TU Hosts Health Fair
Post Published On:Thomas University held its Veterans Community Health Fair on the Forbes Campus on Tuesday, November 14.
Representatives from organizations across the region greeted students, faculty, and staff, and provided them with gifts and informational materials on different mental health services.
The organizations included Colquitt Regional Medical Center, Archbold Northside, SOWEGA Rising, Hearts for Families, Vashti Center, Georgia Pines, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Turning Point Care Center, Veterans Affairs’ Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Sowega Council on Aging, and Greenleaf Behavioral Health Hospital.
There were also Veterans Affairs RVs where veterans could sign up for health benefits. Students also had the opportunity to get their flu shots.
Taneil Green-Wood, Director of Student Counseling Services and Senior Fellow in the Armed Services Institute, a Division of Social & Behavioral Sciences, said the health fair is all about connecting Thomas University with services that are offered in the community.
“We want to collaborate with the community and let them know that TU is a hub,” she said. “We want to bring the community in so we can connect TU to community services for our students and for our veterans. We are a veteran-friendly school here, so we want to connect those resources. We want to make it easier for students to understand what is out there in the community and we want to make sure the community know that we are supportive of their endeavors.”
Michelle Cope is the community involvement specialist for Hearts for Families, which began a pilot program called the Suicide Prevention Program. It aims to build coalitions in the counties that have been identified as having high rates of suicides in a certain year frame. Cope covers Thomas, Grady, and Colquitt counties.
“Thomas County is averaging 9.7 suicides per 100,000 people per year,” she said. “They have had 10 this year so that is more than what that average is. That is why we are here. We want to lower that but not only lower it, but most importantly, prevent it.”
In addition to suicides, other organizations focused on homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse.
“We want to help our veterans and students in whatever they are struggling with and point them to the right organization that can help,” Green-Wood said.
