Do you want to give your child the head start for school?! Coastal Georgia’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs are now open for enrollment for the 2022-2023 school year. Children three (3) (on September 1st, 2022) to four (4) years old who live in Bryan, Camden, Evans, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Tattnall, or Wayne Counties are eligible for free quality pre-school and family support programs, through Head Start. Children six (6) weeks up to three (3) years old, as well as expectant mothers, in Bryan, Camden, Evans, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Tattnall, or Wayne Counties are eligible for family support programs through Early Head Start. To qualify, families need to submit an application and provide eligibility documents. The application and documents should be submitted to the Head Start or Early Head Start center located at 724 N. 4th Street Jesup, GA 31545. Space is limited so it is important that families apply today! Applications and information regarding eligibility documentation is available by calling the center at (912) 427-4527.
Tag: resources
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A number of services are available through LIFE Inc.
By Marquise Morgan
LIFE Inc.’s Jesup office is proud to share news of some of our recent developments within Wayne County with our Family Connection partners. We have had success working with the Area Agency on Aging to deploy ramps to various people, including a “Mrs. A” right here in Jesup. We also have developed a new service program centered around assisting people with COVID related expenses.
Mrs. A’s LIFE Story
Ms. A of Wayne County was one of our later AAA referrals, but nonetheless we were able to help her promptly after receiving the AAA info. Mrs. A was a soft-spoken women with post-polio syndrome that had also recently broken her leg. She mentioned the challenge her daughter and granddaughter had getting her down steep steps as a major challenge to her health and mobility.
Our procedures for assessing the need and getting a ramp built are quite intensive. For example, for Mrs. A, we took pictures of the property, measured the door frame and driveway, and sent the info. to Nationwide Ramps for an estimate. After that, we assess our funding options and approve the ramp with a waiver for the consumer. From there, it’s all up to Nationwide’s experts to deploy the sturdy and practically indestructible aluminum ramps for the consumer.
Mrs. A was absolutely elated over the ramp, thanking us profusely and commenting on how much it has eased her and her family’s logistical issues. In a testimonial, she said “it was truly a blessing and we thank you. I appreciate what LIFE has done for me and the ramp has greatly helped”. We were of course happy to help and even more pleased to hear that she felt it had a measurable improvement on her well-being.
COVID-19 Service Programs
Another development that has the great potential to be a boon for Wayne County would be our CARES ACT funded COVID-19 Service Programs. Using our relief funds, we have assembled a service delivery program to assist with various areas of need among our community. This includes food, rental and housing assistance, assistive tech and living aids, home modifications, utility assistance, transportation, assistance for medicine, childcare, and other things that can be linked to COVID related issues. This wide net will allow us to broadly deliver services to assist in a wide range of COVID related problems that a person may be having. Our qualifications for this program are roughly the same as our standard ones for service delivery (live in one of our 20 service counties; Must state that they have significant disability; must be a consumer). This also includes the added caveat of having to fill out some paperwork and do an intake with us to determine their qualifications for the program and to make sure the issue has a relation to COVID-19. Of course, if it not COVID related, we can still help them with our other core services. Without that, they are not eligible for the COVID-19 Service Delivery.
We are excited to be expanding our home modification program and to bring this COVID Services program to the people of Wayne County. If you have any questions, please contact our Jesup office at 912-385-2214, or email us directly at mmorgan@lifecil.com or rblack@lifecil.com. We hope to hear from and we’re here to help.
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Family Connection Organizations Seek Volunteers
Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What you are doing for others?” There is just something special about devoting your time to make a difference in your community.
There are a lot of Partnerships within the Wayne County Family Connection Collaborative that could use volunteers. One of our greatest needs is with Tri-County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). A CASA volunteer is an individual that has an independent voice in court who advocates solely for the best interest of the child. The CASA volunteer spends significant time getting to know the child, as well as reviewing records and interviewing the child, family members and other relevant persons to determine the facts and circumstances of the child’s situation.
A CASA volunteer is a dedicated member of the community who is appointed by a judge to advocate for the best interest of an abused or neglected child in the state’s care. A CASA Volunteer has the ability to alter a child’s life in a positive way. The Program ensures that foster children are not forgotten, but rather are afforded every opportunity to have a happy and healthy life. If you would like to know more information about this opportunity, please contact Pam Holmes at 912- 367-0064 or visit their volunteer page on their website.
Check out our Resource Directory for more ways to volunteer.
Another place that you can also visit to find out more information about areas to volunteer in is our Resource Directory on the website. You can find various category listings including Volunteer Opportunities at the bottom of the page. This features each organization that has some sort of volunteer based program for you to be a part of. Some organizations are:
- LIFE Inc.
- Fairhaven
- Skylark
- Wayne Memorial Hospital Educational Services
- Pineland
- United Way of South Georgia
- Wayne County UGA Extension Office
- Action Pact
- Face to Face Recovery
- FreeHart Center
The list goes on and on and the opportunities are endless. To see change in your community, get involved by contacting one of these organizations.
If your organization is in need of needs volunteers and you don’t see it listed in the Resource Directory, you can update your Resource Directory listing on our website. You can also contact us to find out more information about each organization. We can get you in touch with the right people.
