April 2025 Coalition Meeting Updates

Thank you all for joining us at our coalition meeting. As a reminder, here are the exciting April updates on all the great things happening at the Franklin County Prevention Coalition.

Thank you, Dr. Amber Adams, with the Southern Environmental Health Study, for introducing the opportunity to discover the connections between our local environment, our life experiences, and our health. By enrolling in the SEHS, you are joining the effort to better understand the relationship between exposure to environmental pollutants and the causes of cancer and other health conditions that impact our community today. They are looking for participants ages 40 - 70 who live in the south. If you are interested or know anyone interested in participating, go to sehstudy.org for more information or contact Dr. Adams at amber.l.adams@vumc.org.

This is National Drug Endangered Children Awareness Month. Felicia Kelsey hosted a proclamation signing and brunch with 30 community partners who came to show their support for the children of Franklin County. Wednesday, April 23rd is National DEC Awareness Day. Please wear red that day to support these children and post a picture of you and your staff wearing red on social media and tag us. We would love to see your pictures.

Jessie spoke about funding needs after the loss of a grant and opportunities for the coalition's sustainability. Several ideas from various community partners were shared, including fundraisers like car shows, softball tournaments, basketball tournaments around the square, bringing back the Dogwood Festival, or coming up with a new type of fundraising event that will become a new staple in our community. If anyone would like to join a fundraising committee for the coalition, please contact Jessie Sheehan at jessie.sheehan@fcstn.net.

You asked, we delivered! Tall Cop is scheduled for July 22nd for a Community Night where he will share what dangerous substances he found in our county and educate us on protecting our children. This is open to the public.

July 23rd Tall Cop will hold a specialty-focused educational day training where you will learn to identify possible high-risk behaviors in youth so that you can help actively prevent substance abuse in your community, school, and home. This event is exclusively for law enforcement, probation officers, emergency responders, school administrators, treatment providers, and counselors. Lunch will be provided. Scan the QR code on the event flyer to register so we can plan accordingly.

As a reminder, the coalition has been updating our website to include a community resource directory making it possible for anyone to find and connect with resources they need in Franklin County. https://www.fcpctn.org/resources/community-resources. If your organization is not listed but provides a community resource you would like listed, please contact melanie.dubose@fcstn.net.

Resource pass-a-long cards are available that are the size of a business card but have the QR code for the resource directory. This makes it easy to share the resource directory with those who need it. If your organization needs any resource cards, please contact the coalition.

We have also been working on a community calendar. fcpctn.org/current-events. If your organization has an event coming up, you can submit it through the Event Submission on the page or submit it to melanie.dubose@fcstn.net.

We made anti-stress Lambi testing smarties and tootsie roll kits that were passed out to FC schools to support students through TCAP testing.

Felicia Kelsey had her first Impact training class at Life Choices and is so excited about this collaboration and what it will mean for the families of Franklin County.

Bridge has open enrollment and will be open this summer.

We went and spoke to the FCHS girls softball team and fed the team. We love talking to youth sports teams so please reach out if you have team we can talk to about healthy habits.

Drug Take Back Day is April 26th from 8 am - 12 pm at the Franklin County Farmers Market Pavilion. Bring unused, expired & unwanted prescription drugs for proper disposal.

National Day of Prayer will be May 1st at 12pm at the Franklin County Annex Building Community Room.

Pearls and Petals is a mother child tea held on May 3rd at 10 am at the Franklin County Library.

Family Fun Night will be held May 8th!

Franklin County One Day Community Outreach Event is May 10th!

For more calendar events, go to https://www.fcpctn.org/current-events. You can also submit an event on our community calendar.