For more than five decades the Lily Pond was a popular water feature in Mooney Grove Park. Due to the increasing cost of repair and maintenance over time, the Lily Pond is been non-functional for the past 15 years. To avoid demolition and to honor the history of the Lily Pond, the County is seeking donations from the community to help repair and restore the Lily Pond.
Contributing toward the support of our local veterans through the VSO General Fund is a great opportunity for the members of the community to give back and thank veterans for their services.
SPTF envisions a county without suicide and aims to accomplish this by implementing a full range of strategies, starting from prevention and early intervention. Your donations to the SPTF will help increase prevention and early intervention services, and help our community members better understand and recognize the signs and symptoms of suicide risk.
Your donations to the Step Up program will be used for collateral items (i.e., T-shirts, backpacks, etc.), venue rental, event food, printing, speakers' fees, awards, materials, and other items associated with Step Up—a movement to encourage youth to participate in extracurricular activities, foster positive associations, and connect to constructive social networks.
The Kings/Tulare Area Agency on Aging helps provide programs and activities for local senior citizens, from arts and crafts to Medicare counseling, line dancing to home-delivered meals. Your donations to the Area Agency on Aging will help us continue to provide a wide range of services and activities to encourage older Americans to remain healthy, active, and involved in the community.
Donations to the Homeless Fund will help supply toiletries, clothing, identification card/application fees, furnishings, or cooking utensils/appliances, or may fund expenses like a utility bill or car repair for those experiencing, at risk for, or exiting homelessness.
The funds donated to the Human Services At-Risk Youth fund benefit youth who are participating in an employment program and working to make the transition to adulthood and self-sufficiency. This program helps youth in need of emergency monies for necessities such as transportation, work apparel, utilities, medical, dental, and prescription expenses.
May is Mental Health Matters Month, and the Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency is seeking to raise awareness of the role mental health plays in all our lives. Anyone can take steps to promote good mental health and understand that treatment and recovery are possible.
A healthy lifestyle includes a balanced diet, regular exercise and sleep patterns, developing a sense of self-worth and coping skills that promote resiliency, emotional awareness, and connections to family, friends, and the community. These learned habits can help to prevent the onset or worsening of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions, as well as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic health problems. For some, moving toward wellness also involves the assistance of medical staff and counselors.
Although many individuals may not want to get diagnosed out of fear of what others will say and think, it’s important to note that there is a wide variety of treatment options for mental illnesses; they can include talk therapy, medication, and peer support, to name just a few. It may take some time for a person to find the right treatment or combination of treatments that works best, but when it all comes together, lives can change – not just for the person with the mental illness but also for everyone surrounding that person, including family, friends, coworkers, and others.
During Mental Health Matters Month in May, HHSA’s Mental Health programs encourage residents to learn about some of the signs, how to begin addressing symptoms early, and who to ask and where to go for help. Mental health clinics provide services that help individuals with mental illness manage their symptoms and avoid crises. The goal is to help you avoid hospitalization and help you live and thrive within your community. To do so, the County mental health clinics use a “whatever it takes” approach to support the wellness and recovery process.
Tulare County provides services at two adult mental health clinics—one in Visalia and one in Porterville. Tulare County also has one children’s clinic located in Porterville. We contract with community-based providers to make mental health services available throughout the county.
Mental health services may include:
Mental health case managers often connect individuals to other services and/or resources that may help clients live independently within their communities.
So, during Mental Health Matters Month, remember that mental health is health. Small steps can make a large difference in your health and well-being; and individual community members who make positive changes in their health can improve the health of the county overall.
For more resources, visit: https://tchhsa.org/eng/mental-health/
