Community Health Hero
The Lenoir County Alliance for a Healthy Community recognizes individuals or organizations to receive a Healthy Community Hero Award. These recipients have demonstrated excellence through a project or program of action within recent history that results in exemplary effort and impact in improving the health of the community.
Judge Elizabeth Heath
The Healthy Community Hero Award was made to Judge Elizabeth Heath for her excellence of work and compassion by transforming families with supportive and directed services. Families in this court are most often dealing with issues of substance abuse that result in painful situations such as child foster placement and family crisis from opioid abuse and overdose. Devastating statistics show that in the past year over 375 children have been involved with the district courts due to abuse, neglect or dependency. Based on district wide statistics of previous years, over 70% of those children likely come from homes where there was substance misuse. Judge Heath has been able to locate and administer new grant funds for program growth to help more families facing these hard issues. FARC helps address child maltreatment, parental substance disorders, and parenting needs by providing treatment, intensive case management, and judicial supervision to those parents who struggle with substance abuse, and who are at risk or already have lost custody of their children. The FARC provides a connection to substance abuse and mental health treatment by partnering with PORT Human Services and Kinston Community Health Center. |
Colleen Kosinski, a leader in the Guardian Ad Litem program, and nominator states, “This program started in Wayne County but has now expanded in Lenoir and Greene Counties. For the past two years, Lenoir County has had the highest caseload of abused and neglected children in District 8, yet Judge Heath made this program a priority.” Breaking the cycle of addiction gives children another chance to be raised in a safe, loving drug-free home. Judge Heath has increased the program to anyone in the community wanting support, not just responding to court referrals. There has been success with her oversight and a recent participant remarked how much the FARC team meant to her, but especially because Judge Heath cared so much about her succeeding. For more information about Family Accountability and Recovery Court in the 8th District court, please contact Lenoir County Department of Social Services at 252-559-6400. |
Lenoir County Health Department
Lenoir County Health Department is recognized as an outstanding community organization having demonstrated remarkable dedication with positive impact in Lenoir County during the time of COVID response. Many departments and staff within the Lenoir County Health Department have worked outside their normal scope of work in order to minimize disease spread, reduce deaths, and to provide COVID safety information and preparedness to the community.
The Healthy Community Hero Award was made to the Lenoir County Health Department specifically for the work that has supports the community in a time of COVID pandemic crisis. Key areas of excellence include analyzing community data, maintaining outstanding communications about COVID status and planning, safety work with area business and industries, community-wide COVID testing and PPE purchasing. Community education has been a paramount need and the LCHD response has been widespread to inform while also facilitating relationships. Tracing and tracking are ongoing in a professional manner that fosters trust and respect within the intense public health situation. Lenoir County residents have been able to better understand the level of disease burden and through the work of this organization, persons in their homes, congregate living facilities, schools, and businesses have been positively impacted from the work of the LCHD team. Pam Brown, LCHD director states, “All of this was completed with great patient care and professionalism, while the team was exhausted.” James Hood and Constance Hengel from the Alliance Hero committee underscore the importance of the excellent work of the Lenoir County Health Department and the designation of this award in recognizing the entire organization during the pandemic.
For more information about Lenoir County Health Department’s services, visit https://lenoircountync.gov/health-department or call 252-526-4200.
