Healthy
Communities
Newsletter

June 2020
Community partners working together
to build health and resilience
As a community health leader, Clark County Public Health is committed to ensuring that all individuals and families have the power and opportunity to live their healthiest and fullest lives. We are active listeners in evolving conversations about race and trauma,
and we support a fair, just and more equitable community for all. 

Thank you for partnering with us in this important work.
Our Community Meetings

SAVE THESE DATES!

There are no meetings of Faith-Based Coffee, CHARG, or Clark County Safe Kids during the months of June, July or August.
See you in the fall!

An updated calendar for all meetings can also be found at



June 11 - Trauma-Informed Schools Team


June 14 - Clark County Breastfeeding Coalition


June 25 - ACEs Action Alliance Steering Committee
  • 3 - 5 pm
  • ZOOM meeting - by invitation
ACEs Action Alliance*

The ACEs Alliance is open to all members of the community.

  • Regular meetings of the ACEs Alliance will resume in the fall.
  • A newly formed steering committee has met twice to discuss the future role of the ACEs Action Alliance in Clark County.
  • Under consideration is the possibility of forming a more robust leadership structure, forming a "community-voice" advisory council to the Alliance, and collaborating with partners to form a commission on children, youth and families.
  • The committee will meet two more times before reporting back and involving the larger Alliance this fall.

*ACEs: Adverse Childhood Experiences
_________________________________

Trauma-Informed Schools Team meeting

The TI Schools Team meeting is intended for people who work in or with early childhood education and K-12 schools.

An update from the May meeting is available here . The link to a recording of the meeting is no longer available, but all resources and notes from presentations are available at this link.

At our next meeting, we will hear about online resources that 321 Insight is offering. We will spend more time collaborating on plans to support the social-emotional health and regulation of educators and students when they return to school in the fall.

  • Next meeting: 1 to 3 pm, Thurs., June 11
  • Online via ZOOM
  • PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. CLICK HERE
  • Following registration, Zoom will send email with the log-in link and password to join the meeting.

  • No meetings in July or August.
For more information on the ACEs Action Alliance, resources, links to past newsletters, events and more, go to:


Product Recalls

Safe Kids Worldwide lists product recalls each month. Please note: Product recalls never expire, so it’s important to check the recalls on a regular basis. This is especially important for hand-me-down or pre-owned children’s products.

Used child car seats and bike helmets should never be re-used in case their integrity is compromised.
Child Car Seat Safety
class and clinic  
 Cancelled for June
Safe Kids Clark County monthly meeting

The June meeting of Safe Kids is cancelled.

No meetings in July and August

Preventing children's injuries at home

Safe Kids Clark County focuses on child safety, which includes gun safety in their homes. The Washington Firearm Tragedy Prevention Network held a virtual meeting in May. Topics included keeping families safe from firearm injuries and household safety during stressful times with tips for gun owners. This topic is of particular importance right now, as reports of domestic violence, suicide and potential child abuse has increased during isolation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Firearm Safety Among Children and Teens f act sheets :

For more information about the Washington Firearm Tragedy Prevention Network :
Safe Kids Worldwide offers new
This new guide has proven advice and tips from safety experts to help families reduce risks, prevent injuries and keep kids safe at home, at play and on the road.

Safe Kids Worldwide offers checklists for parents, and one is included in the guide.

With the advent of warm weather, please remember to never leave a child (or pet) alone in the car.

Install window guards or stops to prevent children from falling out of the window during warm weather.
Clark County Breastfeeding Coalition Meeting

Clark County Breastfeeding Coalition strives to improve the health of our community by working collaboratively to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

At the June meeting, the coalition will continue a conversation on maternal mental health and available resources. The group will also review and update the current Breastfeeding Resource Guide. All individuals and community partners are welcome to join the discussion.

Partners in Action
Community Foundation honors partners and supports local efforts
Southwest Washington is resilient. We are responding to the challenge of COVID-19 with creativity, compassion and hope.

The Community Foundation for Southwest Washington is capturing some of these acts of kindness on social media and has also created a way for local residents to respond with generosity.


The SW Washington COVID Response Fund is raising money for local relief efforts. Since launching in March, this fund has granted more than $3.6 million to local nonprofits serving those hit hardest by the pandemic. Currently, donations are being matched through a generous challenge gift from the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund.

If you'd like to make a contribution, visit  cfsww.org/respond .
"SEWcial Distancing" club protects our community one stitch at a time
Clark County seamstresses have banded together across our community. They call themselves the SEWcial Distancing club and they meet outdoors on people's front porches to ensure their name is reflected in their practice.

With needles and ironing boards at the ready, they have stitched together and donated more than 20,000 masks to 150 organizations including hospitals, nursing homes, local food banks and more.

Barbara Rogers, one of the club founders, said that a side benefit of helping others has been the reduction in anxiety that volunteers feel when they have a way to help out.

The group was started through The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, and is open to anyone with a heart and skills to help. If you would like to be involved, you can connect through their FaceBook site.

Funds available to support academic success for students of African descent
The cost of outfitting a home classroom and maintaining an online connection to school can be expensive. The local office of the NAACP has stepped forward with funds to help students of African descent defray these costs. Please post and/or share the flier.
News and resources you can use
Keep up-to-date with factual information about COVID-19



  • As shared at Faith-Based Coffee: The Latino Youth Conference, LULAC, LCRG and NAACP joined together to create the Compassion and Safety communication campaign featuring linguistically and culturally sensitive graphics for People of Color. You can contact Diana Avalos-Leos to learn more at: clark.co.latinoyouthconference@gmail.com You can also follow the Latino Youth Conference on FaceBook.


