CHART group plans resource guide

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Local organizations offering a variety of support services met on Monday in the conference room at On My Own in Nevada to form the first Community Health Assistance Resource Team that has been active in Vernon County in several years.

Several that offer health related services each took a few moments to tell the group how they helped individuals and communities. Some of them were large organizations, such as United Way and the West Central Community Action Agency.

One goal of CHART is to create a community resources guide. CHART and the resource guide are funded by a grant that Stacey Wilson, On My Own's development and community relations director, wrote and submitted.

Wilson was notified while she was attending a grant proposal seminar the Grantsmanship Center in Los Angeles offered in St. Louis in March. The grant will fully fund the resource guide and provide three months of funding for CHART.

John Gulick, a development and funding consultant for Cerner Inc. told everyone at the meeting that CHART organizations were started in the 1990s, but were called assessment teams rather than an assistance team. Its purpose, he said, was to gather data on the types of services needed.

Now that the data has been gathered and analyzed, the teams are geared toward assistance, Gulick said.

The mix of governmental, private and public entities in the hour-long meeting made it clear that there is a lot of assistance in the community for a variety of health and well-being related issues. On MY Own offers several different services for people who are disabled and people who aren't.

Many of their programs are open to the public and many are free or cost just a few dollars. In many cases, scholarships are available. On My Own also has in-home care programs, consumer directed services, cooking classes and a host of other services for the individual.

West Central offers a multitude of services and opportunities, such as a home weatherization program for homeowners, and can offer struggling families help with utility bills. There also is a program that provides air conditioners in the summer months and another with employment and training opportunities.

Rep. Janet Ross said this year's funding had been used and it would be a while before new funding for some programs was allocated.

The American Red Cross was on hand to tell the group about disaster assistance and the organizations help with veterans who may need an emergency leave because of a death or serious illness in the family.

The Red Cross also offers first aid training, cardiopulmonary resuscitation classes and lifesaving training.

Nevada Regional Medical Center was represented at the meeting, as was the Career Center, Nevada Police Department, the Senior Center, Heartland Hospital, Nevada Parks and Recreation, Head Start and other groups.

Wilson said the meeting was a great way to kick off the CHART.

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