Volunesia (Voh-li-NEE-zhah) noun. that moment you forget you’re volunteering to change the lives of others, because they end up changing yours.  iCan Bike Gwinnett WILL give you volunesia.  We Promise!

Biking is an activity that most people take for granted. Although it is usually considered to be a basic skill that all kids learn, we understand that the vast majority of people with disabilities never have the experience of independently riding a conventional two-wheel bicycle during their lifetime. Research shows that over 80% of people with Autism and 90% of people with Down syndrome never experience this thrill. Defying these odds is why iCan Bike – Gwinnett exists!

Presented by The Guide Project, iCan Bike Gwinnett is a bike camp for people with disabilities that will take place at George Pierce Park in Suwanee from July 15 – 19.  The program partners groups of riders with volunteers who assist each rider as they gradually transition from specialized bicycles with rollers for back wheels to traditional, two-wheeled bikes. The camp not only teaches attendees to ride a two-wheel bike independently, but it also promotes inclusion, self-esteem, independence, and confidence for people with disabilities.

How can you help?  Well, we are glad you asked.

Volunteers are needed to serve as Spotters.  Two volunteers are assigned to each rider to serve as their ‘spotters’ providing physical support, motivation and encouragement throughout the week.  While all individuals learn at their own pace, some will be ready to ride on two wheels as soon as the third day, and historically approximately 80% of the individuals who participate in iCan Bike ride a two-wheel bicycle independently (at least 75 feet with no assistance) by the end of our five day program.  The remaining 20% make tremendous progress towards this goal and leave our programs accompanied by parents and/or siblings trained as ‘spotters’ to pick up where we leave off!

Just 75 invigorating minutes per day… it may be the most rewarding exercise and emotional experience you’ve ever had.

***NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IS NECESSARY***

To volunteer or for more information, please visit VOLUNTEER REGISTRATION or contact Stacey at Stacey@guideeachother.org – 770-742-7000.

$397,023 to be Awarded to Nonprofit Organizations that Administer Emergency Food and Shelter Programs in Gwinnett County

Nonprofit organizations that provide emergency food, shelter, rental or utility assistance in Gwinnett County are invited to apply for federal funding under Phase 36 of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP).

According to the Gwinnett Coalition for Health & Human Services, a total of $397, 023 will be awarded to local nonprofit organizations through a competitive process determined by a local board consisting of representatives invited from, but not limited to, the following agencies:  American Red Cross, Atlanta Jewish Federation, Catholic Social Services, Christian Council of Metro Atlanta, Gwinnett Coalition for Health & Human Services, and St. Vincent de Paul.  The local board has the responsibility of recommending agencies to receive funds.

Under the terms of the grant from the National Board, local organizations chosen to receive funds for mass shelter, mass feeding, other food, temporary lodging, rent/mortgage assistance and utility assistance must meet the following criteria: (1) have non-profit status, (2) maintain an accounting system, (3) practice non-discrimination,( 4) demonstrate the capacity to deliver emergency food and/or shelter programs and (5) have a voluntary board (if the agency is a private voluntary organization).

For further information or to download an application, visit www.gwinnettcoalition.org or contact Ellen Gerstein at 770-995-3339 –  ellen@gwinnettcoalition.org.

Please submit completed applications to Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services, Attn:  Ellen Gerstein, Executive Director, 750 S. Perry St.  Suite 312, Lawrenceville, GA  30046.  Applications must be received by Friday, June 21, 2019 by 4 pm. 

Compliance Checks: An Effective Prevention Strategy to Deter Alcohol Sales to Minors

Gwinnett United in Drug Education (GUIDE, Inc.) and the Gwinnett Coalition work together to reduce underage drinking in Gwinnett County through an evidence-based strategy called “compliance checks.” Compliance checks occur when underage decoys visit local establishments to attempt to buy alcohol. Conducted through partnerships with the Gwinnett County Police Department and police departments in the cities of Duluth, Lawrenceville, Lilburn and Snellville, compliance checks serve to discourage the sale of alcohol to minors by enforcing penalties associated with illegal sales.

Gwinnett’s very own substance abuse prevention agency, GUIDE was formed in 1986 as a joint effort between the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners and the Gwinnett County Board of Education. These insightful community leaders wanted to have a comprehensive, coordinated and proactive approach to reducing and preventing substance use and abuse across the county. GUIDE became an active partner with the Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services when it began in 1991. GUIDE and the Gwinnett Coalition work together on a number of substance abuse prevention issues including underage drinking prevention, which has been a priority for the county since the late 1990s.

In 2018, 14.33% of 12th grade students and 6.07% of 8th grade students in Gwinnett County reported having at least one or more drinks of alcohol in the past 30 days according to the Georgia Student Health Survey 2.0. The good news in these numbers is the percentage of 30 day alcohol use has decreased from where it was several years ago. Though we still have work to do to reduce these numbers even more, the collaboration between GUIDE and the Gwinnett Coalition supports many initiatives that have reduced the number of Gwinnett youth who have access to and consume alcohol.

One of the efforts that is jointly supported by GUIDE and the Gwinnett Coalition are the partnerships with the Gwinnett County Police Department as well as police departments in the cities of Duluth, Lawrenceville, Lilburn and Snellville. These police departments work within the community to conduct compliance checks to make sure retailers follow current laws and ordinances, check IDs and don’t sell alcohol to minors. Underage decoys visit local restaurants, gas stations and convenience, grocery and drug stores to attempt to buy alcohol. If the employee does not ask for an ID and/or sells or serves the decoy alcohol, then the employee receives a citation from the police officer or detective.

Conducting compliance checks is an effective environmental change strategy because it helps decrease the probability of employees selling alcohol to those under 21 by keeping the retailers in check.  It also increases the chances of employees checking IDs, so they do not receive a citation. This is known as the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) change strategy, Changing Consequences. The penalties for selling or serving to a minor vary between unincorporated Gwinnett and the cities, and all of GUIDE’s police department partners work to provide education and prevent sales and service to minors in addition to their compliance check operations.

From October 2018 to March 2019, these local police departments made a combined total of 393 visits to alcohol retailers to ensure that safe alcohol sales are occurring. The Gwinnett County Police Department detectives made 280 visits to alcohol retailers in unincorporated Gwinnett County, and 52 sold to the underage decoy, which is a compliance rate of 81%. In the City of Duluth, the compliance rate was 100%, which included 20 visits and none of those selling to the decoy. In the City of Lawrenceville, the compliance rate was 67%, which included 21 visits to retailers and seven of those selling to the decoy. In the City of Lilburn, the compliance rate was 93%, which included 55 visits to retailers and four of those selling to the decoy. In the City of Snellville, the compliance rate was 88%, which included 17 visits and two of those selling to the decoy. Because of the commitment of the local police departments to conduct these checks on a regular basis, the county is able to maintain a higher compliance rate overall. This means that the majority of retailers in Gwinnett County are following underage alcohol sales laws, checking IDs and helping reduce retail access of alcohol to those under 21.

Gwinnett County compliance checks are made possible through the partnerships with each police department and funding from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and the Gwinnett Coalition’s Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP Act) grant from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

For additional information about the work of the Gwinnett Coalition for Health & Human Services, please contact our Chief Operating Officer, Keith Fenton at 770-995-3339 or keith@gwinnettcoalition.org

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.