  • Washington State Coronavirus Hotline: 800.525.0127. Open 6 am-10 pm daily. This hotline is a partnership effort between Washington State Department of Health and Washington 211. This replaces the DOH novel coronavirus call center.  (Please note that the statewide 211 system differs from our local 211 system.)


  • SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline: 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support for people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. Call 1.800.985.5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.




Trauma-informed resources for parents, leaders and community members
  • Parent Training to Support Behavior during Continuous Learning is a free webinar series from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. It is designed for parents who need help in guiding their children toward expected behaviors while learning from home. Individual links to each webinar are included along with a description of what to expect.


  • Resilience: The Path to Hope and Meaning. This exclusive training webcast for people working in helper professions provides an overview of ACES and trauma, explores ACEs data in Wisconsin, and highlights strategies to build resilience. (Scroll down the page to find link to video).

  • Thinking about racial disparities in COVID-19 impacts through a science-informed, early childhood lens. Dr. Jack Shonkoff, Director of Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, and Dr. David Williams, Chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, partner to examine the emerging evidence of stark racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes. They also reflect on why people of color are more likely to need hospitalization due to COVID-19, and how histories of personal and systemic trauma might be impacting the outcomes and future health of patients of color.

  • Economic stress can affect families, in terms of their sense of safety, connectedness and hope. These fact sheets from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network offer tips for parents and youth on how to cope during uncertain times:
  • Coping in Hard Times: Fact Sheet for Parents.
  • Fact Sheet for Youth High School and College Age.


  • Noggin, the learning research branch of Nickelodian, is offering a free 90-day subscription to their interactive episodes, activities and books to families with young children to help mitigate learning loss while children are at home, and also to support a strong learning summer. No credit card info needs to be entered for the free subscription, and there is content in both English and Spanish. Click here to learn more.

Providence Swindell's Resource Center offers online trauma-informed parenting programs
Supporting Your Child During COVID: Visual Schedules and other Supports for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
Both parents and children are experiencing significant changes in their daily lives. For those who thrive on predictability and routine, this can be distressing. Join us for a presentation by Rowan Hill-Walko, MS, SOESD Regional Autism Specialist as she discusses prioritizing self care, useful tools to support children, and creating structure and routines. 6:30 - 7:45 pm on June 4. Register here.

Understanding the ABC's of Behavior: A Closer Look at Addressing Challenging Behaviors
Please join Alicia Like, M.Ed, BCBA, a clinical manager with the Center for Autism Related Disorders (CARD) for who will explore: Understanding the ABCs of Behavior (antecedent, behavior, consequence) How to identify the function or reason a behavior occurs and examples of strategies to address the behavior. 6 - 7:30 pm on June 10. Register here
Coming soon from Public Health: Healthier Clark County InfoMaps!
What is it? The Healthier Clark County InfoMap tool offers a new way of learning about health issues and how they impact people in our communities. Through data visualized on maps and charts, users can explore how health and the circumstances and environments that influence health are distributed across the county.

What data are in the tool? Topic areas in the InfoMap include demographics and social factors that influence health, such as income, education and housing. The tool also features several public health focus areas, including maternal health, child health, adverse childhood experiences, chronic disease, substance use and behavioral health. 

When can I see it? The tool will launch in June 2020 and will be available on the Clark County Public Health website.

Contact Info:
About our coalitions and community groups
The ACEs Action Alliance is:
A multi-sector collaborative of public and private organizations and individuals. We raise awareness about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their long-term impact. We promote trauma-informed approaches and policies to support resilience and healing for people of all ages. All are welcome at monthly meetings.

The Trauma-Informed Schools Team is open to anyone who works in or with schools in Clark County. We meet monthly to explore tools, resources and applications of trauma-informed principles for schools.

Check the calendar at ACEsActionAlliance.org for current meeting information and other resources.
Faith-Based Coffee is:
A non-denominational bridge that joins faith partners, communities and local schools to share learning, meet the needs of children, families and neighborhoods, and address emergent needs that arise in our community. All are welcome. Members maintain the separation of church and state at meetings and when fulfilling needs by serving from the heart without promoting personal religious beliefs or engaging in religious recruitment.
Safe Kids Clark County is:
A member of  Safe Kids Worldwide , a grassroots network of more than 600 coalitions and chapters that work closely with law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, health professionals, educators, businesses, public policy makers, and, most importantly, parents and kids to promote safety. Priorities include proper car seat use, baby's safe sleep, reducing child vehicular injuries and deaths, and water safety. Local coordination provided by American Medical Response (AMR).
CHARG is:
A local forum for community members and health professionals to connect and collaborate in order to deliver appropriate services that meet the needs of the diverse populations of Clark County. At each of our bi-monthly forums, the Clark County Community Health Access Resource Group (CHARG) strives to illuminate and educate participants on a handful of themed topics relating to health access.
Clark County Breastfeeding Coalition is:
A coalition that works to improve the health of our community by promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding. CCBC is committed to identify and eliminate barriers to breastfeeding among families of all races and ethnicities in Clark County in order to foster a culture of inclusion.

The coalition works collaboratively to connect, educate and promote breastfeeding practices in all Clark County communities. CCBC also works to create an environment that supports breastfeeding as the cultural norm for infant feeding.


The Healthy Communities Newsletter is published the first week of each month.
To submit announcements or share information, please send complete information or attach a high resolution pdf file to cyndie.meyer@clark.wa.gov by the 20th of the month prior.
All submissions will be screened and may be edited prior to publication.

If you would like to receive the Healthy Communities Newsletter, please email Jan.Dolph@clark.wa.gov

For other formats, contact the Clark County ADA Office
Voice 564.397.2322 / Relay 711 or 800.833.6388 / Email ADA@clark.wa.gov