Robertson County Health Council
September 11, 2019
Members Present: Anne Marie Bryant, Lisa Cobb, Stephanie Evans, Kathy Finley, Rachel Goodman, Rebecca Macfarlane, Ryan Martin, Lauren Patterson, Jackie Rawls, Rachel Wright (*Non-Voting)
Members Absent: Deshnell Cobbin, Tony Cowan, Brad Edwards, Kelley Harris, Donny King, Johnny Norton, Jackie Pipes
Staff: Shirley Corker (Community Development Coordinator)
Guests: Jasmine Ayers (Acting for Life), Kimberly Bonds (MCRO), Katie Creighton (Erika’s Safe Place), Elliott Esquilla (TN Strong), Danielle Frazier (RCSS Family Resource Center), Kecia Harris (The Next Door), Lorena Tello and Celeste Jackson RCHD), Rachel Ragsdale (UT Extension), Asailio Timmermeier, David William Walker (TNARNG)
Business: The meeting was called to order by Chair Rebecca Macfarlane.
Housekeeping/Announcements:
- Welcome was extended and introductions were made.
- The August 14, 2019 minutes were approved as submitted with a motion from Stephanie Evans and a second from Kathy Finley.
New Business:
- The non-profit agency is located on Charlotte Avenue in Nashville but serves surrounding counties. It is a place for women, to include pregnant women, wanting to receive treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. Ms. Harris told the story of how a women’s Baptist group called the Wild Praying Women started the group by identifying what was needed in Nashville and used the building next door to provide the service. The program offers hope by equipping women to live lives of wholeness that suffer from addiction, mental illness, trauma and incarceration. They accept most insurance, do not judge, and have an extensive staff of medical and non-medical clinicians, social workers, counselors, case managers, mentors and job coaches. They offer recovery housing for women and their children, a very structured program, are an accredited rehabilitation service with 21 apartments, and a 70 bed capacity. They are self-pay and grant funded. They take and want referrals for women who can benefit from their service.
- Elliot Esquilla, the Tennessee Strong Ambassador for Robertson County, spoke regarding how he was selected for this honor. He is a member of Acting for Life that writes skits and performs them for peers and other youth, with abstaining from tobacco, as one of their topics. He stated smoking was a norm in his family and created his desire to become a change agent for youth and advocating for smoke free campuses and parks. This will be Elliot’s second year as a representative for the Tobacco Free Youth Summit.
Old Business:
- Chair Rebecca Macfarlane handed out copies of the completed 2019 Robertson County Resource Directory. The directory can be downloaded and printed at www.robertsoncountyhealthcouncil.com.
- Rachel Wright announced she could not serve as the AFL coordinator for Acting for Life due to her job with the State. She stated unless funding and a coordinator could be found the group would have to close after 20 years of performing relevant health messages in the form of skits to youth. The program needs about $3000 to continue. Donny King was suggested as a potential coordinator. Ms. Wright asked that AFL be put on next month’s agenda to see if there were any options to keep the program going.
- The Chair stated their October meeting would focus on establishing committees for the 3 areas of focus identified by the Council. There will also be discussion about speakers and topics that address these areas and member spotlights for the coming months.
Adjournment
- The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 pm.