Each week, Oxford's Coalition for a Healthy Community brings resources closer to families in need by visiting locations throughout Oxford and the surrounding townships.
Every Wednesday, Kodi Garrison and her kids have a routine.
The Parkview Arms resident recently moved to Oxford for what she describes as dire reasons, and money is tight. To stay on her feet, she makes sure to turn out to Wednesday Resources, a regular event hosted by the Coalition for a Healthy Community – Oxford Area which rotates through several locations within the Talawanda School District.
"[They have] band aids and toys and stuff [for the kids,] but as far as food they know they can come and get snacks," Garrison said. "They usually have like a little basket of snacks for the kids to get and sometimes the [kids] come out and help them."
This summer, the coalition has added a regular location for its resource table in Reily Township. Danielle Foulk, the coalition's community prevention initiatives coordinator, said the resources rotate through locations in Hanover Park, the Reily Township Community Center, Darrtown, Milford Township Community Center, Somerville Community Church, Kramer Elementary and H+R Block.
"It is all about partnerships," Foulk said. "... it's really taking all the resources and making an opportunity for communities to see that we all care and that we all are invested."
Next Wednesday, the resource table will be in Hanover Park from 3:30-4:30 p.m. and the Reily Township Community Center from 5-6 p.m.
Bringing community resources under one roof
Because the coalition has only two employees — Foulk and Director Amy Macechko — it relies heavily on committees led by volunteers and collaborations with other organizations. Lane Library, Harm Reduction and TOPSS help distribute resources each Wednesday.
Funding for the organization comes from a number of grants, including the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) which funds the Hope Cooperative. The Coalition is a part of the Hope Cooperative that is enacting the grant with six other community organizations. Foulk said the HRSA grant is part of what has allowed them to expand outreach so much.
Charli Muszynski, the project director for the Hope Cooperative and community relations consultant at McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital, said the coalition and the hospital have partnered for years. The Hope Cooperative's HRSA grant is about mental and behavioral health surrounding addiction and the Hope Cooperative helps fund the Wednesday Resource tables. Muszynski said the coalition's mission to promote physical wellness aligns with her position at TriHealth.
"There's also such a big overlap with the term mental health and physical health and substance use disorder," Muszynksi said, "so it all kind of goes hand in hand, so it's been really nice to have it come full circle."
Muszynski said her main role partnering with the coalition is to advocate for their Butler County Health syringe service program as well as interact with people at harm reduction events.
Social workers and Talawanda school counselors occasionally use the time on Wednesdays to connect with families, Foulk said. However, it's also a time for people to come out and see their neighbors, learn about summer activities and health tips.
"If they're there and they know of a neighbor who is maybe shut in, they can stop at TOPSS and get them a bag of food and take it to their neighbor," Foulk said. "This is about building community, in addition to getting resources to everybody."
This past Wednesday, Lane Libraries' book mobile was in attendance at Kramer for the first time. Fran Meyer, bookmobile services manager, said the bookmobile used for school and community stops was too big, so they outfitted the delivery van specifically for the coalition partnership.
"In the browsing vehicle we can put some of our high impact titles," Meyer said. "So you know, recent releases, best sellers, community interest books on there. So a small collection, but [a] mighty collection."
Meyer said the goal for the summer is to have the bookmobile at every resource Wednesday.
"We'd love to continue if we feel like there are communities who need more from us," Meyer said. "We'd like to find ways to go more often, so for now [we go to] every one and then we'll see how it goes and see how we can meet those needs in the future."
Regional Harm Reduction Collaborative also attends the community outreach program. Tammi Adams, a registered nurse and program coordinator for Harm Reduction, provided resources from band aids to Narcan and test strips for fentanyl and xylazine.
TOPSS was there with its van distributing goods like cereal, mac and cheese, canned vegetables and even toilet paper to anyone who needed it.
Foulk said the Wednesday Resources in Somerville are the most well-attended with 10-20 people each month, while attendance fluctuates at the other locations.
"People know about TOPSS, or about services through the schools. People may know about the library," Meyer said, "but to get everybody together under one roof, so to speak, helps everybody who knows about those individual services know where to come and who to come to for a lot more expanded services."
Not just about resources
In the fall of 2023, the Coalition worked with the Navy ROTC and community members to plant more than 2,000 red tulips at 65 locations in the Talawanda School District.
The "Plant the Promise" program, designed in 2007, is a promise for the community to do their part in helping young people grow up in a safe, healthy community, according to the coalition's website. In the spring, when the flowers start blooming, it's a reminder that the community cares.
Foulk takes what the coalition does, including "Plant a Promise" and expands it to the edges of the district.
The tulip is their logo because it's representative of their organization as a whole.
"When we're trying to do this work, we really have to show that we're here for [community members], and we're here to walk alongside them," Foulk said. "We're not here to tell them what to do. It's really up to them and what they want to see in their communities."
Twice a year, the Coalition also hosts a medication take back day for the entire community. According to the Coalition website, it's a partnership with McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital/TriHealth, Miami University Police Department and Oxford Police Department.
Residents can drop off non-liquid medications to be disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way by law enforcement officials. Both police departments also have year-round drop-off locations.
Foulk said a main goal is to break the stigma around receiving help because everyone has a different situation with different needs.
