Missoula County Government: Missoula County Weekly: March 28-April 1

Missoula MT

31 March, 2022

12:01 PM

Description

Press release from the Missoula County Government: March 28, 2022 The Strategic Alliance for Improved Behavioral Health, a coalition of health providers, City and County government representatives and members of community agencies, put together the report to help Missoula County make decisions about allocating resources for behavioral health. Watch the public meeting Missoula City-County Health Department's Healthy Start Missoula, in collaboration with other organizations, is hosting a series of events aimed at celebrating the hard work of the past year and honoring those that support our youngest community members. Themed "Lifting Up and Holding Strong," the events take place from Saturday, April 2 to Friday, April 8. The full list of events can be found at www.healthystartmissoula.org/woyc Several Missoula County departments worked with local partners to put together a video to bring awareness to the strangulation epidemic in the Missoula community. Strangulation is one of the most lethal forms of violence. It only takes seven seconds to lose consciousness and less than three minutes to die. You can also die within 36 hours after being strangled due to internal injuries. Manual force, such as hands or an object wrapped around the neck, causes strangulation. The external pressure restricts blood vessels and air passages, blocking the airway and stopping oxygen to the brain. Strangulation is not choking; choking is having an object lodged in your throat. If you're strangled, seek medical care immediately and make a report to law enforcement. Be aware of what you were feeling and thinking during the attack and share those thoughts and feelings with the professionals assisting you. Places to contact in case of strangulation: Student Advocacy Resource Center 24-hour crisis line: 406-243-6559 YWCA 24-hour crisis line: 406-542-1944 Crime Victim Advocate Program: 406-258-3830 Missoula County Law Enforcement (Sheriff's Office, Police Department, UM Police): 9-1-1 After 17 years leading the Missoula Public Library, the library congratulates Executive Director Honore Bray on her upcoming retirement. Honore's legacy includes her invaluable contribution to the vision of Missoula's new world-class library and her leadership in shepherding its completion. Please stop by the store on Level One of the library to wish her well by writing a message to Honore in a book, custom-made for her retirement. The book will be available for the public to sign until the end of March. JEDI Initiatives: Resolution 2021-087 established the County's commitment to the principles of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, and the County is working to establish a JEDI Advisory Council. Honor and respect for indigenous people: Missoula County values our relationship with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and continues to honor the original inhabitants of our county. Partnership Health Center Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee: The committee is developing initiatives with associated measurable goals in the following areas: healthcare services, hiring approach, staff training, community partners and advocacy/policy. Affordable health care: The County received a grant from the Montana Healthcare Foundation and formed the Missoula County Benefit Options Steering Committee to explore options to improve access to healthcare for Missoula County residents. Read more at http://missoula.co/updates Missoula County employees are working hard for you! Mary Strand, nutrition educator/lactation consultant for the Missoula City-County Health Department's Women, Infants and Children Program "I have been working for the Montana Women, Infants and Children program for 34 years. In 2003, my family moved from Lewistown, Montana, to Missoula, where I started working for the Missoula WIC program. The same year I became an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant. Over the past 19 years, I have been active in the Missoula Breastfeeding Coalition, where we work toward normalizing breastfeeding in our community while supporting families with their breastfeeding goals. I love being able to help WIC families improve their health by sharing nutrition information on healthy eating habits. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for women, infants and children provides healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and community referrals linking families to resources. WIC offers a variety of food options that are loaded monthly onto a WIC EBT card where the client uses the card at local grocery stores throughout the month. Nutrition education is completed on a quarterly basis and individualized for each participant. Currently the Missoula WIC program offers remote services, but we are working with our community partners to begin reintegrating face-to-face options. Our first step toward this is Mondays at the Missoula Food Bank and Community Center. Stop by and say 'hi!'" Learn more about the WIC program at http://missoula.co/WIC. Big Sky 3D Printing 4:15-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at the Missoula Public Library MSU Extension Office's Master Gardener Level 1 Class Series – Pest Management 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at the Missoula Public Library Zootown Arts Community Center Mini Show 5-10 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the Missoula County Fairgrounds Find more events this week on the County's Event Calendar! Missoula Co. Elections Office in need of election assistants Commission approves strategic plan to improve Missoula Co. Mental health resources To join commissioner department, administrative and public meetings via Microsoft Teams and view the agendas, visit the Missoula County Commissioners' Meeting Minutes and Agenda Portal. Please note that agendas for department and administrative meetings are published two business days before the meeting, and public meeting agendas are published the Friday before the meeting. Administrative and public meeting video recordings are available on the Missoula County YouTube page after the meeting, and MCAT plays the public meetings live on their Spectrum Channel 190. Email [email protected] or call 406-258-4877 if you have any questions or comments on an upcoming meeting. Tuesday, March 29 Public Service Agencies Update Commissioners' Administrative Public Meeting County Attorneys Update Compensation Board Meeting Wednesday, March 30 Chief Officers Update Thursday, March 31 Chief Administrative Officer Update Commissioners' Administrative Public Meeting Friday, April 1 No department, administrative or public meetings are scheduled on this day. Monday, April 4 Public Works Update Community and Planning Services Update This press release was produced by the Missoula County Government. The views expressed here are the author's own.