News

LOCAL BRIEFS: St. Gerard House, dementia program, Farm Family of the Day

Support from Dogwood Health Trust will enable St. Gerard House to expand its autism programs in Western North Carolina.

By Bill Moss, Published: August 11, 2024

'Transformational' Dogwood grant funds St. Gerard House expansion

St. Gerard House announced last week that transformational operating support from Dogwood Health Trust will fund expansion of its autism services in the region.

“Dogwood Health Trust’s grant will stabilize our administrative capacity and give breathing room to shift our focus to the future,” said Caroline Long Tindall, CEO of St. Gerard House. “We have developed a proven ‘pod’ center-based model for delivering the highest quality of care to children and adults with autism in Western North Carolina.” St. Gerard House expressed sincere gratitude for Dogwood’s commitment to help address the inequity of care for autistic individuals.

According to the CDC, autism rates continue to rise — to 1 in 36 children — while therapeutic services continue to fall short of meeting the demand.

St. Gerard House’s flagship program, The Grotto Therapeutic Center, is a year-round day program for children with autism ages 3-21. Individual outcomes lead to documented improvement in communication, social relationships, play, academic abilities and adaptive daily living skills. “In 2023, The Grotto provided over 25,400 hours of therapy to enrolled clients,” said Julia Buchanan, director of development and community engagement. “Of those, 56 percent graduated into mainstream education after receiving early intensive behavior intervention. This is the result of the quality of ABA therapy given at St. Gerard House.”

The development of a single “pod” creates more than 22 living wage jobs for behavioral health professionals, the nonprofit said.

“As we seek to expand using this model, we are able to create jobs in Western North Carolina while providing quality, evidence-based autism therapy,” Tindall said. “The funding has already allowed us to increase starting wages, greater than a living wage in Henderson County, for our clinical staff.”

Historic Johnson Farm chosen for 'RootEd in Food and Farm' program

The USDA’s Farm to School program has awarded Historic Johnson Farm a $50,000 grant to boost an education program for eighth graders in Henderson County public schools.

Nationwide, the program awarded 154 grants this year; Historic Johnson Farm was one of only two grant recipients in North Carolina.

The grant will create a rare opportunity for Henderson County public school teachers. For the next two years, small groups of eighth grade teachers will spend time at Historic Johnson Farm and other farm sites, designing classroom lesson plans so they can be taught as hands-on projects at the farm. Teachers will receive training and coaching support from the educational consulting company Constructive Learning Design. During the year-long experience, the students will visit the farm and test-drive the lesson plans their teachers have developed.

“This grant is so great because it will create a lot of opportunities for HPCS students, especially students who are a little older, to come and learn here on the Farm.” HJF Executive Director Mandy Gibson said in a news release.

Called “RootEd in Food and Farm,” the project is a partnership between Historic Johnson Farm, Henderson County Public Schools and Constructive Learning Design. HJF also thanked UNC Asheville’s Office of Postsecondary Planning and Preparation for its support and technical assistance in making this opportunity possible for HCPS teachers and students.

Historic Johnson Farm, at 3346 Haywood Road, features 15 acres of forest, fields and streams, 10 historic structures, animals and picnic tables. The farm was a gift to schoolchildren and the community by the late Vernon and Leander Johnson.

Dementia specialist to speak at St. John church

The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock will present the free workshop “Learning to Dance with Dementia: When to Lead, When to Follow and When to Get Out of the Way” from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in the church Parish Hall, 1905 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock.

Mary Donnelly, a dynamic dementia consultant, will present the program followed by a panel discussion. The interactive session offers insight and strategies to help caregivers navigate the delicate balance of communicating with a person whose brain is changing.

“We are providing this afternoon program because dementia is becoming so prevalent in society that we feel the need to educate our friends and neighbors” said Linda Giltner, an event organizer.

“I have been a fan of Mary Donnelly since attending Caregivers College at MemoryCare when my husband was diagnosed with dementia,” said Ronnie Doty, another event organizer. “Several years later, when I’d been a caregiver for more than six years, I thought St. John would be the perfect place for her to share her wealth of wisdom. Caregiving is tiring and taxing and can begin to affect one’s health before we can become aware of it.”

Mary Donnelly is past Board President for MemoryCare, a nationally-recognized nonprofit clinic in Asheville. She founded and coordinates the MemoryCaregivers Network, writes a bi-monthly e-newsletter on caregiving and is part of the teaching staff for an annual caregiver education series.

Limited seating is available for the program. Participants must RSVP by visiting http://bit.ly/dancewithdementia. For more information call the church office at 828-693-9783.

State Fair seeks Farm Family of the Day nominations

The N.C. State Fair is again looking to recognize 11 farm families during the fair through the Farm Family of the Day program presented by the Tractor Supply Company. One family will be highlighted each day of the fair.

“The Farm Family of the Day program has become a popular way to highlight the people behind the state’s $111.1 billion agriculture and agribusiness industry and also elevate the focus on agriculture at the N.C. State Fair,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “This is the fourth year of the program and each year it has grown and we receive even more nominations of outstanding farm families who are passionate about our state’s No. 1 industry. I am grateful to Tractor Supply Company for helping us promote agriculture in North Carolina.”

Nominations and applications are being accepted through Sept. 6. More information and links to the nomination and application forms can be found online at https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/ncstatefair/2024/attractions/farmfamilyoftheday.Families will be chosen from submitted nomination and application forms.

Families chosen as Farm Family of the Day honorees will be awarded an N.C. State Fair gift basket, including fair tickets to use on any day of their choice during the 2024 N.C. State Fair, ride passes and additional swag from both Tractor Supply Company and the State Fair.

“We are proud to tell the story of our farmers because they work hard every day growing the food and fiber that we need to survive,” Troxler said.

The 2024 N.C. State Fair runs Oct. 17-27 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. For more information visit www.ncstatefair.org.