HEALTH in Columbia County

The annual  Town Hall Meeting on Underage Drinking will be in March. The latest results of the Arkansas Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (PRIDE Survey) will be released in time for the event. PRIDE surveys are conducted in Arkansas school districts and give us guidance on how to prevent underage alcohol and drug use.

Our regional Prevention Resource Center and HEALTH Coalition are sponsoring an adult survey to accompany the PRIDE Survey results. Please take a moment to complete the brief survey. This survey may also be shared with others in your organization, church, and friends and family. Print the survey to share with others. Or, save it to your computer and email to others.

Completed surveys may be returned in two ways:

Mail to HEALTH Coalition, P. O. Box 9293, Magnolia, AR  71754

Email to healthincolumbiacounty@live.com

TO TAKE THE SURVEY:

Click on the link below to go to the survey in Word .doc form.

Click the Download button to save the .doc to your computer.

Open the survey document with your Word or other word processing program.

Mark your responses on the document. SAVE.

Email the completed survey as an attachment to: healthincolumbiacounty@live.com

READY TO TAKE THE SURVEY, CLICK HERE!

Columbia County Community Connections provides the Columbia County Resource Directory as a free download. The directory was developed using Microsoft Word and will print on regular letter-size paper. Simply add the pages to a 3-ring binder for a hard copy of the directory. (If you are aware of a resource that isn’t listed, please send me Kim an email at klkeith@saumag.edu.)

Columbia County Resource Directory

Section One – When a Family Needs Assistance with Housing or Utilities

http://www.slideshare.net/kimberlykeith/one-housing-utilities-2904753

Section Two – When a Family Needs Assistance with Food, Clothing, or Household Goods

http://www.slideshare.net/kimberlykeith/two-food-clothing-household-goods

Section Three – When a Family Needs Assistance with Medical or Dental Care

http://www.slideshare.net/kimberlykeith/three-medical-or-dental-care-2904755

Section Four – When a Family Needs Assistance with Treatment for Emotional or Behavioral Disorders

http://www.slideshare.net/kimberlykeith/four-treatment-emotional-behavioral-2904747

Section Five – When a Family Needs Assistance with Education or Employment

http://www.slideshare.net/kimberlykeith/five-education-and-employment-financial-assistance-2904746

Section Six – When a Family Needs Assistance with Recreation or Entertainment

http://www.slideshare.net/kimberlykeith/six-recreation-or-entertainment-2904752

Section Seven – When a Family Needs Assistance with Safety or Legal Issues

http://www.slideshare.net/kimberlykeith/seven-help-with-safety-and-legal-issues-2904751

Physician Directory

http://www.slideshare.net/kimberlykeith/physician-directory-2904749

Table of Contents

http://www.slideshare.net/kimberlykeith/table-of-contents-2889922

Teens’ responses to the Arkansas Prevention Needs Assessment Student Survey in the Fall of 2008 indicate that most underage drinking is taking place at “Someone Else’s Home” or “My Home.”

Tips for Teen Parties at Your Home:

• Only allow teen parties when you are home to supervise.
• Consider making parties at your home ‘by invitation only.’
• Offer plenty of alcohol-free beverages.
• If a teen arrives at your home possessing or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, call the teen’s parents.
• Do not allow anyone under the influence to go home alone or drive. Call the appropriate law enforcement, if necessary.
• If you have alcohol in your home, monitor the supply and secure it out of reach of teens.

Remember that serving a minor is a criminal offense, and adults are potentially liable for resulting negative consequences.  Parents may be sued for damages and injuries caused by the underage individuals they serve.  The adult is held responsible, NOT the underage host or drinker.

More Tips for Safe Teens:

• Know where your children are. Assure them that they can telephone you to be picked up whenever they find themselves in a situation that is uncomfortable or threatening.
• Get to know your children’s friends and their parents.
• When your child is invited to an activity, verify the location and occasion with the adults responsible for the activity.
• Check on adult supervision, and verify that no drugs or alcohol will be available.
• Be awake or awakened when young people come home at night.
• If you need to leave your older teenagers alone overnight, alert your friends and neighbors, so they know you are planning to be away.

Safe Teen Party Pack Contest!

HEALTH in Columbia County wants to help you have a Safe Teen Party! Enter below to win the Safe Teen Party Grand Prize. The Grand Prize winner will receive all three gift certificates for a summer party for friends or family.

• $50 Wal-Mart gift certificate
• $25 Dairy Queen gift certificate
• $25 Pizza Inn gift certificate

To enter to win the Safe Teens Party Pack, please type your full Name and Email where indicated (ignore the Web Site box.) Type your mailing address, phone number, and date of birth in the big box.

This contest is open to adults, ages 21 and over, in Columbia County, Arkansas. One entry per household please.  Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on May 31, 2009.* Printed entry forms are available at select locations in Columbia County.”"

*Entries from the online submission are emailed to the blog account of HEALTH in Columbia County with time and date stamps. Only submissions received with a time and date stamp before the contest ends at 11:59 p.m., May 31, 2009 will be entered into the random drawing for one (1) Grand Prize winner. The drawing will be held Monday, June 1, 2009 and HEALTH will send notification to the winner by email and/or phone.  The name of the winner will be available to the public at the Community Connections office at Southern Arkansas University. The winner’s name only will be posted on the HEALTH Coalition Facebook Page and HEALTH in Columbia County blog.

**PRINTED COPIES OF THE PLEDGE AND ENTRY FORMS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS IN COLUMBIA COUNTY:

• Columbia County Health Unit
• SAU Community Connections Office (Peace Hall, Room 209)
• Magnolia/Columbia-County Chamber of Commerce

Hey! Welcome to the blog for HEALTH in Columbia County. This is where you will find helpful and healthful tips from your local Hometown Health Initiative coalition.

The HEALTH Coalition is a network of individuals representing every aspect of community life. Our mission is to Help Everyone Achieve Long-Term Health in Columbia County.

We welcome your participation in the HEALTH Coalition at our monthly meetings and online. We have a Facebook page and would love for you to be our fan/friend there.

At our ‘First-Monday’ monthly lunches, HEALTH focuses on different topics in prevention, families, senior adults, safety, and chronic illnesses. Online, we’ll share fun content from the Web, and feature a variety of contests and local events.

You’ll be surprised at the great information for health and well-being online; so let’s share with each other. We especially welcome your Comments on the HEALTH blog; and invite you to post photos, links, and other content to the HEALTH Facebook page. It is our hope that by ‘staying connected’ we can make a difference in someone’s life as we help each other achieve long-term health in Columbia County.

Take care,

Kim