Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Outreach topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
AmeriCorps members detail public‑health outreach: Safe Routes, dental varnish, mental‑health toolkit and resource bank
Summary
Two AmeriCorps members working with Benton County Public Health summarized completed and ongoing projects including Safe Routes to School demonstration work at Pleasant View Elementary, a mental‑health toolkit developed with Central Minnesota Alliance partners, dental varnish outreach and a county resource bank in development.
Benton County’s two AmeriCorps public‑health members presented a summary of outreach and program work to the board on March 18, highlighting school‑based safety projects, preventive dental outreach and mental‑health materials developed with regional partners.
Tina Tao, a second‑year AmeriCorps member, described a day‑in‑the‑life video series documenting county public‑health teams and noted she completed a Safe Routes to School demonstration project at Pleasant View Elementary; the project included temporary curb extensions, bright pavement markings and bollards to reduce crossing distances and improve visibility. She said the Saint Cloud Area Planning Organization helped produce a short video to document the demonstration.
Tao also described participation in a regional mental health toolkit (created with the Central Minnesota Alliance) and said she recorded an English version of a community survey script; Spanish and Somali audio versions were produced by partner AmeriCorps members in adjacent counties. She detailed dental varnish outreach at schools and community events and described a hand‑washing lesson with first graders using glow‑germ demonstrations.
Tabitha Young, a first‑year AmeriCorps member and registered nurse, said she researched cannabis laws across multiple states for the county cannabis work group, helped develop a summarized one‑page resource from the Community Partner Assessment, and is compiling county immunization rates and a “resource bank” for Benton County staff to share housing, veteran, and social service resources with residents. Young also described outreach at community events and volunteer efforts with the Central Minnesota Suicide Prevention Coalition and the 988 lifeline materials distribution.
Public‑health staff and AmeriCorps members said many of these efforts expanded the department’s capacity to reach schools, faith communities and vulnerable populations. No formal board action was required; commissioners thanked the AmeriCorps members and noted the work increases public‑health reach while leveraging grant and partner resources.
