SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SUPPORT

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EPH has an active substance abuse prevention and mental health awareness workgroup that meets regularly to plan events, programming, and training and to discuss ways we can improve the behavioral health landscape in our community. With community partners such as Advantage, Elberton Police Department, Celebrate Recovery, WSGC 105.3, Mother to Mother Recovery Center, and Elbert County Schools, and statewide partners such as Augusta University, the Georgia Council on Alcohol and Drugs, and Mercer University’s Rural Health Innovation Center, the group has collaborated to host speakers in our local schools, add a medicine disposal box at CVS pharmacy, promote National Drug Take Back Days, conduct a Behavioral Health Needs Assessment for Elbert County, host a medicine lock-box give away at Elbert County Fair, develop a behavioral health resource guide for our community, and seek out other opportunities to bring drug prevention support to Elbert County.

The group meets at First Baptist Church on the third Wednesday of every other month.

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NUTRITION/WELLNESS

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EPH’s Nutrition and Wellness workgroup promotes nutrition education and addresses food insecurity in our community. Specifically, we work to provide support for Elbert County UGA Extension’s National Diabetes Prevention Program: Prevent T2. Christa Campbell, an Elbert County Family and Consumer Science Agent, serves as a Lifestyle Coach for the program. This year-long, research-based program teaches participants how to eat healthily and increase physical activity to achieve better health. The class typically begins in January and runs throughout the year.

The group also assists with funding and logistical support for addressing food insecurity in our community. Working with Elbert County UGA Extension, we provide food boxes during the month of July for families served by the Elbert County School District’s “Backpack Program” during the school year and provide “recipe bags” to SafeHouse Ministries Resource Center, which contain a healthy recipe and all ingredients required to prepare it.

The Nutrition/Wellness workgroup typically meets at the Elbert County Extension Office at the Elbert County Extension Office on the first Thursday of every other month.