CHIghlightsNews and information from the Blount County Community Health Initiative

Fall 2014

A C T I O N T E A M S H O W C A S E :4 Task Force Against Domestic

Violence

I N T H I S I S S U E2 Take A Stance ’14 High School Movie Night • Blount County Needs You 3 Action Team Updates 4 Healthy Resources

Promoting Awareness to Save LivesMHASPA co-chair Freida Herron honored for suicide prevention efforts

CHI Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Alli-ance (MHASPA) co-chair Fre-

ida Herron is the 2014 East Tennessee Regional Suicide Prevention Award winner. The annual award presented by the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN) recognizes TSPN members and others who have made exceptional contributions to local and statewide suicide prevention efforts. Herron, a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist, was hon-ored at the TSPN’s annual September event held in conjunction with Sui-cide Prevention Awareness Month. She has been a MHASPA member for more than five years, and, for four of those years, has co-chaired the alli-ance with Blount Memorial Emotion-al Health & Recovery Center director Anna Shugart. “Freida is a key MHASPA mem-

ber, and has brought many fresh new ideas and perspectives to the table for the team to consider,” says Shugart. “For example, it was Freida’s idea to use social media (Facebook) to drive the mental health awareness initia-tive, ‘Feeling Blue,’ with our partner, Maryville College.” Herron, who recently completed a doctoral program in clinical social work at the University of Tennessee, played a key role in the MHASPA’s decision to focus its energies on pro-moting Question, Persuade, Refer, or QPR, training. The hour-long QPR education program is internationally recognized and has been used to train hundreds of thousands of community members in suicide prevention tech-niques. According TSPN, QPR teaches people how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis, and then, how

www.blounthealth.org

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Meet the Action TeamsApproximately 180 people donate their time and talents to one of the Blount County Community Health Initiative action teams listed below. For a brief description of each team, visit www.blounthealth.org.

n Teen Pregnancy Prevention Teamn Substance Abuse Prevention Action

Teamn Blount BEneFITs Teamn Mental Health Awareness and

Suicide Prevention Alliancen Task Force Against Domestic

Violence

n Environmental Health Teamn Blount Believers Teamn Food Allergy Support Groupn SAFE Blount County (violence

prevention including child and senior abuse and neglect)

to question, persuade and refer the person in crisis to help. Herron and four additional QPR trainers have presented the class to more than 900 people in Blount County, and have set a goal of train-ing 3,000 people over a three-year period. Participants have included mental health professionals, crisis hotline workers and teachers, as well as community groups including book clubs, civic organizations and sup-port groups.

Could you save a life?Learn how at a free QPR suicide prevention training program.

In Tennessee, an estimated 800 men, women and children die by suicide each year. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among youth and young adults ages 15-24 in the state, meaning more people die by suicide annually than from homicide or drunk driving.

Question, Persuade and Refer are three simple steps that anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. The hour-long QPR training program is free and continues to be offered in Blount County. For information about upcoming QPR sessions or to schedule a training for your group, contact MHASPA co-chair Anna Shugart at 865-981-2306 or AShugart@bmnet.com.

2 CHIghlights Fall 2014

By sharing your time and talents with a Community Health Initiative action team, you can make a positive, lasting contribution to the health of our community. New volunteers are matched to the action team which best fits their interests, professional background or life experience. To learn how you can get involved, complete a volunteer action team application.

Applications are available on the Community Health Initiative website, www.blounthealth.org, or by calling Blount Memorial Foundation and Community Outreach project manager Jessica Belitz at 865-977-5745 or Blount Memorial Foundation executive director Jane Andrews at 865-977-5727.

Take A Stance ’14 High School Movie NightPopular SAPAT event celebrates local students who say “no” to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs

Blount County high school students who pledged to live substance-free got a chance

to walk the red carpet on Saturday, Nov. 22 at the annual Take A Stance High School Movie Night at Carmike Cinemas Foothills 12 in Maryville. Festivities included a free, premiere-style viewing of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1,” along with red carpet photos and fun Take A Stance giveaways. Ad-ditionally, former University of Tennessee football player and motivational speaker Inky Johnson served as guest speaker, providing students a special introduction about the importance of remaining drug- and alcohol-free. SAPAT (Substance Abuse Prevention Action Team) sponsors the celebratory Take A Stance event each year in

conjunction with Red Ribbon Week, an annual drug, alcohol, tobacco and violence prevention awareness cam-paign held nationally each October. While only local high school students are eligible for Take A Stance events, everyone in Blount County is invited

to join in the effort by:• supporting and encouraging young people who want to

live substance-free• sharing information about the negative consequences of

alcohol, drug and tobacco use• securely storing medications and alcohol at home to

prevent underage drinking and substance abuse• not hosting or supporting house parties or events where

alcohol is available to young people under age 21.

