By Mary Alice Murphy

The members of the Grant County Community Health Council heard the final five priority plan partner group reports and staff reports to complete its Jan. 12, 2015 quarterly meeting.

The next report, given by Maria Elena Jaurequi-Cross, was one of two reports on the council's family resiliency priority.

"We put in for a (Freeport-McMoRan) Community Investment Fund grant for shared services," Jaurequi-Cross said, "so we can provide early childhood education. We found someone to be a community representative. In October, we held a Celebration of Families event, for everyone in the family to have fun in the park."

Terry Anderson, council member representing the child-care sector, said the Community Partnership for Children, a 501c3 organization, would take on the shared services issue.

Jaurequi-Cross said the executive committee meets once a month and the regular meeting of the group is the second Monday of the month. She invited interested people to email her at juarequim@wnmu.edu.

Representing the seniors/senior lifecycle portion of the Family Resiliency priority, Connie Hostetler said the group has two goals. The first is to begin a second caregiver training on Feb. 7. It is a seven-session training. The second goal is to research and determine "lost" senior services. "We have Wanda Hall and her hospice operation, and I will be talking to AmberCare. We work with the Silver Adult Care Services, which wants to put a pilot project in the Silver City Senior Center. Legal Aid has asked us to collaborate with it. January 22, from 1-5 p.m. the Aging and Long-Term Services Department Capital Project Bureau will offer a training session at the Grant County Business and Conference Center for getting capital outlay for senior issues during the 2016 legislative session."

Under the Community Health and Safety priority, Susie Trujillo spoke as part of the Disabilities Advisory Council. "We got the Governor's Disability Council to meet here. We had some money, but needed a facility. Former Silver City Mayor James Marshall worked with Silver Schools Superintendent Lon Streib to swap land and a building."

Patty West of the DAC said, because of the governor's council meeting, the group was allowed to bring assistive technology (AT) to Silver City. "It includes things all the way from a wheelchair to a magnifier that people locally will be able to rent. Before they had to drive all the way to Albuquerque to rent items, so most people in the community were without this help. We can spend $40,000 on equipment to be lent out through the southwest corner of the state. We're presently doing needs assessments for the assistive technology. Every age group needs it. The state Disability Planning Council will also meet here. We hope for mid-February to open our center and the lending area for the AT."

Trujillo begged for chairs and filing cabinets. Health Council member Evangeline Zamora, part of the DAV, said the group is thankful for all donations it has already received.

Trujillo said Cindy McClean and the DWI program had donated a television and a BluRay player, and McClean will give trainings at the center.

For the Interpersonal Violence council priority, Kendra Milligan, Health Council assistant coordinator, reported on behalf of CARES (Grant County Community Advocates for Respect, Equality and Safety) member, Damie Nelson, who had to leave the meeting before she could give her report, and said the group is rebuilding, after the loss of one member when she died, and another who moved away. Milligan said they were working on referrals on Wed. Jan. 21 at 5 p.m.

She also reported on the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Task Force. She said the group has seen a lot of people who meet the requirements for aid, but "poverty gets in the way. We are asking for poverty awareness training. She said the funding for domestic violence shelters has changed to 100 percent for heads in beds, which, when the shelter is not full, causes shortfalls in funding for programs. "Rural communities require separate funding for administration." After a person is convicted of domestic violence, the person loses the right to own a gun, which is causing people to plea bargain down. The next DV and SATF will meet at noon, Thursday, Feb. 5, at El Refugio."

Under staff reports, Razanna Thomas, Partnerships for Success II and Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition coordinator, said the program is aimed at youths 12-20 on alcohol abuse, and 12-25 for prescription drug abuse.

Valerie Slover, assistant for the PFS II and YSAPC, said the group is also working on a program called SYNAR, to prevent underage tobacco use. "We give a quick education to retail outlets that sell tobacco products. The next phase will have undercover persons to make sure retail outlets are carding everyone before they sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years. We will be getting youths to go out into the community, without IDs and without money."

"We are also revamping the 101 Things for Youths to Do in Grant County," Slover said. "It was very successful last year. We want to add more businesses to have something for the youths to do in their establishments. We have spoken to entities that are already up and going with the program. We will invite groups of youths to come with us and go out into the community, so they know where to go for the activities. The coalition meets the second Friday of every month at noon at the Silver City Annex upstairs."

She also asked Health Council members to take a survey on awareness and readiness in the community on the issue of substance abuse.

Slover said the group held a town hall on school policy, for students and parents from Silver Schools. Another will be held at Cobre High School on Feb. 17.

"School policy is one of our requirements," Slover said. "We want to help schools be transparent in their policies. Some policies are state requirements and cannot be changed."

The coalition applied for a Community Investment Fund grant to start a Youth Council for Grant County. "We will outline our strategies with school administrators on April 27."

Milligan said Western New Mexico University had received its feasibility results from the School of Nursing, which planned to expand the program into Deming. "We recommended they train certified nurse technicians, medical assistants and lab techs."

She reported the Public Trees for Public Health neighborhood orchards plan was underway, thanks to grants from United Way and the Wells Fargo Foundation. "We will have 20 orchards, planting five each spring this year and next and each fall both years. We are partnering with The Volunteer Center and the Sixth Street School garden."

Chris DeBolt, Health Council coordinator, said the New Mexico Alliance of Health Councils seems to have gotten traction on possible funding for health councils across the state, after alliance members talked to the Governor's Policy Office. "We see support. We were also advised not to send form letters asking for support for the funding. I will send you an example, but the idea is for you to personalize it, as a constituent. At the legislative session, Jan. 26 is Public Health Day and Grant County Prospectors will be in Santa Fe Jan. 27 and 28. We, as a health council, will have a table."

"Senior Hunger is a Health Council project," she continued. "It's a huge problem here."

There is so much work to do," DeBolt said. "We need to focus the Health Council's time. We have a limited cooperative challenge with the idea to hold a food drive to gather at least 10,000 pounds of food. We are asking each sector member to gather food. Then we will lay out tables and pack the food into boxes for seniors."

Alicia Edwards, Health Council member, representing Food Security and Community Resiliency as The Volunteer Center executive director, said the members must focus on what types of food to collect. "Then we can create the senior boxes."

The meeting ended after two full hours of information.

Disclaimer: Health Council member, representing the media sector, Mary Alice Murphy, writes these reports for the Grant County Beat, as part of her duty as a member, using the notes she takes at the meetings.