The Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership (HSMP) will offer the opportunity for a limited number of partners/community organizations to set up an informational table at the HSMP Annual Meeting on September 28, 2023. 

The HSMP Annual Meeting is an opportunity for participants to network, learn from public health experts and receive updates on coalition-wide business. The HSMP Annual Meeting features learning sessions from distinguished presenters on topics related to the four health priority issues in St. Mary’s County: Behavioral Health, Chronic Disease, Environmental Health, and Violence, Injury, and Trauma. For more information on the HSMP Annual Meeting, please visit: healthystmarys.com/hsmpannual2023/

If your organization is interested in tabling the 2023 HSMP Annual meeting, please review the following information and complete the table application form by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. 

Please Note: There will be no commercial sales allowed. Due to limited space, HSMP may not be able to accommodate all organizations that apply to table the event. If the number of applicants exceeds available space, the HSMP Steering Committee will make the final selection of organizations approved to table the event. Active partners and programs relevant to the work of the HSMP action teams to address health needs in St. Mary’s County will be given priority.

For questions or assistance please email stmaryspartnership@gmail.com.

2023 HSMP Annual Meeting
Tabling Information

Important Dates

September 6, 2023 – Deadline to submit table application
September 8, 2023 – Applicants will receive an e-mail confirmation of their acceptance status
September 28, 2023 – 2023 HSMP Annual Meeting

General Information

• Commercial sales are prohibited.
• Active partners and programs relevant to the work of the HSMP action teams to address health needs in St. Mary’s County will be given priority.
• Tables will be set up in the same room as the speakers. All networking and tabling will take place during the Registration & Networking time at the beginning of the event (8:30 – 9:00 a.m.) and during the breaks in between speakers.
• All table applications will be reviewed and applicants will receive an email to confirm their acceptance status.
• If your organization is selected to table the event:
  • You must be a registered attendee of the HSMP Annual Meeting.
  • You will be pre-assigned a display area. A table will be provided.
  • You must set up your table display between 8:00 – 8:30 a.m. on the day of the event.
  • You are responsible for providing your own materials (tablecloth, display boards, promotional items, handouts, etc.). We will not have the ability to make extra copies on the day of the event.

The Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership (HSMP) is seeking proposals for presentations for the 2023 HSMP Annual Meeting which will be held on September 28, 2023 at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland in California, Maryland.

The HSMP Annual Meeting is an opportunity for participants to network, learn from public health experts and receive updates on coalition-wide business. Each year, the HSMP Annual Meeting features learning sessions from distinguished presenters on topics related to the four health priority issues in St. Mary’s County: Environmental Health, Behavioral Health, Chronic Disease and Violence, Injury & Trauma.

The HSMP Steering Committee is requesting proposals for presentations on current research and innovative or evidence-based practices relating to these four priority health issues. If you are interested in presenting at the 2023 HSMP Annual Meeting, please review the following information and submit a proposal by 5:00 p.m. on June 9, 2023.

For questions or assistance, please email: stmaryspartnership@gmail.com. For more information on the HSMP Annual Meeting, please visit: healthystmarys.com/hsmpannual2023.

2023 HSMP Annual Meeting Presentation Information

Important Dates

• May 25, 2023 – Call for Proposals issued
• June 9, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. EST – Deadline to submit proposals
• June 23, 2023 – Applicants notified of selection status
• July 14, 2023 – Selected presenters must submit headshot, brief professional biography, and resume/CV
• August 2023 – Registration opens for the 2023 HSMP Annual Meeting
• September 1, 2023 – Presenters must submit final presentation title and summary
• September 15, 2023 – Presenters must submit final slide presentation
• September 28, 2023 – 2023 HSMP Annual Meeting

General Information

• You will be asked to provide the following information via the submission process:
  • Primary presenter information
  • Co-presenter information (if applicable)
  • Working presentation title
  • Presentation description/overview
  • Presentation audience
  • Does your presentation address one or more of the priority health needs, objectives, or strategies in the Healthy St. Mary’s 2026 Plan?
• The HSMP Steering Committee will review all proposals and select presenters. Priority will be given to presentations that focus on innovative or evidence based topics that directly relate to objectives in the Healthy St. Mary’s 2026 Plan.
• If selected, presenters will be notified of a scheduled speaking time between 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on the day of the 2023 HSMP Annual Meeting.
• The primary presenter will serve as the point of contact for the 2023 HSMP Annual Meeting. This person is responsible for informing any co-presenters of the status of the proposal, deadlines, and all related presentation specifications.

The Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership (HSMP) will offer the opportunity for a limited number of partners/community organizations to set up an informational table at the HSMP Annual Meeting on September 29, 2022. 

The HSMP Annual Meeting is an opportunity for participants to network, learn from public health experts and receive updates on coalition-wide business. The HSMP Annual Meeting features learning sessions from distinguished presenters on topics related to the four health priority issues in St. Mary’s County: Behavioral Health, Chronic Disease, Environmental Health, and Violence, Injury, and Trauma. For more information on the HSMP Annual Meeting, please visit: healthystmarys.com/hsmpannual2022/

If your organization is interested in tabling the 2022 HSMP Annual meeting, please review the following information and complete the table application form by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 19, 2022. 