Blount County Needs You

CHIghlights 3Fall 2014

In each issue of CHIghlights, we’ll include any recent updates and achievementsfrom the action teams. To feature your team in an upcoming newsletter, send news items to Jessica Belitz at jbelitz@bmnet.com or Jane Andrews at jandrews@bmnet.com.

Action Team Updates

Food Allergy Support GroupThe Community Health Initiative’s Food Allergy Support Group offers information and support for individuals and families affected by food allergies and anaphylax-is. The group meets the fourth Tuesday of each quarter from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the

Blount Memorial Hospital auditorium. For more informa-tion, call 865-977-5727.

Substance Abuse Prevention Action Team (SAPAT)Saving Generation Rx: Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse in Blount CountyIn September, SAPAT hosted a public health education seminar about prescription drug abuse trends and issues affecting our community. The free program featured a panel presentation by experts such as Dr. John Dreyzehner, com-missioner, Tennessee Department of Health; Dr. Michael Warren, director, Division of Family Health and Wellness, Tennessee Department of Health; and Granger Brown, substance abuse outreach coordinator, Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network. Eligible attendees earned free CME credits for participating, and everyone was treated to a free breakfast and lunch.

Drug Take-Back DayNearly 250 people dropped off unused, unwanted or expired medications during the fall Drug Take-Back Day hosted by SAPAT and the Fifth Judicial Drug Task Force. Thanks to their efforts, Blount County was able to safely dispose of 435.50 pounds of medications and recycle 119.50 pounds of medication packaging.

Clean Out Your Medicine CabinetMake any day a Drug Take-Back Day

by bringing unwanted medications to the perma-nent, secure drop box located in the 24/7-intake

lobby of the Blount County Justice Center. All drop box deposits are anonymous.

4 CHIghlights Fall 2014

FREE GUIDES• RECREATIONThe Blount BEneFITs action team created a Recreational Resource Guide for Blount County to help families easily access local recreational and wellness information. Visit www.blounthealth.org to download the guide.

• SUICIDE PREVENTIONThe Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention team helped develop a suicide prevention resource guide for the community. Visit www.blounthealth.org to download the guide, or get a free copy by calling the Blount Memorial Emotional Health & Recovery Center at 865-981-2300.

• TOBACCO USELiving Tobacco-Free is a free, local resource guide from Blount Memorial for people who are ready to quit smoking or stop using smokeless

Healthy Resourcestobacco products. To get your free copy, call the Blount Memorial Foundation and Community Outreach at 865-977-5727, or visit www.blountmemorial.org and look under the Patient Resources block of the homepage.

WEBSITES• Blount County Community Health

Initiative, www.blounthealth.org• Blount Memorial Hospital,

www.blountmemorial.org • Drug Free Communities

Support Program, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/dfc

• Tennessee Department of Health, http://health.state.tn.us

LOCAL RESOURCES• Alcoa Police Department – 865-981-4111• Blount County Health

Department – 865-983-4582

• Blount County Sheriff’s Office – 865-273-5000• BCSO Domestic Violence Unit – 865-273-5004• Maryville Police Department – 865-273-3700• Non-Emergency Dispatch – 865-983-3620• Blount County District Attorney’s

Office – 865-273-5600• Child & Family Services – 865-637-8000• Children’s Advocacy Center – 865-981-2000

24-HOUR HELP/SHELTERS• Haven House (Blount County) –

865-982-1087, www.havenhousetn.org

• Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee – 865-522-7273

• Iva’s Place (Loudon County) – 865-816-3481

• Hope Center (Athens) – 423-745-5289

• Domestic Violence Hotline – 1-800-799-7233

A C T I O N T E A M S H O W C A S E

Task Force Against Domestic Violence

On Oct. 28, the task force held its 17th annual Candlelight Vigil to honor survivors and those who have lost their lives to domestic violence. Guest speakers encouraged attend-

ees to “get informed and get active” by working together to end domestic violence. The vigil also included the Clothesline Project, a powerful visual display bearing witness to the violence against individuals through T-shirts decorated to represent the experience of a survivor or loved one of a victim.

Help Protect Survivors OnlineThe National Network to End Domestic Violence

(NNEDV) and Facebook have teamed up to help survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and cyber bullying maintain safety and control over their social media profiles, photos and information. Safety & Privacy on Facebook: A Guide for Survivors of Abuse includes tips about using Facebook to stay connected with friends and family while controlling safety and privacy. The goal is to help prevent online abuse and harassment, as well as protect location information and other personal details that could put a survivor’s life at risk. Read and download the free guide at the National Network to End Domestic Violence website, nnedv.org.