DIGEST Newsletter
November 2023
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HCLHIC Quarterly Meetings
Register for the next HCLHIC Quarterly hybrid meeting on January 18, 2024 at 8:30am to 10:30am.

Check out previous meeting minutes. Any questions, email lhic@howardcountymd.gov,
or call 410-313-6204.
HCLHIC Community Corner
HCLHIC Staff in the Community!
The Howard County Local Health Improvement Coalition (HCLHIC) staff participated in several community events as part of the Community Engagement (CE) team's goal to achieve health equity in Howard County.

If you are interested in having the CE team attend your event, please fill out the Community Health Education Request Form at least 1 month prior to your event.
Tobacco, Diabetes and Chronic Disease Grantees Awarded
The Howard County Health Department (HCHD) awarded $42,500 in grants to five (5) local organizations to reach populations with health disparities related to tobacco/vape use, diabetes, and chronic disease to advance health equity.
 
Best wishes to the following Grantees in the implementation of their innovative projects:
  1. Community Health Initiative: Tobacco and Chronic Disease Campaign
  2. JustLiving Advocacy, Inc.: BIPOC Wellness Community Outreach
  3. LindaBen Foundation, Inc.: Wellness Wonders: Eating Right, Living Bright!
  4. Luminus: Tobacco/Vaping Awareness in Youth Immigrant Community
  5. My Life Foundation: Addressing Tobacco/Chronic Disease Prevention and Cessation Using a Cultural Lens​
Healthy Beginnings
Sensory-Friendly Vaccine Bags Available!
FREE Sensory-friendly Vaccine Bags are available from the Autism Society of Maryland! Please call at 410-290-3466 or email info@autismsocietymd.org
to reserve yours!

Kits contain noise-canceling headphones, fidgets/spinners, squeezy ball, shot blocker, sunglasses, and stickers to make you/your child’s vaccine experience easier!
 
The Vaccine Bags are part of the Vaccine Education Initiative, a partnership of the Autism Society of America (ASA) and the Howard County Health Department.
Howard County Opens Family Support Center
Howard County opened the first-ever Family Support Center (FSC). The FSC is located at 9790 Patuxent Woods Drive in Columbia (RTA Bus Route 503) and offers comprehensive, family centered, community-based preventive programs at no cost to parents, caregivers and their children ages birth to five.

Photos from the event can be found here and video here.
Green Friday Fun with Community of Families in Nature
The Community Ecology Institute's Community of Families in Nature (CFIN) program offers a FREE, themed event for families to experience the joys of exploring and experiencing nature!

Join CFIN for Green Friday Fun on November 24th from 1:00 - 4:00pm to go on a hike, play games and do crafts. Learn more and register.
Healthy Living
Free Community Health Fair
Get your annual flu shot and more at Glen Mar Church in Ellicott City on November 11th at 11:00am - 2:00pm.

This free Community Health Fair will feature partners providing health education information, preventive health screenings such as blood pressure and stroke risk assessments and wellness coaching. Learn more about this event.
Medicine for the Greater Good Symposium
Johns Hopkins Medicine for the Greater Good will hold its annual symposium on November 7th from 12:00 to 2:00pm with Keynote Speaker Dr. Peter Hotez. The symposium will focus on public health messaging and Community Health Workers.

The symposium will take place in the auditorium of the Asthma and Allergy building at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and will be livestreamed here. Please email staff at mgg@jhmi.edu for more information.
New Video Reminds Motorists to Slow Down or Move Over
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office released a new video reminding motorists to follow the state’s Move Over Law. The law, which was expanded in 2022, requires motorists to move over when approaching ANY stopped, standing or parked vehicle displaying warning signals.

Learn more at ZeroDeathsMD.gov.
LindaBen Food as Medicine Program
LindaBen Foundation's Food As Medicine Program is in need of eligible participants. This is a six to nine months program open to clients to receive vouchers that will be used for small or large produce bundles, along with free shelf stable food and diapers.

Nurse case managers, diabetes management providers can refer people to this program by e-mailing Lynn Mejia at lmejia@lindabenfoundation.org. 

LindaBen also launched a Mobile Market for low-cost fresh produce and more! Link to the sign up: https://signup.com/go/vaVgYJj.
Adaptive Fall Hike at Patapsco Valley State Park
Friends of Patapsco Valley State Park is hosting an Adaptive Hike for all ages on Saturday, November 12th at 10:00am. The hike will take place in the Avalon area of Patapsco Valley State Park with a meeting location at 5120 South Street, Halethorpe, MD 21227.

The River Road Trail is an accessible, fairly level and scenic pathway that follows along close to the Patapsco River. FREE to attend but registration required.
Healthy Minds
Black Mental Wellness Conference: Cultivate. Restore. Empower.

This conference will feature expert mental health professionals, advocates, and community leaders who will highlight the varied cultural approaches to healing in the Black community. Continuing education credits are available for mental health professionals who attend the live conference. Register for this event.
Community Overdose Action Town Hall Series
Join the Community Overdose Action Town Hall Series in Howard County on Thursday November 30, 2023 at 6:30 - 7:30pm at Slayton House - Wilde Lake Community Association.

This event will feature presentations from state and local officials. Members of the public will also have to the opportunity to provide public comment during the meeting.

Register for this event here.
Behavioral Health Community Survey
The Health Department's Bureau of Behavioral Health is committed to helping residents make healthy connections.

The survey will gather insights on how Behavioral Health Services could be improved in Howard County. The survey will close on November 10th.

Partners are asked to share the links following widely:
Grassroots Crisis Intervention Expansion of Services
Grassroots Crisis Intervention has moved in order to substantially expand their 24-hour crisis intervention, mental health, substance use disorder, housing support and suicide prevention services.

Individuals can access free, 24-hour walk-in crisis stabilization and related services, counseling, homeless services, resources and more at 8990 Old Annapolis Road, Suite A in Columbia. Call 410-531-6677 for more info!
2023 Howard County Resource Guide
Howard County Office on Aging & Independence offers a wide range of services to promote healthy aging, improve the health and quality of life for older adults and adults with disabilities.

Choose from a wide variety of in-person or virtual fitness classes, explore your passion for flower arranging, fashion or birding, or join lunch at a center near you to reconnect with friends. Check out the November lunch menu.
Opioid Overdose Response Training
The Howard County Health Department offers FREE Opioid Overdose Response Program monthly virtual trainings. 

In-person training and Narcan distribution also available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00am - 2:00pm at the Harm Reduction RV in the Health Department's parking lot. Call Bureau of Behavioral Health at 410-313-6202, orpresponse@howardcountymd.gov.