Healthy Carolinians of Orange County
Current Projects
Advocates for Children Committee
- Offers Brown-Bag-Lunch Seminars to the community and local professionals to help them better recognize and respond to family violence. Over 22 brown-bag-lunches and six domestic violence trainings have been held since 2003, and over 600 individuals have been trained.
- Held its 4th annual Real Men Rock event at Walmart in Hillsbrough in April 2010 to raise awareness and educate residents about Shaken Baby Syndrome. The event reaches out to parents, especially fathers, to educate them about the dangers of shaking small children and provides them with tips for coping with a crying baby. Educational materials on child abuse and shaken baby syndrome were also distributed to local pediatric offices.
- Partner with the Period of PURPLE Crying® to reach out to home and child care centers to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Advocates for Adolescents Committee
- Established the Partnership for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth in Northern Orange County in collaboration with the Mental Health Association of Orange County's Community Back Yard program. The Partnership aims to implement environmental and policy change strategies to prevent underage drinking and drug use, and will work to decrease access to alcohol and drugs through a Safe Homes Network and a Safe Stores campaign. The Partnership is also working to establish a Youth Council to advocate for these environmental changes.
- Working with a Capstone team of UNC graduate level students to develop a social norms marketing campaign to correct misconceptions around youth alcohol use through positive messages and empowerment.
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee
- Launched the Pro Bono Counseling Network (PBCN) in collaboration with the Mental Health Association using funding from OPC Area Program and Strowd Roses Foundation. The project's goals are to (1) recruit mental health professionals to join a network of providers who agree to provide counseling pro bono to one client per year for a minimum of eight sessions; and (2) match underinsured or uninsured clients seeking mental health services with appropriate providers. The PBCN serves residents of Orange, Chatham, Person and Durham Counties.
- Produced the Directory of Mental Health Services to increase knowledge and access to available mental health services in the Orange, Person, and Chatham Counties. The Directory includes general information about state and county mental health services and a listing of private mental health providers in Orange, Person, Chatham, and Durham Counties including providers' contact information, services, fees, accepted insurance plans (including Medicaid/Medicare), and other information the provider chose to include. The Directory is now available as a searchable database on the Mental Health Association of Orange County’s website.
Health Promotion Committee
- Launched a new initiative, the Healthy Classroom Challenge in school classrooms to reinforce the importance of physical activity and better nutrition with children, families, and the Orange County community. Physical Education teachers along with their students, created a short routine that incorporated Eat Smart Move More messages and physical movement. These routines were then performed at the 2010 Healthy Kids Day event.
- In June 2010, received an Eat Smart Move More Community grant to establish the Preparing Lifelong Active Youth (PLAY) program. PLAY will get middle-school children enrolled in Orange County after-school programs moving more. As part of the program, UNC collegiate athletes will promote new ways for children enrolled in after-school programs to be active and healthier. After-school programs will adopt a policy that requires 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity everyday; and middle-school teachers will encourage more active learning in classrooms.
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