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Lenoir County Cooperative Extension is being recognized as an outstanding organization who has demonstrated positive impact in the results of numerous quality services in the community in the face of recent hardship from flooding and property destruction. Their work was not diminished during hard times and they have in fact demonstrated exemplary efforts and responsibility in their mission for Lenoir County and as a result, and serve as an example of victory for us all. |
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The Healthy Community Hero Award was made to Lenoir County Cooperative Extension for outstanding organization of services and commitment that far exceeds storms and strife. They provide services for youth, adult, and elderly in Lenoir County. Parenting programs, master gardener development, and farming education and assistance are foundational program strengths. Additionally, they offer 4H youth development, Bee Keepers, SHIIP Medicare Part D education, injury prevention, and a variety of nutrition programs that have measurable outcomes and impact. A highly visible organization, they coordinate the Lenoir County farmer’s market, Festival on the Neuse Pig Cook offs each year as well as the Lenoir County Agricultural Fair to promote agriculture resources in eastern NC. They assist with the running of the pet shelter during disasters when community shelters are opened, so that persons have a safe place to leave their pet family members. Steve Roman of Triple P, and nominator, says, “Everyone recognizes the value of Cooperative Extension as having significance in the quality of our lives, but when faced with disaster on their own property, they did not allow themselves to be defeated for one second.” After the devastation of Hurricane Matthew, the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension headquarters flooded on Highway 11 South. While this was going on the staff managed the evacuation of the building while maintaining the pet shelter at LCC. As the staff worked out of a temporary service location maintaining the same level of service, Dr. Tammy Kelly director, led planning and fundraising to rebuild the office at the same site. One year and ten months later, the beautiful, enhanced new building is operational and constructed with future flooding in mind. The heart of their mission is tied to the people who work there and their dedication and perseverance to our community is reflected in their outstanding commitment and outreach. For more information about Lenoir County Cooperative Extension located at 1791 HWY 11/55, Kinston, NC, 28504 and their services, call (252) 527-2191. Website address: https://lenoir.ces.ncsu.edu |
The Healthy Community Hero Award was made to The Gate for the outstanding program, Boys to Men Lawn Care with special recognition to volunteer Scott Brewer, who has made the program so impactful in the lives of many. Scott works with inner city youth in the program to mow grass and clean up empty lots. Through this work, they help the elderly and disabled, promote better community atmosphere, deter crime, and keep the youth busy. Steve Roman of Triple P, nominator, says, “This program helps the participants stay mentally strong, physically active and serves as a positive reinforcing activity.” Scott donates his time to work with youths in The Gate and sees the program as a beneficial group for youths to belong to, hopefully decreasing the appeal of gangs. He has sought out donations to purchase lawn mowers, weed eaters, blowers, a truck and a trailer. He invests his time teaching safety while operating the equipment as well as recruiting persons in the community to provide healthy snacks and lunches for the youth. The clean ups have helped area residents decrease snakes and rodents while at the same time instilling the youth with self-confidence by developing new skills. For more information about The Gate (located at 201 E Gordon St, Kinston, NC 28501) and their services, especially Boys to Men Lawn Care, call (252) 939-3223. |
Ms. Victoria Kosinski
Ms. Victoria Kosinski is recognized as an outstanding individual who has demonstrated a remarkable passion with positive work results in her community. Ms. Kosinski is a graduating senior at Kinston High School and a recent North Carolina recipient of the Prudential Spirit of Community Award. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Girl Scouts Gold Service Award. She plans to attend Lenoir Community College in the fall and pursue a career in a Human Services field. The Healthy Community Hero Award was made to Ms. Kosinski specifically for the work that she provided in assisting in renovation of the new SAFE House for women and children experiencing domestic crisis. Ms. Kosinski stated that she wanted those living at SAFE House to have the feeling of a secure and loving environment. Her personal time was spent coordinating placement of materials and items to enhance the new home. Working with Sue Proctor, executive director of SAFE they remodeled a donated doctor’s office sitting vacant in Kinston. The home provides structure and a supportive environment with 24/7 staffing. Rehabilitative and wrap around services are provided that build stronger and self-sufficient families. |
Courtney Boyette, nominator says, “Most teenagers spent last summer having fun on vacations, but Victoria spent her entire summer break and the beginning of the fall of 2016 of her senior year, dedicated to this project.” She worked countless hours, recruited volunteers, brought in donations, and sought out agencies/organizations that would offer services, construction, cleaning supplies, landscaping, furniture, appliances, toys, books and clothing. She adds, “It was an extensive undertaking and brought residents together and provided a real impact in Lenoir County. Victoria is an amazing young lady and SAFE is reaping the benefits of her good work.” |
Triple P
The Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) is recognized as an outstanding program within the Partnership for Children of Lenoir and Greene Counties. Triple P is a parenting intervention with the main goals of increasing the knowledge, skills, and confidence of parents and reducing the prevalence of mental health, emotional, and behavioral problems in children and adolescents. Steve Roman, the Triple P coordinator has led the training of 55 parents in Lenoir County with 89 families in the last 12 months. The program has demonstrated the increase in parents' sense of competence in their parenting abilities, improved family communication about parenting, and reduced parenting stress. Triple P is now being used in Lenoir County Public Schools, Department of Social Services, Cooperative Extension, local child care centers and a number of other community organizations. Kelly Tyndall, nominator, states, “Having been trained in a Level 3 primary care, I use Triple P in my role at the Parents as Teachers coordinator for Lenoir County. I see parents gain confidence because the strategies they have learned from Triple P change their child’s behaviors and is very rewarding.” Responsible parenting has been identified as a top priority for community health actions in the 2014 community health needs assessment. |