Good evening to all of you. At this time of year we all start thinking about ways to either help ourselves, or help others. In this Special Holiday edition, I want to talk to you about community resources for yourself, your family or even a friend. I know a lot of young adults are acting as leaders in their families, I did from a very young age. It can be terrifying, having the worries of an adult when you should be thinking about which college you want to attend, or the next dance that is coming up. At the end of this post you should be able to:
-Describe what school nurses do, aside from giving medications and helping someone when they are hurt.
-List at least three community resources for your family or a friend
There are many things that can affect the health of families, and thus, the children living in them. For example, if your family is part of a larger community such as a church, extended family, close relationships with neighbors or friends then you have many resources all ready at your disposal. If you are part of a family that does not think school is important, from a single-parent family, or for whatever reasons do not have many contacts outside of your immediate family then you may find that you have more stress and less ability to cope with life circumstances. Please know, that this does not mean that things won't be okay. You can succeed! It just takes a little extra effort and knowing where to go for help.
Some places you may want to start include your school counseling office or school nurse. The people in there will have information on resources such as local food banks, homeless shelters, and even free or reduced-price medical services. If you feel these resources don't work for you, then your doctor or a nurse at your doctor's office can help you as well. Let's start with school nurses:
School nurses do not just pass out medications or help people when they are ill or hurt at school. They may teach a portion of a health education class, attend meetings for the children with special needs to help come up with a plan to assist those children in exceeding in the school environment, health screenings such as for abuse of scoliosis (curvature of the back) (Nies and McEwan, 2011). These nurses may also provide counseling, or psychological and social services (Nies and McEwan, 2011). If you have any concerns about self injury or you know a friend that is hurting themselves, this would be a good first place to go. Just like at the doctor's office, unless there is immediate threat to someone's well-being they are required to keep most information private. So, if you need to talk, please go, don't feel ashamed! School nurses may also coordinate with other entities to provide services, legislation and education for their community (Schaffer, Goodhue, Stennes, and Lanigan, 2012).
Local churches also have access to emergency food supplies, toiletries, or even counseling services. These are often done on a first come-first served basis and may have hours or operation. Much like other counseling services, these should be kept confidential, unless there is a threat of harm. Your local hospital will have services available for you in an emergency, education materials and classes (Nies and McEwan, 2011; Schaffer, Goodhue, Stennes, and Lanigan, 2012). The article, Evaluation of a public health nurse visiting program for pregnant and parenting teens, has a great exercise for identifying your personal support network. First the authors suggest starting out as you would a brain storm for a school project: Draw a circle with your name or the word "me" in it. Then start thinking about people in your life that are important to you, who can give you help when you need it? Use pictures or words to signify these people and draw them like a web from the first circle you drew. Those that are greatest support to you get a solid line and should be drawn closer to your circle, those that are not as good of support but still there could be drawn with dashed lines and/or farther from you (Nies and McEwan, 2011; Schaffer, Goodhue, Stennes, and Lanigan, 2012). In community health nursing we call this an ecomap.What it does is provides a visual of the social supports a person has. I strongly suggest you try this activity some time, you may be surprised by how many people or entities you have to support you.
With that, I am going to end this post. We have discussed numerous ideas such as how to identify your personal support system, places to go for help or resources (school nurse, clergy, hospital, your parents) as well as the types of things that affect the health of a family and the children/people living in them. In the comments section, please list at least three resources you might seek out should you or a friend need some assistance. Please tell me what you learned about school nurses, other than that they provide first aid services and medications. And lastly, if you are comfortable, please discuss whether you did the activity on identifying your personal support system and how you feel after completing it. Feel free to include other information, questions or comments you may have on this or any other topic.
Happy holidays!
References
Nies, M. A. & McEwen, M. (2011). Community/public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations, (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders
Schaffer, M. A., Goodhue, A., Stennes, K., & Lanigan, C. (2012). Evaluation of a public health nurse visiting program for pregnant and parenting teens. Public Health Nursing, 29(3), pg. 218-231. Doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1446.2011.01005.x
