Whether its organic school gardens, parenting workshops, tobacco and opioid use prevention, or science and arts education, Healthy Communities takes a multi-faceted approach to promoting opportunities for health and wellness with a prevention first approach. Below, find out more about Coalition winter and spring events, as well as some of our partners’ services, programs and special events.

We Can Help! Public health nursing is available in Nevada’s frontier and rural counties to promote wellness through the delivery of public health nursing, preventive health care, and health education. If you are visiting Healthy Communities’ Dayton, Silver Stage or Yerington Food Pantries, our trained Community Health Workers are happy to help  make appointments with your local clinic and assist in filling in paperwork if wanted. Public Health Nursing services include immunizations, well-child services, breast and cervical cancer screenings, sexually transmitted disease prevention and treatment, reproductive health and family planning services for both males and females, etc. See this list to locate a community health nursing services near you: http://dpbh.nv.gov/Programs/ClinicalCN/Locations/Rural_Community_Health_Services_Locations/

Yerington: Healthy Communities is partnering with AHEP and Carson City Health and Human Services to offer a free presentation on Tuesday, Feb. 26 from 6-8pm. Food and childcare provided. “Families Talking Together” offers parents insights about how to talk to their children about sex. Topics include 1) techniques on when and how to talk to your youth about sex; 2) debunking teen sexuality myths; 3) education on STDs and teen pregnancy; and addressing barriers and common reasons why parents don’t talk to their youth. Details: https://www.instagram.com/p/Btzljeplepd/

Silver Springs: Healthy Communities is partnering with UNR’s School of Medicine and Sanford Center on Aging to offer Diabetes Self-Management Program (DSMP) workshop, designed for people with type 2 diabetes, caregivers, and pre-diabetics. This workshop teaches the skills needed in the day-to-day management of any type of ongoing health condition in order to maintain and/or increase an active and fulfilling lifestyle. Fridays, Mar. 8-April 19 from 9am-11:30am at the Silver Springs Community Center.

Dayton Food Pantry: On the 3rd Wednesday of every month, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) will be available at the Pantry from 10am to 4pm. More: https://www.instagram.com/p/BuC_RsZFA2A/

Community Roots & Shoots’ seed swap and open house is April 20th from noon to 3pm. Proceeds from Healthy Communities’ floral and gift shop and garden center at 209 Dayton Valley Road help support school and community gardens, job training programs and much more.

Food System: Healthy Communties’ Cortney Bloomer and Bri Savage attended the Nevada Farms Conference this month, and an Introduction to Bee Keeping workshop last month. Healthy Communities will begin beekeeping later this year, partly to support pollinators and the crucial role they play. Cortney and Bri will also be attending the Nevada School Garden Conference in Reno on April 13. Attendees will earn 0.5 Nevada Department of Education renewal credits. For anyone associated with Lyon schools, Healthy Communities can help defray attendance costs for teachers and other school staff who are involved or want to be involved in school gardens. Contact Cortney at cbloomer@healthycomm.org for more details.

Silver City’s summer public programming in arts and science (STEAM) will include a free family-friendly concert by Kantu Inka, award-winning visiting artists and writers, free kids science and engineering activities, plus a floral design class, a coding workshop, lectures and more for adults and teens. Healthy Communities partners with UNCE, United Way, Nevada Bugs & Butterflies, Society of Women Engineers, etc. to offer the kids’ activities. Silver City is 3 miles from Virginia City. Contact Quest for more details: quest@theodata.com.

Healthy Communities welcomes Kayla Valy, the new Project Manager for the Nevada Community Health Worker Association (NvCHWA). Nevada raised, Kayla is back after completing her Master’s in Social Work at the University of Washington in Seattle. As Project Manager, Kayla supports the NvCHWA in advocacy, education, and professional development to increase access to health care and social services for Nevadans. She brings her experience serving multigenerational families, her focus on racial equity and value of collaboration to this role. She believes the Community Health Worker profession is essential to improving health and wellness for us all. Other HCC staff: https://healthycomm.org/blog/contact-us/

Upcoming Guest Speakers: Healthy Communities’ March guest speakers include Friends of Nevada Wilderness, and the Nevada Lifespan Respite Care Coalition, which will present on respite awareness and access and ask for local input on that topic.. The April Healthy Communities meeting will feature a one hour presentation on “Domestic Violence & Coordinated Community Response,” which will include discussion of the cyclical nature of domestic violence (briefly); commonality of domestic violence; and coordinated community response (Duluth Model). Also, Healthy Communities’ Stand Tall youth-led prevention teams will briefly summarize their excellent work on Tobacco 21 policy, and will describe their work at the legislature this year, and activities in their schools and communities to promote wellness. Healthy Communities meets on the 2nd Thurs. of each month at 9am. March and April meetings will be held at the Silver Springs Community Center.

Coalition Partner News

Free Radon Test Kits are available at several spots around Lyon County through Feb. 28th (in Yerington at Lyon Co. Cooperative Extension; in Dayton at Central Lyon Fire District; and at Fernley City Hall).

Public health nursing promotes wellness through community health nursing, preventive health care, and health education. Services include immunizations, well-child services, breast and cervical cancer screenings, sexually transmitted disease prevention and treatment, reproductive health and family planning services for both men and women, etc. Follow this link to locate community health nursing services near you: http://dpbh.nv.gov/Programs/ClinicalCN/Locations/Rural_Community_Health_Services_Locations/

National Alliance on Mental Illness Connection group meets in Silver Springs at the Lahontan Medical Center every Tuesday from 4:30pm-6pm (building #5). NAMI Connection groups are:
• Free and confidential
• A stigma-free environment to find sincere, uncritical acceptance and support
• Learn from others through group wisdom and shared lived experiences in recovery
• Held weekly for 90 minutes
• Led by trained facilitators living in recovery themselves
For information contact NAMI Western Nevada at 775-350-7977

NAMI Nevada State Convention, May 7, 2019 at the Sparks Nugget from 8am-5pm. Information: Janet at 775-470-5600 or https://www.naminevada.org/ National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

Roseanne Cash is on tour with a poetic, lush and soulful collection of songs. She’ll perform with John Leventhal at Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City on Friday, May 10, 2019 at 8 PM – 10 PM. Her new music follows her triple-Grammy winning 2014 album. One of the preeminent singer/songwriters in the U.S., Rosanne Cash has released 15 albums that have earned 4 Grammy Awards, as well as 21 top 40 hits, including 11 No. 1 singles. Proceeds benefit the nonprofit Community Chest, Inc. – building and supporting healthy families and communities in northern Nevada and beyond. Tickets: https://communitychestnevada.net/