Please Note: There will be no commercial sales allowed. Due to limited space, HSMP may not be able to accommodate all organizations that apply to table the event. If the number of applicants exceeds available space, the HSMP Steering Committee will make the final selection of organizations approved to table the event. Active partners and programs relevant to the work of the HSMP action teams to address health needs in St. Mary’s County will be given priority.

For questions or assistance please email stmaryspartnership@gmail.com.

2022 HSMP Annual Meeting
Tabling Information

Important Dates

August 19, 2022 – Deadline to submit table application
August 26, 2022 – Applicants will receive an e-mail confirmation of their acceptance status
September 29, 2022 – 2022 HSMP Annual Meeting

General Information

• Commercial sales are prohibited.
• Active partners and programs relevant to the work of the HSMP action teams to address health needs in St. Mary’s County will be given priority.
• Tables will be set up in the same room as the speakers. All networking and tabling will take place during the Regsitration & Networking time at the beginning of the event (8:30 – 9:00 a.m.) and during the breaks in between speakers.
• All table applications will be reviewed and applicants will receive an email to confirm their acceptance status.
• If your organization is selected to table the event:
  • You must be a registered attendee of the HSMP Annual Meeting.
  • You will be pre-assigned a display area. A table will be provided.
  • You must set up your table display between 8:00 – 8:30 a.m. on the day of the event.
  • You are responsible for providing your own materials (tablecloth, display boards, promotional items, handouts, etc.). We will not have the ability to make extra copies on the day of the event.

As of July 16, 2022, community members have a new way to connect to local behavioral health crisis services. 988 is the new easy to remember three-digit dialing, texting, and chat code for anyone experiencing a suicidal or mental health crisis and will connect users with the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now called the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) network of crisis call centers. 988 ensures 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help anyone experiencing mental health-related distress — whether it’s thoughts of suicide, mental health or substance use crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. 

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline replaces the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline AND expands services to cover all behavioral health crisis services, including mental health and substance use. Maryland’s crisis hotline (call 211, press 1) will remain in operation and accessible to Marylanders throughout the transition to 988 and beyond.

Community members can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for themselves or if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

There are urgent realities driving the need for crisis service transformation across our country. Some statistics:

• In 2018, 20.8% of high school students in St. Mary’s County and 50.8% of gay, lesbian, or bisexual high school students in St. Mary’s County reported having seriously considered attempting suicide (Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2018).
• The suicide rate (per 100,000 population) in St. Mary’s County from 2014 – 2018 was 11 compared to the state rate of 10.
• For people aged 10 – 34 years old in the United States, suicide is a leading cause of death, and
• In 2019, there were 31 deaths due to overdose in St. Mary’s County.

Behind each of these data points, there are people, families and communities who have been impacted. Yet, in the face of these urgent realities, there is hope. The 988 Lifeline aims to help thousands of struggling people overcome suicidal crisis or behavioral health related distress every day.

Additional Resources:
SAMHSA’s 988 Partner Toolkit
NAMI’s FAQs for Nationwide Availability of 988
988 in Maryland

As the local health improvement coalition for St. Mary’s County, HSMP recognizes that our partners are doing many great things to improve the health of St. Mary’s County residents and we want to take the time to highlight this impactful work! Each month, we will spotlight an HSMP partner for outstanding work in improving the health of St. Mary’s County. To kick off this new series and in honor of National Minority Health Month, we are spotlighting the Minority Outreach Coalition!

The Minority Outreach Coalition (MOC) was started in 1999 by a group of concerned citizens as a community involvement association. All MOC members are volunteers from local social, faith-based, or fraternal organizations who are concerned about the communities in which they live. MOC is a partner with the Maryland Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities and serves as the Minority Outreach and Technical Assistance (MOTA) advisor for St. Mary’s County. MOC works to better our community by providing a resource that can actively function as a technical source for information or programs necessary to resolve disparity issues in our community.

Mission

Promoting health, education, logistic, and the general performance for minorities in our community in an effort to remove disparities.

Projects and Programs

Better Health Diabetes Prevention Program

Youth Education on the Health Risks of E-Cigarettes

Get Out the Vax

2022 Minority Health Month Community Chat

Contact

mocstmarys.com
P.O. Box 1625
California, MD. 20619
mocstmarys@gmail.com

WARM “Wrapping Arms Round Many” is a winter emergency sheltering program for the homeless in St. Mary’s County, and volunteers are needed to help with registration and to be van drivers.

There are many more homeless men and women in St. Mary’s County than the shelters have space for.  WARM was established out of necessity when the local shelter reached out to the faith based community and asked for help.  The WARM program provides up to 25 homeless men and women with a warm, dry, safe place to be nightly during the cold winter months. All WARM guests are given a warm, safe place to sleep, a delicious dinner and hot breakfast, and are treated with kindness and respect. 

The first WARM season took place in November 2009. The WARM program is very successful with over 50 churches participating.   WARM operates in close partnership with St. Mary’s County Government, including The Department of Social Services, Walden, Three Oaks Center, The Office of Aging, The Department of Corrections, The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and MedStar.

