Beacon Flash

Beacon Community Connections is a 501(c)3 nonprofit focused on building community by making connections. Our mission is to empower anyone in need through collaboration, connection, and advocacy for individual wellness and community-wide quality of life. Our work focuses on delivering exceptional non-clinical case management to individuals and families with social support needs. Beacon also coordinates the efforts of the Justice and Health Collaborative and the Lafayette ReEntry Coalition. We believe we are better together.

I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce Beacon's Board of Directors. Our volunteer board sets the mission and vision of Beacon, ensures operational viability, and supports me and my staff in delivering effective connections to our community members.

• Claire Collins, LCSW-BACS and owner of Therapy Talks serves as Chair.
• Paul Molbert, Vice President, Network Development & Governmental Relations at Ochsner Lafayette Health serves as Vice-Chair.
• Lynley Jones, Instructor of Religion at Ascension Episcopal School, serves as Secretary-Treasurer.
• Chuck Boudreaux, Attorney at Kean Miller, serves as a member.
  
• Pauline Breaux, Senior Services/Palliative Care Services Manager at Lourdes Regional Health, serves as a Member.
• Tim Murphy, CPA and Owner at Murphy and Warren, serves as a member.
• Larry Simon, M.D., Regional Medical Director for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, serves as a Member.

In June, Beacon hosted a board recognition breakfast to honor our outgoing board members (Herbert Druilhet and Maria Slater) and to welcome our incoming board members. Thanks to all our board members, past and present! You make us Better Together!

For a parent, the beginning of a new school year is a busy time. There are lengthy lists of supplies to be bought, along with backpacks and new uniforms needed to replace last year’s worn or outgrown supply. It can be daunting, but especially challenging for a single parent and even more so for one who contracts COVID just a week before the start of school. This is exactly the situation N found herself in prior to hearing about Beacon’s Together in Quarantine program. Faced with the prospect of working fewer hours at her job and thus a smaller paycheck, N placed a call to Beacon and was connected to a Community Resource Specialist (CRS), who focused on supporting N and her family through her illness. On day one, her CRS sent groceries directly to the home so N would not have to go out or worry about providing food for her family. Her CRS then focused on finding school supplies, backpacks, and school uniforms for N’s two children. The search was a successful one. N recovered and was able to send her children to school fully-equipped and full of excitement about a new school year. Though N’s time as a Beacon client was brief, her CRS was happy to have been “Together in Quarantine” with this family.

Join us and other healthcare providers and community stakeholders as we discuss health literacy and its role in patient engagement.

The live educational event is on Friday, September 30th from 8:30-11:30 at Acadiana Center for the Arts. Registration is required and opens on September 1st. Three (3.0) hours of continuing education has been approved for Professional Counselors and Social Workers, and an application has been submitted for Continuing Nurse Education units.

Immediately following from 11:30-1:30 is a Community Health Street Festival at 100 block of W. Vermilion St. that is free and open to the public.

Learn more at www.lahealthsumit.org and register there beginning September 1st.

Salvation Army services are being revitalized in Acadiana. The existing services are a "Back to Work" program that assists clients with job training, resume building, etc. Salvation Army still offers clothing vouchers for anyone in need. Individuals can go twice a year for a clothing voucher. There is also disaster assistance such as furniture vouchers for fire victims, meals, and hygiene kits. Salvation Army can also assist clients with utility payments if they're an Entergy customer. The last ongoing program is their successful Angel Tree Christmas drive.

A new program that Salvation Army is working to build in Lafayette is a Fresh & Clean Day Shelter for clients to pass time with laundering/hygiene services, job training, and access to a computer lab. The plan to open this facility is underway so stay tuned for more from Salvation Army.

This month we are proud to shine our Beacon spotlight on Beacon’s Navigation Coordinator, Kabrina Bland!

“Flashback to when you were 10 years old. What do you want to be”

K: I wanted to be a pediatrician when I was a kid. I've always had a passion for helping people.

“How do you think your colleagues would describe you?”

K: I would think my colleagues would describe me as an encourager. Ultimately, I do my best to make people feel better and also be better overall. There are enough people around to say what others cannot or shouldn't do. I'd rather be the person to say "Do it, and do it well"!

“What do you want to make sure you do before you die?”

K: Before I die, I want to make sure I enjoy the smallest moments and find joy in them.

“Name a few of your daily habits (other than a shower and brushing your teeth).”

K: A few daily habits of mine include performing songs in my car as if I wrote them, oddly smelling my deodorant before putting on (every time), telling my husband a positive thing about him, and talking to my mom on the phone.

“What would be your personal motto?”

My personal motto would be, "Find the light or be the light.”

Email: admin@beaconconnections.org
Website: www.beaconconnections.org
Location: Lafayette, LA, USA
Phone: 337-534-8801
Facebook: facebook.com/BeaconCommunityConnections