Virginia Graziani

Redwood Times

The November general meeting of Southern Humboldt Working Together (SHWT) brought together over a dozen community activists to update each other on various projects and to begin planning for SHWT’s spring conference.

Although two of the SHWT board members, Rio Anderson and Mark Schaffner, were unable to attend the meeting, there was plenty of support and enthusiasm. The task of facilitating the meeting fell to the newest member of the board, Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District Administrator Harry Jasper.

At Jasper’s request, this meeting began with a discussion of the meaning of SHWT’s mission statement.

Board member Kathy Epling says she sees these meetings as “neutral ground,” where community members can come together even if they are not serving on a non-profit board or are “invested” in any activity or group. Kathryn Lobato said she had worked with different non-profits who had begun as groups under SHWT’s umbrella.

The “check-in” agenda item, when attendees introduced themselves, brought out information about projects and programs serving the community in diverse ways.

Melissa Reynolds, a youth caseworker, has a three-year grant to work with runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth ages 12-17. She has an office at South Fork High School, as well as space at the Family Resource Center in Redway. “I am community-based, not school-based,” Reynolds declared.

Although casework is her first interest, Reynolds also has a grant to create several “rural host homes” in remote areas. Beginning in January 2010, she will be recruiting and training families to provide temporary shelter in their homes for teenagers who need refuge from bad situations.

Another youth worker present was Cory Lemings, who is planning a youth job fair under the auspices of Americorps. Lemings is also organizing a series of workshops at high schools to help youth enter the workplace. Subjects such as job readiness, leadership development, resume and interview coaching, self-assessment, and CPR/first aid training will be presented in South Fork classrooms.

Southern Humboldt’s home-grown youth activist Emma Worldpeace also attended, bringing the bad news that she will be leaving the area to return to college in January 2010. The grant-funded position at the Family Resource Center that she was promised was delayed for so long that she ran out of time.

The good news, Worldpeace said, is that this full-time position is now open for another applicant. For more information, contact her at the Family Resource Center.

In the meantime, Worldpeace is still deeply involved in several local projects, including Recycled Youth, Youth Alive! and Outdoor Adventures. She is also continuing her work with peer mediation at South Fork High School.

Kathryn Lobato, who is on the board of directors of Humboldt Area Foundation, announced that for the first time, HAF has created a grant fund dedicated to use in Southern Humboldt. HAF will begin accepting applications in February 2010. Selection will be made by a local team, Lobato said.

Redwoods Rural Health Center executive director Anne Staunton announced that RRHC has created a new support group for adults, focusing on nutrition and weight management. This group meets from 4 to 5 p.m. every Tuesday from now through May 2010 at the Family Resource Center.

Joe Ashenbrucker, an outreach worker for the county Department of Public Health, announced he is now the vice-president of the newly organized Lions Club. The Lions, a service organization focused on sight and hearing problems, meets on the first and third Mondays of the month at 7 p.m. They are currently recruiting members, and are planning some fundraisers for the spring.

Another activist involved in health issues, Beth Wells, works for the county health department’s North Coast AIDS Project (known as NorCap) and for Redwood AIDS Information Network and Services (RAINS).

Wells said that the NorCap van will be available to serve people living with HIV and AIDS in this area twice a month, beginning in December. During November the van has been commandeered for H1N1 (”swine flu”) outreach. On the second and fourth Tuesdays, the van will be at the Mateel Community Center in Redway at approximately noon, and then will move to Garberville at approximately 2 p.m.

RAINS is currently having its annual fundraising drive, so that it can continue to help people living with HIV and AIDS with a variety of services, as well as providing community condom distribution and HIV education in schools.

Additionally, because of budget cuts in county Department of Health, Wells is also covering tobacco, alcohol, and drug use prevention. In that capacity, she passed out a brochure with tips for planning fundraising events without alcohol and for making events with alcohol safer.

Epling reported that the local Food Security group has applied to SHWT to umbrella them so that they can accept a grant to buy a freezer for the food pantry at the Presbyterian Church.

Under “new business,” Jasper talked about SHCHD’s efforts to collaborate with other local and regional health care providers and policy makers, following a national model called “The Culture of Wellness.”

Jasper is particularly excited about developing personal health records, using technology that will allow individuals to access their medical records with a “smart card” like a debit card. Patients will also be able to interact with their health care providers under this system, which should help with prevention and with the management of chronic illnesses.

This technology should also help the Southern Humboldt community participate in a study of healthy living and prevention that Jasper hopes will be funded by a grant. The three-year program will involve community participation in tracking different strategies for maintaining health and will identify which are successful.

Jasper will make a presentation on this subject at SHWT’s next general meeting on December 4.

The group discussed plans for SHWT’s annual spring conference, which they hope to coordinate with the Healing Arts Alive! event at the new town square. Jasper would also like to include a health workshop sponsored by SHCHD. Worldpeace suggested including a skit about health care that the Recycled Youth theater group is working on.

SHWT general meetings, which are always open to the public, are held at noon on the first Wednesday of every month at the Sanderson Building (formerly the Masonic Hall) in Garberville.