Healthy Families:
The Starting Point

[FEB. 21, 2000]  Doesn’t it make sense that if you have strong, sound families, you will have a strong, sound community? That’s the feeling of a group of volunteers known as the Healthy Families Task Force. This group wants to impact our community with the strength of healthy families. Their Mission Statement says, "The Healthy Families Task Force recognizes that the workings of a family’s dynamics affect the health of the Logan County community as a whole. Therefore, our goal is to provide support, education and other activities to strengthen and enhance family dynamics."

Leading this group of volunteers is Chairperson Becky Sank, local office administrator at D.H.S. and Co-Chairperson Marcia Dowling, R.N. and education coordinator at the Logan County Health Department. Sank began chairing the task force in December of 1999 after working with Reatha Owen of the Lincoln Parent’s Center. The task force has been operating since the early part of 1999 under the umbrella of the Healthy Communities Partnership.

Topping the list of objectives of the Healthy Families Task Force for the year 2000, is an awareness campaign. At their Feb. 17 meeting, this was the first topic of discussion. Feeling that many families and individuals are not aware of the agencies and organizations in Logan County, the task force wants to compile a simple resource listing of all that is available for those seeking assistance. A task force member referred to "something that people will keep, maybe in or with their phone book for an easy reference."

[Members of the task force meet to 
plan the next step.]

Another top priority of the task force is to address the issue of teen pregnancies in Logan County, not only to prevent teen pregnancies, but also to strive to meet the needs of teen parents and those soon to be teen parents. With education and counseling at Lincoln High School, through the Lincoln Parent’s Center, the task force intends to begin to make a difference. Barbara Follis, a parent educator for the Lincoln Parent’s Center goes to the school once a week to meet with young parents and young expectant parents. "My favorite thing," says Barbara, "is the look on the young, expectant parent’s face when I tell them that their baby’s brain is developing at 250,000 brain cells per minute!"

Another approach is to reach the young men involved in teen pregnancies, and to help them understand their roles and responsibilities, spotlighting on prevention. One task force member expressed strongly that this was a key interest, "This is something we (the task force) need to take a look at quickly. We need to be working on this issue." Others agreed, feeling that too much of the time the finger is pointed at the expectant mother while the expectant father is allowed to "walk away."

The Healthy Families Task Force is also involved with the Lincoln’s Promise job fair, helping to educate and prepare young people who are going directly from high school into the work force. Task force members will be presenting the teens who attend the job fair with the challenges of job interviews, properly relating to employers and co-workers, and even proper attire.

These are some of the volunteer efforts of a group of people who want to be effective in their community by affecting the families in it. According to Chairperson Becky Sank, the task force is now comprised of several local agency representatives. Her desire is to see more people from the community get involved. "We’ve had some new people join, but we need more. I know there are a lot of people out there who would have a lot to offer and add to this task force."

[Curtis Sutterfield]

[FEB. 18, 2000]  Help is available for those in need in Logan County. Lincoln provides many of the services that are needed by its residents. Some services are offered by providers in Lincoln, others are contracted with providers in neighboring towns, while still others are included under a regional umbrella that includes several counties. One thing is clear: service is Lincoln’s business.

Lincoln’s Capstone survey has generated a lot of interest in what is available in Lincoln. In the area of service, the following is an overview of places residents can go for help. Some of the available services are fee for service while others are income based or free. Crime was an area that concerned many residents, specifically in the areas of drug abuse, alcohol abuse and domestic violence. Although the people responding to the survey hoped that the number of these crimes could be reduced, victims currently need support.

The Logan County Domestic Violence Council is comprised of police agencies, social service agencies and the Logan County state’s attorney, circuit clerk and adult probation agencies that work together to protect victims from further abuse, neglect and exploitation. The Sojourn Shelter and Service is the part of this council that provides a safe place for women and children who are abused, abandoned or undergoing crisis.

Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and Al-Alnon services are part of Lincoln’s "Recovery Community." Although there are not any inpatient treatment centers for drug and alcohol abuse in the county, there are some inpatient treatment centers in Springfield, such as the Triangle Center, Gateway, and Libertas at St. John’s Hospital that will accommodate Logan County residents.

Lincoln and Logan County offer a wide array of services. Individual agency brochures are available at the Logan County Health Department, the Department of Human Services and the Lincoln Public Library. Some of the agency’s telephone numbers are listed on the chart below.

The Rural Health Partnership of Logan County was established to improve the health and wellness of residents of rural Logan County. It includes youth prevention programs that address alcohol and drug use among rural Logan County youth. It offers a wide range of health, wellness and safety issues through mini-seminars for children and adults. A 36-foot mobile, handicapped-accessible health unit staffed by a nurse practitioner and public health nurse brings medical care directly into rural communities.

The Central Illinois Economic Development Corporation (CIEDC) offers adult day care programs that provide services in social recreational and health monitoring, as well as respite services for family members. It offers a Head Start program, energy assistance, loan and other community programs for residents who meet their criteria.

For parents in need of support, the Lincoln Parents’ Center is available for parents to share in the joys and challenges of parenthood. They provide direct services to parents and school personnel in Lincoln

United Cerebral Palsy of Land of Lincoln is a local organization dedicated to advancing the independence of people with disabilities. These individuals are encouraged to become as independent as they can be.

Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc. provides free legal representation to low-income persons in certain types of civil cases involving five main areas of law housing, family law, public benefits, consumer and special education.

More than one provider or agency offers the same service in some instances. But most providers work with other agencies to avoid duplication and to offer the most comprehensive assistance to residents.

Editor’s Note: Over the next month LDN will take a closer look at each agency that offers assistance to residents of Logan County. If you have special knowledge of a specific organization or if you would like to share a success story, email LDN at ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com with your information, complete with your name, address and phone number where you can be reached.

[Kym C. Ammons-Scott]

[Literature available at the Logan County Health Department at 109 3rd St., Lincoln]

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