Moniteau County Healthy Lifestyles is still on the search for a facilitator in its quest to become a community coalition.
The group met again Nov. 11, again noting the need for someone to lead the charge and help the group gain that classification. Until such time that the group finds someone interested in taking on the role, Jenn Millard with Central Missouri Community Action and VanDee Miller with Burrell Behavioral Health will step in.
A leader is required in order for a group such as this one to become a community coalition; installing someone would allow for registration through the Missouri Department of Mental Health to begin. This would, in turn, allow for the group to receive official recognition and begin programming. Besides having a leader, other requirements for official recognition include meeting at least quarterly, that notes are taken and that a minimum of five members serve on the coalition.
The group put together a November newsletter, this month focusing on tobacco prevention as its topic. Next month's topic will center around alcohol prevention, and January's will be on goal setting. The group still needs to decide on its newsletter topics for 2021 after January. Miller puts the newsletters together on behalf of the group; the last page of each one will always include local resources for Moniteau County residents.
The group also discussed some ideas for future campaigns, based on the major concerns in the county expressed via the Missouri Student Survey. The group decided, for now, to be cautious of how it approaches certain topics, focusing on a specific age range of youths in seventh through twelfth grade. The hope is to get youth in the community involved with the group in some capacity, whether through participation in events or in helping with the group's current planning process.
Moniteau County Healthy Lifestyles will host its next meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 1:30 p.m. via Zoom.