WARM volunteers change the lives of the homeless men and women the program serves. Positive interaction with the WARM guests provides a sense of community and fellowship.  

WARM is seeking volunteers for registration.  Registration is held at the Three Oaks Facility in Lexington Park, between 4:45 and 6:00 p.m.  Registration volunteers are asked to commit to 2 days a month.  Volunteers will interact with all pre-screened guests each night the guest attends from the time the guest signs in for the night at 5:00 p.m. until the van leaves for the host site (which is no later than 6-6:30 p.m.). 

Volunteers must be 16 years of age and over and must have parent’s written consent if under the age of 18.  This is a great opportunity for high school students to meet their requirements of community service.

If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer for WARM Registration, please contact:

Dolly Griffin at: w.a.r.m.secretary1@gmail.com  or Jennifer Herriman at:  jengetsmail@yahoo.com 

Volunteer van drivers are also needed:

Driver must be 18 or older and have a valid driver’s license, no other experience is required.   Vans will be provided to transport WARM guests only from registration site in the evening to the host site within St. Mary’s County.  Drivers are also needed for pick up at the host site in the morning and drop off at registration site.  You can sign up for either the a.m. pick up or the p.m. drop off, but we would like to have drivers commit to at least 2 shifts a month.

If you are interested in being a volunteer van driver, please contact: Ursula Harris at 301-475-4200 x1684 or Ursula.Harris@stmarysmd.com

Submitted by: The Steering Committee for the Campaign for a Community/Youth Center

This summer, the Steering Committee for the Campaign for a Community/Youth Center in St. Mary’s County coordinated a Community Youth Mapping (CYM) project in order to: (1) to provide meaningful summer jobs for local youth, (2) to collect data to inform decisions relating to resources for families and youth, and (3) to mobilize the community to work on the Campaign for a Community/Youth Center.

Engaging Youth

The first objective was a total success! From their base at the Lexington Park library, thirty-one young people engaged in paid employment for six weeks. For some, it was their first job. This would not have been possible without the support of the County Commissioners, community donors and to Tri-County Youth Services Bureau.

For all mappers, it was a terrific opportunity to learn about their community (“I’ve lived here my whole life, but never knew about these places!”), gain the confidence to interact with adults (“They talked to us, and were interested in what we were doing!”), and commit to the Campaign. They have also expressed appreciation for what they learned during “Friday enrichment” with community partners, including personal finance and budgeting, the dangers of alcohol and vaping, and skills for job search and interviews.

Collecting Data and Presenting to Leaders

Secondly, the mappers collected a substantial amount of data and entered it into a central database. They completed over 260 place-based surveys (of local businesses, organizations and agencies) and 620 individual surveys (of county residents). The data is currently being analyzed. The youth mappers themselves will present at a meeting hosted by the League of Women Voters on Saturday, November 18th (from 9-11 a.m.) at the Lexington Park Library. This presentation is open to the public. Local organizations may contact the committee for more information on additional presentations of these findings.

Creating a Movement

The third objective was to identify members of the community to work on the campaign for a community/youth center in St. Mary’s County, and on the issues of family and youth resources. In fact, 83% of those who responded to the individual survey said that programs supporting children and youth should be given greater priority. Fully one-third, or over 200 respondents, said that they would be interested in developing new or expanded activities or programs for youth and families.

Lastly, but of great importance in terms of galvanizing the community to mobilize local resources, more than 225 people said that if the County would establish a volunteer Youth Commission to work with our county government, they would be interested in participating!

Stay tuned for more news on the CYM project and the Campaign for a Community/Youth Center in Lexington Park on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/youthcentercampaign/

Get ready to lose the habit, and become victorious over tobacco. Every year, on the third Thursday of November, smokers across the nation take part in the American Cancer Society event, the Great American Smokeout. The Great American Smokeout challenges people to stop using tobacco for this one day in the hope they may quit for good.

About 42 million Americans still smoke cigarettes, and tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States. In St. Mary’s County, 14.5% of adults and 22.6% of youth are currently using tobacco products.

This year, on November 16, 2017 encourage someone you know to use the day to make a plan to quit, or plan in advance and then quit smoking that day. By quitting – even for 1 day – smokers will be taking an important step toward a healthier life and reducing their cancer risk.

There are many resources that can help someone quit smoking:

• FREE Smoking Cessation Classes are offered regularly throughout the community by The St. Mary’s County Health Department, call (301) 475-4330 for more information or to sign up.
• Local Nicotine Anonymous® Meetings are held weekly at On Our Own of St. Mary’s County, call (301) 997-1066 for more information.
• The State of Maryland offers a FREE Tobacco Quit-line (1-800-QUIT-NOW), available 24 hours a day, seven days per week to support residents who would like to quit tobacco.
• SmokefreeTXT is a free text messaging program that gives 24/7 encouragement, advice, and tips for becoming smoke free and being healthier. Sign up at: https://smokefree.gov/smokefreetxt.
• Get involved in community action to reduce tobacco use in St. Mary’s County or access additional resources at: https://healthystmarys.com/tobacco-free-living/.