Charities share service strategies, talk utilizing resources

Several area groups gather at Monett library, describe outreach efforts for those in need within community
 
Area organizations offering outreach to people in need met on Aug. 25 in Monett to share notes on local programs, seeking collaboration in utilizing resources.
The gathering was held at the Monett branch of the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library. Rachel Luebbering, executive director of the Barry-Lawrence County Coalition of Charities, served as moderator. Eight speakers outlined their programs. Fourteen additional on-site partners brought information on their programs to further enhance networking opportunities.
Monett Area Chamber
Jasmine Burks, executive director with the Monett Area Chamber of Commerce, led off presentations, outlining the Chamber’s involvement in activities, bringing people to Monett, promoting Monett’s slogan “Pride and Progress,” enhancing industry and the business environment.
Burks noted Trinity Lutheran Church in Freistatt has started a daycare service for the area that can take up to 16 children. Drop-in rates are available for making doctor visits. The Chamber is also participating in the Multicultural Festival in Monett on Oct. 18.
Missouri EATS
Lisa Robinson, a field specialist for the University of Missouri Extension Service, spoke about the Missouri EATS program (Engage, Act, Transform), engaging and cultivating local food access systems through supporting food businesses to help reduce hunger. Barry and Lawrence counties have been selected as part of the statewide program. In that effort, Lainey Harvick with Harvick Farms in Cassville is working with food pantries in an effort to get local food into schools. Robinson said Missouri EATS promotes small entrepreneurs.
“We’re looking for people who are passionate about local food programs,” Robinson said. Exercising “civic muscle,” place-based efforts building social capital, and engaging in meetings can develop and support local efforts built on trust. “You can only move at the speed of trust,” she added.
Clark Community Mental Health Center
Michael Cotter, substance disorder director with the Clark Community Mental Health Center, described the Clark Center’s outreach to the most vulnerable population through therapists, case management and peer support. Cotter noted half the clients in this program are involved in the justice system. He said the changing landscape with Medicaid and Medicare is impacting the way people access services. Clark’s strategy continues to serve walk-in clients. “No one is turned away,” he stressed.
Opioids remain the biggest pharmaceutical problem for these patients. Cotter added that case workers have seen an increase in THC-based psychosis from the legalization of marijuana use. “This isn’t your grandma’s weed,” he said, as today’s products have a much higher potency than those in past decades. He urged people having difficulties, or knowing people who struggle, to get them to come in for an assessment. Staff will review their situation to explore further options.
Stone County Recovery
Tammy McLaughlin, a certified peer specialist from Stone County Recovery, reviewed the program that began five years ago in the basement of the Keystone Baptist Church. A fully volunteer-staffed drop-in center, Keystone, certified by the Missouri Department of Mental Health, now has five houses funded by opioid settlement funds. Houses each hold five people, plus one that holds 10 women. Entry fee is $350 and to stay costs $600 a month or $175 a week. Residents can stay for nine months and have been all Stone County residents, though others may be considered. Applications may be made at StoneCountyRecovery.com.
Keystone has a warming facility, the only one in the county, that can accommodate 60 people. The organization also has a children’s center, offering children’s clothing, and hosts Alcoholics Anonymous as well as other meetings. Keystone helped five other centers open.
Watered Gardens
Travis Hurley, director of advancement for the Watered Gardens Ministries, discussed the outreach center run in Joplin, providing overnight and emergency shelter. The facility has 40 beds for men and 10 for women. Watered Gardens, which receives no government subsidies, has a respite shelter so that people leaving a hospital have a place to go and a work shelter. The 25-year-old organization opened a long-term recovery program for men in 2016. It also runs the Washington Family Hope Center, a mom-and-children’s shelter with 15 spaces, and a thrift store that puts all its proceeds back into the program.
The national True Charity Network grew out of Watered Gardens. Hurley said Watered Gardens is tailored for Joplin, but its shelters are open to people who live within a 30-mile radius. “Our success is measured by outcomes, not outputs,” he said. The organization’s goal is to build character, career, and connection, with more than 250 network connections in other towns. More details are available at Wateredgardens.org.
First Steps
Mendy Nash, service coordinator for First Steps for Southwest Missouri, reviewed how First Steps screens children 5 and under for developmental delays and provides in-home therapy. First Steps largely looks for issues such as autism, spina bifida, cleft palates, seizures, and conditions arising from Shaken Baby Syndrome. Screenings also look for communication awareness and neurodivergent issues, infections, autoimmune issues, plus genetic conditions.
First Steps can provide physical, occupational, and speech therapies, and special instruction.
Catholic Charities housing
Ken Palermo, with Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri, discussed the Mountaintop housing development in Mt. Vernon, located near the Veterans Home. Supported by a $1 million grant, Mountaintop built 42 units with low-income tax credits, and opened with a waiting list of 94 people. The housing program enables social services to bring programs and case managers to clients where they are.
The Springfield-based O’Reilly family served as the general contractor for the facilities. Rental rates run from average market costs to 30 to 60 percent of that. Seven units are set aside for veterans. The units, Palermo noted, are nice enough that he would live there. He observed outreach has a better chance of success with a blend of incomes. The principal goal is to provide housing to an underserved population. Single parents and their children, he said, have the greatest need for such facilities.
Barry County Sheriff
Barry County Sheriff Danny Boyd concluded the program. He discussed the Citizens Academy that offered an eight-week program to 20 people, starting in March. He hoped to gain more applicants from the north part of the county. That program shows how law enforcement works, the training needed for deputies to know how to respond to different situations, and includes a ride-along with a deputy for four hours, plus talks with both the county prosecutor and a judge. The next session starts on Sept. 16.
Boyd described two major scams running in the area recently. A caller may claim to be from law enforcement, declaring there is a bench warrant that can only be satisfied if the person called will meet the caller at a specific location with a gift card from a specific business. The other scam was run by a team targeting people trying to sell their vehicles. Ten locals were duped by a group from Irving, Texas, this way. Boyd said officers were able to recover all 10 vehicles.
Also attending the session with information on their programs were: Katy Velasquez, Family Advocacy Solutions; Joelene Powell, Arising N Hope and the Apparel Program; Derek Cornelius, Life Change of SW MO; Kerri Watson, Lawrence County Board for Developmentally Disabled; Elizabeth Satchell, Law Office of the Ozarks; April Grimes, Restore Family Preservation; Kathryn Haddock, KVC Foster Parent Training Specialist; Robyn Chrysler, Missouri Alliance for Children and Family; Dianne Mason, Clark Community Mental Health Center; Elizabeth Sturgill, Monett Area YMCA; Rhonda Schilly, Drury GO Monett and Camp; Rebecca Haines, The Pregnancy Care Center; Tony Airoso, Mending Trauma; and Elizabeth Satchell, Opportunity Villages.
The Coalition of Charities offered a Google meeting for the Mt. Vernon area on Sept. 8 and will host a gathering of resource providers in Dade County on Sept. 22 at 2 Main Street in Greenfield.