Nothing but the Truth: The Value of Community Connections

How one dog and her owner became a nonprofit helping thousands of children and youth

 

It all started with a dog named Truth. When the little wriggly ball of yellow fur stared straight into Scarlett Rigsby’s eyes, right after Rigsby prayed for clarity on which of the eight puppies to pick, it was the beginning of a nonprofit that would help thousands of children and their families. Rigsby had seen, from her 18 years working with the YMCA, how dogs can change someone’s day and was looking for a new ministry partner. Rigsby put down the puppy she had been holding and picked up HER puppy. She named her new Golden Retriever “Truth” and took her faith and her dog and began meeting people where they were – serving them and helping change their lives. Out of that, Nothing but the Truth was born.

Since that day in 2010, Nothing but the Truth has grown to serving over 1,000 Gwinnett and Clayton County public school students every week through their weekend food bag program, helping homeless families get back on their feet by providing Truth’s Home, offering medical and dental care at Truth’s Community Clinic, and providing homework help, ESL classes, and life conversation groups at Truth’s Place.

Over the years, the Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services has helped connect NBTT with resources, volunteers and more.  “The Gwinnett Coalition’s Great Days of Service has helped raise awareness around what we are doing as they brought different groups to help and some of those people have started coming year round,” Rigsby said. “They also helped connect us with community partners who help pack and deliver our weekend food bags.

“It’s been a great partnership to help raise awareness among the community and business partners and has really helped connect the dots between needs and how we’re addressing those needs.”

In fact, NBTT took over a program the Gwinnett Coalition piloted a few years ago, the Swag Bag Project. The project provides access to feminine hygiene products and health information to middle and high school girls living in poverty in Gwinnett. The Gwinnett Coalition had discovered that students were missing school because they didn’t have the supplies they needed each month

“It’s an important project because once we can reduce absenteeism there is a better chance of success academically,” Rigsby said.

For NBTT, the Swag Bag Project was a natural fit.

“NBTT began with a desire to work in our schools and have them tell us what the community needs are so we could meet those. So when Suzy Bus, the Gwinnett Coalition’s helpline director and a long-time friend, asked us to manage the project, it made sense. We already had a relationship with school counselors and this would allow us to expand to communicating with the school nurses.

“The Swag Bag Project has really exploded. The Gwinnett Coalition piloted it in three schools and now we’re in 40 schools in Gwinnett and Barrow (and expanding to Clayton County) and have provided well over 800 bags, 800 pairs of underwear and multiple resupplies of pads just this school year. It’s still primarily in middle and high schools but we’re finding that some of the elementary schools are also asking for bags.

Though the Gwinnett Coalition doesn’t manage the project, it still helps support it by sending any donations that could be used for the Swag Bag Project to NBTT and helping connect interested volunteers.

“We can always use donations of new underwear in various sizes as well as pads, especially since those are one of our more expensive items,” Rigsby said. “We can also use volunteers to help assemble and then deliver the bags. With this program, we deliver bags usually once every two to three months so it’s not a huge time commitment for volunteers.”

As NBTT has experienced, being connected to the Gwinnett Coalition has helped expand their reach into the community. Their partnership highlights the Gwinnett Coalition’s mission of facilitating collaboration that improves the well-being of the community.

To discover more about NBTT and how you can get involved, visit nothingbutthetruth146.org.

 

Transportation comes in many forms and influences our lives in many ways. As the citizens of Gwinnett County begin to ponder how they will vote on the March 19th transit referendum, one aspect to consider is how transportation options can directly and indirectly affect the health and well-being of the community.

Expanding the availability of, safety for, and access to a variety of transportation options has the potential to save lives by preventing chronic diseases, reducing and preventing motor-vehicle-related injury and deaths, improving environmental health, enhancing access to medical care and healthy food while stimulating economic development, and ensuring access for all people.

Studies show that lack of access to transportation reduces health care utilization among children, seniors, low-income people, and people with disabilities. One survey found that 4-percent of U.S. children (3.6 million in total) either missed a scheduled health care visit or did not schedule a visit during the preceding year because of transportation restrictions.

While the majority of the population here in Gwinnett County has ready access to and typically use private automobiles to access health care and other community services, there also is a significant segment of the population that either does not have access to a personal automobile or is not currently capable of driving. This can limit their access to health care, but it has greater health implications because it can also limit access to nutrition and other community services, as well as involvement in social activities. Limiting this access deprives people of the opportunity to make the choices that allow them to live a long, healthy life, regardless of their age, income, education or ethnic background.

Each day, until the March 19th transit referendum, the Gwinnett Coalition will share information through its social media outlets illustrating how public health improvements are among the largest benefits provided by high quality public transit.

Thunderous applause and tears of joy were on display at the December 4, 2018 Board of Directors meeting for the Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services (Gwinnett Coalition).  As her fellow board members rose to their feet in celebration and appreciation, Gwinnett Medical Center’s Director of Community Benefit and Ethics, Martha Jordan, was presented the Gwinnett Coalition’s highest honor, The Barbara King Community Hero Award.

Named in honor of the late Barbara King, a long-time community servant and retired Primerica legend, Gwinnett Coalition’s Executive Director, Ellen Gerstein said, “I could not think of anyone who exemplifies the true meaning of the Barbara King Community Hero Award more than Martha Jordan.”

In statements made during the presentation of the award, Gerstein added, “Martha is a true community hero.  She has supported the Gwinnett Coalition in so many valuable ways.  For many years, Martha has chaired our Research and Accountability committee, taking us through a rigorous process of strategic planning and accountability.  Through her tireless efforts, our comprehensive plan is now integrated as one community health improvement plan. Martha’s expertise has made her a shining star and leader among all that have the privilege to know and work with her.  Her passion for helping others learn about and understand the benefits of engaging with the Gwinnett Coalition has helped our organization achieve unprecedented results.”