October Meeting Minutes

Mission: Through partnerships, we empower the community to prevent the misuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and we work to reduce the overall impact of these substances in Fayette County.

Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 13, 2020 – Meeting held via Zoom at 8:30am

Attendees:

Amy Baker – City of Lexington, Andrea James – City of Lexington, Lisa Prewitt- Peace Hospital, Emily McCarthy – New Vista, Genia McKee – KIPRC, Shawn Freeman – New Vista, Relisha Howard – Fayette County Detention Center. Katie Gross – New Vista, John Broadus – Seven Counties, Scott Luallen – City of Lexington, Elizabeth Valett – New Vista, Alyesse Coonrod – New Vista, John Moses – Health Department, Rebecca Banks – New Vista, Ciera Bowman – Fayette Co. Drug Court, TC Johnson – Winburn Elementary, Theodore Ware, Briana Persley, Shelley Elswick, Voices of Hope, Alicia Miller, Amy Cowley, Shannon Bailey, Isabel Taylor, Jill Chenault Wilson – Parks and Recreation, Michael Neubert, Michelle Westerkamp.

New Attendees Contact Information from Chat Box:

Briana Persley, Partners for Yout Foundation – bpersley@lexingtonky.gov, 859-280-8003

Rebecca Banks, New Vista, Rebecca.banks@newvista.org

Michael Neubert, Optimal Living, 865-292-3481 or 865-292-3481

Shannon Bailey, Chrysalis House, shannonbailey@chrysalishouse.org

Alyesse Coonrod, New Vista, Alyesse.coonrod@newvista.org

Michelle Westerkamp, JourneyPure Treatment Centers, mwesterkamp@journeypure.org, 859-391-4741

Isabel Taylor, itaylor@lexingtonky.gov

John Broadus, Seven Counties, jbroadus@sevencounties.org

JUULing Campaign Update – Genia McKee

The JUUL videos are in the process of being updated. Hope to use these on website and social media once ready.

Minority Mental Health Summit Update – Shawn Freeman

John Broadus accepted a position with Seven Counties, but has agreed to be a part of the planning of the summit. Rebecca Banks and Alyesse Coonrod from New Vista will assist as well, both are bilingual. Focus will be on relationships, community violence, mental health concerns, impact on youth, and school environment. Looking at outside venues to hold this with social distancing guidelines in place, do not think Zoom will be effective. Open to ideas on best ways to hold the summit. Genia McKee offered to share some resources from a recent conference on how to engage with youth online. Andrea James suggested we contact creators of the FEND (Full Energy No Drugs) app to assist us with connecting to youth, possibly having Devine Carama come and speak to DFL. Please download the FEND app at wearefend.org to learn more. TC Johnson asked if FEND got any buy-in with Fayette County Public Schools to use it with students, but Andrea said there was no interest at that time to implement. TC is going to do some further outreach to try and get this going. Amy Baker stated that they are also looking for good speakers, preferably people of color, to speak at the summit. If anyone is interested in helping with the Minority Mental Health Youth Summit, please contact Shawn Freeman at New Vista by email at shawn.freeman@newvista.org.

Devine Carama – Potential speaker can be reached at DevineCarama859@gmail.com

Website Update – Emily McCarthy

The DrugFreeLex website has a new design and we are asking people to review the content and make any suggestions for changes. We also need fresh content to be updated regularly, perhaps by a college intern who might be interested in learning more about websites and social media. Briana Persley offered to send some resources that might be looking for internships. Shelley Elswick recommended we remove the instances of substance “abuse” and simply say substance use to reduce stigma.

Fayette County Detention Center Update – Relisha Howard

There is a lot of SUD programming offered inside the detention center, as a lot of inmates have substance use issues despite what their main charges were. DrugFreeLex is helping to purchase materials to be used for the Celebrate Recovery Program to keep these programs going. Previously, the health department was doing in-person programming at the FCDC, so continuing programming in some form is important. The HEAL grant from UK has stepped in and is able to provide naloxone and training that is helping people from FCDC atter they are released.

