The Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey hosts special speakers during public meetings held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 9am at the Silver Springs Community Center at 2945 Ft. Churchill Road. Each meeting also includes resource sharing, updates and discussion on issues of regional importance such as health and wellness, substance abuse prevention and recovery, education, workforce development, etc. On May 12, the featured speakers will be from the Tobacco Cessation Helpline.
The Healthy Communities Coalition (HCC) includes people of all ages, from all parts of the community, and from local, county, state, federal and tribal agencies who have come together with the common goal of enhancing citizens’ ability to improve their own communities. Partnerships developed through the Coalition are extremely effective in causing positive change both at a community level and at an individual behavior level.
Coalition Collaboration Leads to Results:
— Support was added for Veterans and Military Families Services:The Lyon County region was chosen as one of a handful to pilot a new rural veteran outreach pilot by the national Veterans’ Administration. The Coalition and Silver Stage Task Force collaborated with the VA and other groups to add a veterans’ outreach focus to the annual community wellness fair on May 7 at Silver Stage High.
Healthy Communities Coalition funded the first military family and veteran networking socials with military services outreach that were organized by coalition partners in the Silver Stage Task Force this year.
— Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug (ATOD) Prevention Education and Intervention Reached Thousands: More than 20,000 youth and adults in Lyon, Storey and Mineral were reached with alcohol, tobacco and other drug use prevention education (ATOD);
100 Stand Tall youth leaders in Lyon and Storey were trained intensively in ATOD prevention and leadership and life skills and led 170 activities in their schools and communities;
More than 22,000 pills were collected during two county-wide prescription drug take back events in Lyon and a 3rd is planned for May 7;
Alcohol law compliance trainings were provided to servers in Storey, Mineral and Lyon and dozens of alcohol compliance checks were conducted;
Alcohol ordinances were improved in Lyon;
Extra hours for officers were funded to ensure safety of the large influx of visitors to Lake Lahontan during holidays, and to reduce alcohol related incidents. HCC has funded $5,000 for additional officer coverage of the Memorial Day and July 4th holidays for the Park this year.
— Arts Opportunities and Educational Enrichment Were Added: Nearly 500 young people in Lyon and Storey had added arts and culture experiences during elementary school and summer programs;
More than 1,500 free books were distributed at social services and youth program sites in Lyon, Storey and Mineral last spring;
— Hunger was Reduced and Community Volunteerism Increased: Over 100 volunteers participated in the Dayton Food Pantry, while an average of 1,000 people per month received food assistance at the Pantry. In addition, an ever increasing number of children in Dayton and Silver Springs schools have weekend food through a weekend backpack food program (roughly 70 children at press time);
600 coats and 95 Thanksgiving meal baskets were gathered and distributed by Stand Tall youth teams in Lyon;
Nearly 1,000 Lyon children received holiday gifts of warm clothing and toys;
Suicide Prevention Outreach and Crisis Resources Were Increased
816 Lyon students were served in 2010-11 through Project Success student assistance on issues such as hunger, suicide, drug use, and teen pregnancy prevention, and housing issues and graduation coaching;
At least 100 key community members were trained in suicide prevention skills in Lyon in 2010-11;
A new Lyon area support group for suicide loss was created in 2010;
And 6 schools in Lyon and Storey piloted an innovative Office of Suicide Prevention crisis text line for students in 2010-2011, the first in the country to be implemented in public schools.
— Preventative Health Services Were Increased: More than 1,000 people received free flu shots in Lyon and Mineral in Oct-Dec 2010 and hundreds of other types of free child immunizations were given in Lyon during community task force fairs and other events;
Free HIV testing and risk prevention education were offered at multiple health fairs by Northern Nevada HOPES
Upcoming Work on Nutrition, Behavioral Health:
The Coalition members and partners are working together in the upcoming year to further develop 4 new school gardens in Silver Springs and Dayton and to add school gardens in Yerington and Fernley by 2012. The Coalition is also collaborating with partners such as schools, health and volunteer groups to add more fresh produce and whole grains to school lunches, to expand community gardens and farmers’ markets and nutrition education, and to expand access to emergency food, mental health and primary health services and graduation coaching and other student assistance services.
Coalition partners from every sector of the community are working together to develop a regional youth violence prevention plan with help from national and state experts in the field.
Adding additional community support for military families and veterans this year through initiatives such as monthly dinner socials with guest speakers, and a large-scale veterans’ and military families outreach event on May 7, is a goal the Coalition members are united in.
The Coalition will continue to work for prevention of suicide, by hosting suicide prevention trainings tailored for first responders, employment agency staff and food bank volunteers, and offering opportunities for more schools to adopt the innovative crisis texting program through Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention.
As always, the Coalition will work on prevention of and treatment for alcohol, tobacco, prescription and other drug abuse. And this year, youth leaders have unveiled a statewide campaign to discourage marijuana use among teens (see their Facebook page under Weed it Out 419). The Coalition members will also work with partners such as law enforcement and schools to share emerging information about the health issues and legal issues surrounding synthetic drugs marketed as bath salts or plant food, Spice (synthetic cannabinoids), alcoholic energy drinks, prescription drug misuse, tobacco, heroin, meth, and marijuana.
Please see www.healthycomm.org or www.facebook.com/healthycommunitiescoalition for more information
Spring Special Presentations during the Healthy Communities Public Meetings:
Thursday, May 12, 2011: Tobacco Cessation Helpline: Nevada Tobacco User's Helpline staff will explain their outreach to help Nevadans with tobacco cessation. The Helpline is a free telephone service - people who enroll in services at the Helpline are 5 times more likely to successfully quit tobacco than those who try to quit on their own.