing response and the workshop is now completely full! So, sadly, registration is now closed. If you would like to be put on the waiting list, please call Chad at 802.463.9927 ext 210**

Part 2 of this two-part workshop.This creative and participatory workshop will enhance our ability to achieve greater community connection, improved substance prevention, and increased access and affordability of food. Participation in Part 1 is strongly encouraged.

If you would like to participate in both sessions (March 3rd and 31st) and would like to be added to the waiting list, contact Chad Simmons at 802.463.9927 ext 210. We highly encourage participants attend both parts.

What’s this workshop all about? Participants will…

  • have a shared understanding of people living and working in this community by identifying assumptions that limit our work, and assets that can build our work.
  • have language, skills and direction to address risk and protective factors that contribute to problems at the community level and apply the concepts to our respective work, family and social networks.
  • be able to articulate root causes of substance abuse, hunger, and health disparities, and will have a plan for how to address those causes.
  • develop relationships that enhance collaboration built on trust, respect and shared decision making.

The workshop is FREE and all are welcome. Food and childcare will be provided.

We will release the specific times and locations by early February. Please contact Chad for more details. chad@greaterfallsconnections.org or 802.463.9927 ext 210.

This workshop is being facilitated by Angela Berkfield, Director of ACT For Social Justice.

Is Poverty Making Us Sick? Brown-Bag Lunch Webinar

Is Poverty Making Us Sick? Brown-Bag Lunch Webinar

Posted on by Neil Allen

Is Poverty Making Us Sick? Brown-Bag Lunch Webinar
Thursday, January 30. Noon-1:00pm
Parks Place (2nd Floor)
44 School St.
Bellows Falls

Is Poverty Making Us Sick?

Tracy Dolan, Deputy Commissioner of Public Health, Vermont Department of Health

Using Vermont statistics and personal stories, Deputy Commissioner Dolan will challenge our assumptions about what it means for people who live in poverty to have access to health services, and describes some of the hidden challenges people living in poverty face related to positive health behavior change.

This will be an hour-long webinar provided by Greater Falls Connections. Bring your own lunch or something to share!

For more information, contact Chad Simmons by clicking here or calling 802.463.9927 ext 210.

Community Connection Workshop-Part 1

Community Connection Workshop-Part 1

Posted on by Neil Allen

Community Connection Workshop-Part 1
Monday, March 3. 9:00am-3:00pm
Bellows Falls Union High School
Westminster, VT

**Update** Wow! We’ve had an amazing response and the workshop is now completely full! So, sadly, registration is now closed. If you would like to be put on the waiting list, please call Chad at 802.463.9927 ext 210**

We are excited to announce an upcoming workshop series, sure to create strong community. Many have asked us “when are you doing a follow-up training to the one you held in 2011?” Well, this is it and we’re digging a little deeper!

This creative and participatory workshop will enhance our ability to achieve greater community connection, improved substance prevention, and increased access and affordability of food.

To be  added to our waiting list, contact Chad Simmons at 802.463.9927 ext 210. We highly encourage participants attend both parts (Part 2 is Monday, March 31).

What’s this workshop all about? Participants will…

  • have a shared understanding of people living and working in this community by identifying assumptions that limit our work, and assets that can build our work.
  • have language, skills and direction to address risk and protective factors that contribute to problems at the community level and apply the concepts to our respective work, family and social networks.
  • be able to articulate root causes of substance abuse, hunger, and health disparities, and will have a plan for how to address those causes.
  • develop relationships that enhance collaboration built on trust, respect and shared decision making.

The workshop is FREE and all are welcome. Food and childcare will be provided.

Please contact Chad for more details. chad@greaterfallsconnections.org or 802.463.9927 ext 210.

This workshop is being facilitated by Angela Berkfield, Director of ACT For Social Justice.

Cooking and Freezing Local Food Workshop

Cooking and Freezing Local Food Workshop

Posted on by Neil Allen

Cooking and Freezing Local Food Workshop
Sunday, February 16. 1:00pm
Immanuel Episcopal Church, Bellows Falls

The workshop is free, though we always pass the hat to support our presenters.
Because of limited space, registration is required. To do so, call Tim
Stevenson, 802.869.2141.

THERE IS STILL SPACE AVAILABLE!!  CALL TO REGISTER!!

Our workshop presenter is Rachel Ware who, with her husband, runs their
AlpineGlo Farm in Westminster. Rachel will feature winter available vegetables
broccoli and carrots, and, perhaps, chicken. She will demonstrate the best way
to wash and cut up vegetables, how to simply freeze them, from blanching
through the freezing process, and then how to cook blanched vegetables by
adding them to three different recipes.Rachel will also show how to freeze the
three different prepared meals, along with best packaging and reheating
techniques.

Sponsored by the Food Security Collaborative.

The Food Security Collaborative is a project of Post Oil Solutions and is
active in the communities of Rockingham, Bellows Falls, Westminster, Saxtons
River, Cambridgeport, Grafton, and Athens. Its mission is to achieve greater
food security through the development of a garden-based local food system
resulting in enhanced civic pride, a stronger local economy, and a more
sustainable environment. For further information, contact Kari Gypson,
Collaborative Program Manager, kgypson@yahoo.co

January Coalition Gathering

January Coalition Gathering

Posted on by Neil Allen

January Coalition Gathering
Friday, January 17. 12-1:30pm
44 School St.
Bellows Falls, VT 05101

Happy New Year! As part of GFC efforts to prevent the abuse and misuse of prescription drugs, we are kicking off 2014 with stories, discussion and action surrounding local prevention efforts. Through our collective efforts, we can build community and prevent the devastating effects of Rx drug abuse.

Free, home cooked lunch will be served. All are welcome.

RSVP at our Facebook Event here.