Subcommittee Discussion – Amy Baker

We have several DFL subcommittees. Are these still valuable? Do we need to make changes or combine? Feedback is requested by all members.

• Youth Addiction/Prevention Committee – This committee has been an active committee for several years with DFL. They will also be working on planning the Minority Mental Health Summit. If interested in joining this committee, please contact Betty Bowen or Karma Phillips. TC Johnson (t.c.johnson@fayette.kyschools.us) and Jill Chanault Wilson will continue to work with this committee to help connect with schools, as they have done in the past.
• Marketing and Membership Committee – These two committees have combined into one. Not much membership outreach is being done right now, but this could be done in the future as in-person meetings start up again. If you would like to invite someone to part of DFL, please contact Amy Baker. We plan to purchase some DFL bags with our logo and the FindHelpNowKY.org logo to hand out at some treatment locations and needle exchange to help people carry their belongings. Also, the committee will meet via Zoom in the coming weeks to review the DFL website and any changes. Please send any suggestions for the website to Emily McCarthy at emily.mccarthy@newvista.org
• Strategic Planning Committee – This committee is comprised of officers and evaluates the budget, goals and projects happening with DFL. Makes recommendations on new projects and updates the strategic plan each year. Contact is Amy baker at abaker@ky.gov.
• Harm Reduction Committee – The committee has purchased materials for the Needle Exchange in the past as part of the mission to keep people safe while actively using, with the hopes of getting them into treatment when they are ready. John Moses is the contact, you can email him at johnq.moses@lfchd.org
• Stigma Reduction Committee – Discussion by members was had that stigma reduction efforts should be a part of all committees. It was decided that this committee will move forward to consult all committees when planning events or writing new content for marketing or communications with the public, as to make sure the language used does help reduce stigma about substance use. Shelley Elswick will be the contact and can be emailed at shelley@voicesofhopelex.org

Member Updates

• Emily McCarthy – New Vista is hosting free Virtual Wellness Groups that are open to anyone in the community. They are meant to provide extra support, coping skills, and tips for easing stress during COVID-19. They are offered Monday through Thursday from 5pm to 6pm. Just visit www.newvista.org to learn more.
• Theo Ware – The Community Action council is still offering utility assistance for the community. We are also hosting a podcast on people who had their voting rights restored. Any interest, contact Theo Ware with Community Action at theodore.ware@commaction.org
• Shelley Elswick – Voices of Hope is now offering a family support lineat 888-HOPE4KY. Virtual services are also available online at www.voicesofhopelex.org and include yoga and support groups.
• TC Johnson – Winburn Middle School will be hosting a Drug Awareness Art contest, and is looking for judges. Theme is “Be Happy – Be Courageous, Be Drug Free.” And on October 30, Winburn Middle is hosting a Fall Harvest resource event in the parking lot. Contact TC Johnson is you would like to set up a table at t.c.johnson@fayette.kyschools.us
• Briana Persley – The Nieghborhood Youth Council is still meeting virtually. We offer several grants up to $3,000 which will be available to apply on December 1. Also, if you want to serve as a youth job site, please contact Briana at bpersley@lexingtonky.gov
• John Moses – The health department is still offering normal services, moving most of them outside for safety. They have seen a large increase in new clients at the Needle Exchange. They have been using available funding to distribute naloxone to locations throughout Fayette County to reach vulnerable populations. ALSO, there are free flu shots available at the health department, so get yours by making an appointment at 859-288-2444.
• Genia McKee – KIPRC hosted the annual Harm Reduction Summit, and there were many valuable sessions that were recorded and will be made available to the public. Genia will send out links once available. Resource directories have also been created for inmates being released due to COVID to help connect them with needed resources.

• Motion to adjourn meeting at 10:00am by Amy Baker, Second by Genia McKee. Please meet with your subcommittees and be prepared to present any updates at the next meeting. Thanks for attending!

NEXT MEETING will be in January, 2021, update will be sent via email.