Source: Newark Advocate
By Chad Klimack
April 4, 2017
ETNA - The United Way of Licking County is overseeing a series of one-hour workshops aimed at helping local residents find out more information on everything from mental health and addiction issues to affordable housing and domestic violence.
Locally, the educational forums, will be held at the Etna Township Administrative Building, 81 Liberty St.
The United Way held the first one there on March 9. The topic was elder abuse, and representatives from Licking County Job and Family Services were present to offer information and insights.
The next forum, on April 19, will focus on the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships, with topics ranging from dating and domestic violence to healthy relationship behaviors. Representatives from The Woodlands will be present at that workshop.
United Way Executive Director Deb Dingus said the idea for the forums sprang from the organization's Community Blueprint.
The blueprint is an ongoing annual effort to pinpoint the county's strengths and challenges. It is shaped through a collaboration between nonprofit groups, government agencies, businesses and others, with all the collaborators working together to assess the county's needs.
The forums, which the United Way is calling Hope in Action, are focused on some of the specific challenges local residents are facing.
"These came right out of some of the issues we identified (in the blueprint)," Dingus said.
The United Way worked with the Licking County Foundation and a number of partner agencies to offer the forums, which are free to attendees.
Etna is one of just five communities hosting the forums. The others are Hanover, Johnstown, Newark and Buckeye Lake.
The three priority areas the forums are focusing on are children, youth and families, poverty and behavioral health, Dingus said.
What follows is a list of the upcoming forums Etna will play host to in the coming months:
- Expect Respect — From 6-7 p.m. April 19 at the Etna Township Administration Building. The forum will focus on the characteristics of both healthy and unhealthy relationships. Topics will include dating violence, domestic violence, including sexual violence, and healthy dating relationship behaviors. The forum will be facilitated by The Woodlands.
- Safe and Affordable Housing — From 10:30 a.m. to noon April 29 at the Etna Township Administrative Building. The forum will focus on landlords and tenants. They will be able to learn about the legal guidelines and responsibilities they must follow. The forum will be facilitated by The Freedom School in Licking County.
- Hope for Recovery (Understanding your mental health and addiction issues) — From 6-7 p.m. May 17 at the Etna Township Administration Building. Suicide, the ongoing opiate crisis and everyday stresses and the mental health wear and tear attached to those stresses are community-wide concerns and issues that impact everyone. The forum will touch on the local resources residents can use to address those issues. The forum will be facilitated by Mental Health America of Licking County and Mental Health and Recovery of Licking and Knox Counties.
- Communicate a New You in 2017 — From 10:30 a.m. to noon Aug. 5 at the Etna Township Administrative Building. Do you feel like no one listens to you? Does fear of a job interview hold you back? Do you lack confidence in your abilities to communicate? The forum will help people learn to communicate. It will be facilitated by Mental Health America of Licking County and Mental Health and Recovery of Licking and Knox Counties.
- Moving Beyond a Criminal Record (Career Advancement Opportunities) — From 10:30 a.m. to noon Sept. 23 at the Etna Township Administration Building. The forum will provide attendees with resources to move beyond a criminal record and their backgrounds. They will learn how to expand their possibilities in career advancement. The forum will be facilitated by Ohio Means Jobs of Licking County.
Dingus recommended residents dealing with any of the above mentioned challenges attend the forums. If they do not get their specific questions addressed at the meeting, someone should be there to help them, she said.
"Leaders from around the county are (overseeing) these," she said. "If they can't help, they could put you in touch with someone who can help."
For more information on the United Way of Licking County's Hope in Action forums, go online at www.unitedwaylc.org/hope-in-action
For more information on the United Way's Community Blueprint, go online at www.unitedwaylc.org/community-blueprint