Two dozen participants of the end poverty group called #Luv1LuvAll gathered Thursday, Aug. 15, to celebrate their successes during the past year, say goodbye to one workgroup and recharge their energies for another year full of activities.
All five of #Luv1LuvAll task forces met at the American Reformed Church in Luverne for the recharge retreat.
Ed Zabinski and Mary Jo Wimmer, both of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, facilitated the daylong event.
Each task force or issue group discussed answers to five questions:
•Did their focus still have a shared meaning to help people more out of poverty?
•What hurdles were encountered?
•Are additional resources needed?
•Are the right stakeholders involved on the task force?
The retreat gave participants time to reflect on their efforts.
“It seems we’ve done more than what we thought,” said Dawn Anderson.
Each task force shared information about their efforts from the past year.
Dental access
The mission of the dental access group is to find solutions for the lack of local dental health access in Rock County and stress the importance of cavity prevention.
The Rock County Oral Task Force cooperated with Luverne Public Schools in a district-wide dental health screening and worked with an Adrian dentist to complete follow-up examinations.
One barrier to expanding follow-up examinations has been state boundaries. A legislative change is necessary for oral health care to take place in South Dakota for eligible individuals and families.
As a solution, task force members have arranged a visit from Children Dental Services of Minneapolis to help fill the gap.
A mobile clinic is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 4, at the Rock County Health and Human Services Building, 2 Roundwind Road in Luverne.
The clinic is open to all children ages 0-26 and pregnant women.
CDS accepts all forms of insurance and has discounts for income-eligible families. Call 866-543-6009 to schedule an appointment or for more information.
More funding will allow the CDS to return to Rock County for future dental visits.
As a prevention activity, the task force organized a tooth-brushing program for all second-graders at Luverne Elementary.
Resource guide
The Access to Resources task force (or Resource One) is working on removing barriers for easier access to services.
In the past year the group created a resource template guide and is working to create a website.
However, lack of manpower has prevented the website from launching.
A mentor program has also faced barriers.
Access group members realized more community engagement is necessary to move Resource One to the next step. A lack of male leadership is one barrier for the group, a concern for the other groups whose membership is also predominantly female.
“We can’t do this ourselves,” Kim Rockman said.
Brain health
The Mindfulness Task Force works to educate about the importance of good mental health for all residents in Rock County.
Last year the group educated third- and sixth-graders about mental health and increasing students’ resiliency to adversities.
The group is gearing up for a second year with students and will begin monthly community mental health sessions through Community Education.
The classes will be the first Monday of the month beginning at 7 p.m. for one hour at Luverne Public Schools.
Housing issues
Thursday’s recharge retreat placed the Safe, Stable and Affordable Rental Housing task force on hold until a clearer mission statement materializes.
“Part of re-energizing is putting things on the back burner,” facilitator Zabinski said.
One issue, however, moved from a task force issue to one that is well on its way of finding a permanent solution.
Senior nutrition
“One of the issue teams declared victory and moved on,” Zabinski said.
A task force that started for the improvement of senior nutrition needs blossomed from a reinvigoration of an existing community organization.
Luverne Senior Citizens changed its name to Generations earlier this year and has increased membership from about 40 to more than 200.
They created a Facebook page and began to encourage 50- and 60-year-olds to participate in senior dining meal site.
“We all have the power to get the word out,” said Generations member Mary Gehrke. “Just don’t quit asking.”
The group is currently engaged in integrating all age groups in activities and has kicked off a capital fundraising campaign to build a new Generations building.
As a wrap-up to the recharge retreat, many participants committed to solving poverty issues by primarily encouraging more people to join in the task force processes.