What Is HOPE’s Hands?
HOPE’s Hands is a community collaborative that brings
together the service agencies, organizations, churches and
businesses who serve our community’s children and youth.
HOPE stands for Hope, Opportunity, Purpose and
Encouragement and represents the things we’d like to be
able to give our children and the other young people in
this community in order to help them succeed in the future.
The goal of this collaborative is to create synergies
between all these groups and individuals as they work to
make Owen County a better place for our youth. By coming
together and focusing our efforts we can make our resources
— both financial and human — go that much farther and make
that much more of a difference in the lives of these youth
who will lead our community into the future.
Why
Is This Effort Important?
Every day our children and youth are faced with issues that
impact their ability to succeed. Alcohol and drugs are
readily available to them in their homes or the homes of
their friends. Emotional issues result from the abuse of
these substances or the abuse of substances stem from
emotional issues that aren’t getting the treatment these
youth need.
And research shows that many times emotional issues and
substance abuse co-exist.
Did you know, for example, that:
• Teen drinkers are more likely to exhibit serious behavior
problems
• Teen girls who drink are four times more likely to suffer
from emotional issues
• 28% of suicides by children ages 9 to 15 can be
attributed to alcohol
• In Owen County, 57 percent of 10th graders said they had
started drinking regularly by the time they were 12. Across
the state, the average is 20 percent.
What
Are the Causes?
No one knows exactly why one child will choose to drink and
another won’t or why one will have an emotional illness and
another will be healthy, but there are several known risk
factors for these two issues.
Risk factors for substance abuse problems include: chaotic
home environment, ineffective parenting, lack of rewarding
and nurturing relationships, poor social and coping skills,
failure, & the perception that parents, teachers and
other key adults approve of their drug abusing behavior
(And yes, alcohol is a drug.)
Risk factors for emotional illnesses include: prenatal
damage from exposure to drugs before birth, poverty,
deprivation, abuse and neglect, unsatisfactory
relationships, parents mental health disorders and exposure
to traumatic events.
It’s time to break the cycle of these risk factors and make
a difference in the lives of our children and youth
forever.
Why
Is It Important to Involve the
Community?
In order to make real, lasting change in the community, we
must change the system in which the child lives. That means
the family, the groups to which they belong, the churches,
everyone must be educated on the issues that our youth face
and how to deal with them. Everyone who touches the life of
a child must understand the impact that society places upon
them and how to counter those negative impacts with
positive one.
The school system and other agencies can provide education
all day long in prevention and treatment of these issues,
but unless we change the child’s life in the areas outside
the school, we can never make true change in our community.
What
Can We Do?
Get Involved.
There will be many opportunities over the next year for you
to get involved in the life of a child.
There will be classes, conferences, activities, events, and
more. There will be no excuse for any adult in Owen County
to say that they did not know there was a problem and that
they didn’t know what they could do to help.
HOPE’s Hands is bringing all the information and all the
opportunities together to make it possible for them to
change the lives of our future community residents.
When someone asks you to help or to get involved, don’t
hesitate. Say Yes. You are saying Yes to the future of Owen
County.
Who
Is Paying For This Project?
Owen Countians will be paying for this project.
Currently, the Owen County KEYS program and Owen County
TAPP have designated $20,000 each of their budgets for the
coming year toward the project. In addition, other
organizations and agencies have dedicated funding and
in-kind donations of space, programs, materials, etc. to
the efforts.
We are also investigating grant opportunities, locally,
regionally, across the state and nation.
But the project is in need of additional financial support
to cover the cost of programs for those who are unable to
pay.
If you or your agency or organization can provide financial
assistance, that help will be appreciated. We are in the
process of applying for our 501 c 3 status and your
donations are tax deductible.
Who
Is Already Involved?
Owen County KEYS
Owen County TAPP
Owen County Schools
Monterey Baptist Church
Three Rivers Health Department
Youth Service Center
Owen County SERVE
NorthKey Community Care
Department of Juvenile Justice
Community Action
Owen County Parks & Recreation REACH
Family Resource Center
Owen County Baptist Association
The News-Herald
Won’t
You Join Us?
Our meetings are held the second Wednesday of each month at
10 a.m. at
Owen County High School. They are open to the
public.
155 W. Seminary St. Suite 5
Owenton, Ky. 40359
502-484-8539
www.hopeshands.org