Also, if your organization would like to educate, inform or update Wayne County citizens on a topic or event you’ve been working on – reach out to us so you can be featured here in the Articles section of our Family Connection website!
Additionally, the Wayne County Family Connection Collaborative would like to invite our community to be a part of our group. For more information, contact Lana Wright at 912-256-2150. Our meetings are held on the 4th Monday of each month with the next meeting being held November 23rd.
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Resource Directory Serving as Help Desk for Community
Families and friends all over Southeast Georgia are in search of more resources to support themselves through this difficult year. With over 120 listings in our Resource Directory, people can search for their needs using keywords or the advanced search option. After that, it will populate a list of customized resources based on your search along with contact information. The directory also gives you 36 different categories to choose from based on the assistance you are looking for. They include:
- Children & Youth Services
- Education / Training
- Disabilities
- Mental Health
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Senior Citizens
- Teen & Young Adults
- Job Assistance
- Veteran Services
You can view all the categories in the Resource Directory here.
Pam Holmes, Executive Director of Tri-County CASA, states, “As a social worker for many years, I highly recommend this directory as a great resource for Wayne County and surrounding counties.”
Tri-County CASA Inc. volunteers have been advocating for the foster children of Appling, Wayne and Jeff Davis counties for more than 20 years. CASA volunteers are also court-appointed special advocates. This means they are specially trained community citizens. For instance, they advocate for abused and neglected children in the juvenile court system with the child’s best interest in mind.
If your organization would like to be part of our Family Connection Collaborative like Tri-County CASA, you can submit a listing by clicking on the Resource Directory tab at the top and select ‘Create A Listing’ below the search.
Criteria for Resource Directory Listing
There is criteria an organization must fit to be listed in the Resource Directory. Additionally, programs must have an office in or serve residents of Wayne County. Lastly, and most importantly, if your agency is for profit, they must offer free or low cost services to the community. Some examples of organization are:
- Advocacy groups related to health and human service issues.
- Civic and business associations.
- Information and referral services.
- Community groups.
- Chambers of Commerce.
- Licensed childcare facilities.
- Self-help support groups.
- Administrative offices of public schools in Wayne County
Therefore, do your part in showing your friends and family our free Resource Directory. You can access the directory by going to the Resource Directory tab.
If you are a part of an organization that is currently listed in our directory, we encourage you to view it and see if there are any changes that need to be made. After that, you can update the form by hovering over the ‘Resource Directory’ tab and clicking the Update Form button.
Above all, our goal through this is to connect people to the resources they need to help improve our community overall.
The Wayne County Family Connection Collaborative would also like to invite anyone in our community to be a part of our group. For more information, contact Lana Wright at 912-256-2150 or familyconnection@waynehelp.com. Meetings are held on the 4th Monday of each month. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date on collaborative meetings and other events. Our next meeting is October 26th at 9:30am!
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#BeThe1To Help Them Connect
We are coming to the end of discussing the 5 Steps in the #BeThe1To campaign with the 4th step this week. Last week we talked about the importance of keeping them safe. This week, we will give you a few ways of how to help someone connect with resources in the community to get the assistance they need.
Ways to Help Someone Connect
Helping someone connect with ongoing supports like groups, organizations, or our Mental Health Task Force number (912-530-8889) can help them establish a safety net for those moments they find themselves in a crisis. Additional components of a safety net will give them resources in their communities they can know and trust. If you feel comfortable enough, explore some of these possible supports with them. Some questions you could ask are:
– Are you currently seeing a mental health professional?
– Have you seen one in the past? Is this an option for you currently?
– Would you like to participate in any groups that focus on what you are struggling with?
– How would you feel about psychotherapy or being a part of a clinical trial?
Then, it’s important to help them find mental health resources in the community that can effectively fulfill the help they are requesting.
One way to start helping them find ways to connect is to work with them to develop a safety plan. Having a safety plan in place includes a list of individuals to contact. With the world being so digital today, there are plenty of online resources as well as apps on your mobile devices that can help. The My3 app is a safety planning and crisis intervention app that can help develop these supports and is stored conveniently on your smartphone for quick access.
Another great resource that we would highly recommend is our online resource directory on our website. Go to www.waynehelp.com > Click on Resource Directory to find many different resources right here in Wayne County! Find a group, organization, or a number to call today so that they can get the help they deserve.
Join the #BeThe1To Movement
You can also go to www.bethe1to.com/join and download a #BeThe1To poster. Help people connect and bring awareness to Suicide Prevention Month by printing them out and hanging them in your communities. We can all take action in one way or another and sometimes something small like hanging up a poster can be big in helping someone through their day.
The Wayne County Family Connection Collaborative would like to invite anyone in our community to be a part of our group. For more information, contact Lana Wright at 912-256-2150. Our meetings are held on the 4th Monday of each month. Our website is www.waynehelp.com and our email is familyconnection@waynehelp.com.
If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, call the number below to speak with a professional in Wayne County.
Mental Health Task Force # for Wayne County:
Business Hours 9am-5pm: 912-530-8889
After Hours: 912-256-2150
As always, if you see warning signs of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or 911.
Also, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date on collaborative meetings and other events. We have another meeting coming up on Monday, September 28th!
In addition, please like and share. We’d love for these articles to reach everyone in the Wayne County Community!
