MHA thanks the 20th Century Club, Kiwanis, & Licking Memorial Hospital

Thousands of Licking County families have benefited from the generosity of the women of the 20^th Century Club. Since 1977 these women have provided the money to send newsletters to new parents with the goal of helping families raise mentally healthy children. The women’s service club also provides volunteers to mail the letters to new parents for the first 5 years of the child’s life. That is 34 years of supporting Mental Health America of Licking County in the agency’s ongoing efforts to promote good mental health and wellness.

A few years ago, Newark Kiwanis Club also supported this effort by providing some additional funding to help pay for rising costs of mailing the newsletters. Licking Memorial Hospital is to be commended for gathering the names of the new borns and distributing the first issue of ParenTalk in the hospital.

In 1977, the newsletter was called Pierre the Pelican but it became outdated and ParenTalk replaced Pierre. ParenTalk is written by Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Mental Health America of Franklin County. All first-time Licking County families are eligible to receive the 20 issues by letting us know the date of birth plus name and address of the parent/guardian. Our phone number is 740-522-1341 or email us at mhalc@alink.com.  The age appropriate letters are sent out monthly. We do ask you to let us know if you move, so you will not miss an issue.

ParenTalk deals with everything from post-partum blues to differences in children, to discipline and safety, bottle and breast feeding, tantrums and brain development, eating and sleeping habits, doctor checkups and difficult behaviors, self-esteem and getting along with others, early intervention and sharing, stress and family fun, communication and “telling stories”, learning and creativity, dealing with emotions and expressing anger plus a reminder that parents are a child’s first and most important teacher. Each issue is full of information, advice and resources for additional help.

Another big thank you to the 20^th Century Club for inserting into ParenTalk the Licking County Reading Foundation flyers that say Read for 20, a reminder to parents to read aloud to your child 20 minutes every day. Reading aloud to your child is the most important thing you can do from the day your child is born to prepare your child for success in school.

Mental Health America of Licking County is blessed by our Board of Trustees, donors, volunteers, clubs and organizations, a great staff of dedicated individuals and with funding provided by United Way and the Community Mental Health & Recovery Board.

--Paddy Kutz

Executive Director

Compeer and Wellness

Mental Health America of Licking County’s Compeer has an active “wellness” component as part of our program. It is locally based, not part of the International Compeer model. Our primary focus is community integration; however an emphasis is put on “wellness” at our twice monthly socials. We serve nutritious snacks or meals and provide programming on healthy lifestyles through our partnerships with the Licking Memorial Hospital, the Licking County Health department and other not-for profits that provide speakers or support materials. Mental health education is part of our programming and we encourage Compeer members to participate in the other 8 programs and services offered by our MHA agency, including Support Groups. Several members do participate in both.

We were one of “100 Pioneers” receiving a SAMHSA grants this spring as part of a new tobacco education/session program. Our winning project is adding a screening and referral process that asks all Compeer program volunteers and consumers when joining the program about their tobacco usage. Individuals using tobacco are referred to 1-800 quit line assistance or a local hospital program. We also provide education about the high prevalence of tobacco addiction and special needs of individuals who experience mental illness.

This past year, we received a grant from Walmart Foundation to purchase cooking supplies and healthy, easy-to-use cookbooks for each member from the American Heart Association/ American Diabetes Association. A consumer volunteer was invited to teach cooking lessons using the book.

We also created our own cookbook from recipes submitted by consumers, staff and volunteers to encourage healthy eating and to empower the consumers. They liked the idea and are working on a second, better book. We were able to donate the cookbooks to our agency auction fundraiser and contribute to the efforts to support our own program.

We attended a LMHS sponsored Women’s Health Informational Fair and health screenings. We occasionally bowl for exercise.

To encourage us to walk more, we received walking maps of the downtown area near our meeting place and pedometers, as part of a Licking County Health Department Program. Those who are able will be participating in an MHA agency sponsored walk on August 22nd.

--Kristen Frame

Compeer Coordinator