Healthy Start

In the mid-1990s, ORUUC's Virginia Coleman attended a conference in Hawaii, where she learned of a very effective social service program for babies and their parents called "Healthy Start." She brought the idea back to Tennessee, where she advocated for its establishment here. Ironically, although Healthy Start became established in a good number of counties, because of Oak Ridge's high average income, Anderson County couldn't receive state funding. Healthy Start was begun here anyway, with a combination of grants, city and county funding, and determination. From the start, Healthy Start was a program of a non-profit in town called "The Anderson County Health Council." The Health Council has run several programs, from drug rehabilitation programs to a dental clinic. In the last few years, ORUUC made Healthy Start its "Bending the Arc" project, supporting this program in many ways. ORUUC has provided volunteers, an advocacy committee made largely of church volunteers, community education (for instance, the "Real Men Rock" initiative), and has even obtained a grant from the UUA to support work with Healthy Start.

Over the last year, Healthy Start's home institution, the Anderson County Health Council, has suffered financial set-backs from which it seems unable to recover. In response, some of their leaders have prevailed upon ORUUC to give the Healthy Start program an administrative home. It seemed there were three options for how to do this. The first was to help find Healthy Start another non-profit in town which might oversee it. The second was for Healthy Start to become a program of the church. The third was for Healthy Start to be a free-standing non-profit organization, which would receive special support from the church, especially at the start. This third option seemed best, reducing the risk to the church and allowing Healthy Start to establish itself in a strong position for the long-haul.

This past Monday, February 15, the Board of Trustees resolved that ORUUC would make support of an independent, sustainable Healthy Start organization a priority. It's not yet clear what this support or this special relationship will look like. Funding will largely come from the City, the County, and from United Way. This new Healthy Start organization will have its own Board and Staff. So, we will be figuring out what it means to have this new, deeper relationship.

One thing it means is that Healthy Start will continue to serve families who rely on it in our community. It also means that ORUUC has the opportunity to serve our community in a deep and committed way for the years to come. While this relationship has the support of the Minister (me) and the Board, one more level of commitment is needed: the congregation. So, at a congregational meeting on March 28th, I'm hoping that a Social Action Working Group made up of church-members will affirm their commitment to this new organization, ensuring that our church has long-term, grass-roots support for Healthy Start.

From the congregation's town hall meeting last fall, it seemed that there was real interest in becoming more engaged with the wider community. This opportunity to serve seems to answer that interest. I hope you'll be as excited as I am about the chance for us to make a real difference.

If you'd like to know more about Healthy Start, you can read the article below, which was written by Maureen Hoyt.

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Healthy Start is a prevention program for first time parents who lack the support, skills, resources and information to help them raise healthy families. Through its in-home mentoring program steps are taken to promote and enhance parent/infant bonding, to teach positive parenting skills, and help families set goals toward self sufficiency. Coordination with other community agencies helps to reduce the impact of unemployment, lack of transportation, and other stressful family situations that can precipitate child abuse.

The program’s results speak for themselves:

· Since the program began in 1998, more 350 children have been served, only three (3) have been removed because of neglect and no child has been removed because of abuse!

· Confident, knowledgeable and prepared parents with children who are safer, healthier and better prepared to learn.

· The program saves taxpayer dollars and helps prevent crime. A study by the group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Tennessee concludes that when crime prevention programs (such as Healthy Start) are funded, every dollar spent saves seven dollars.