Neighborhood News Bureau

Category: Health

  • Pinellas County students struggle despite increased mental health support

    Pinellas County students struggle despite increased mental health support

    By Stephanie Glass

    Pinellas County schools recently increased their budget for mental health services, but many students feel the expanded resources are not sufficient to address the pressures of modern adolescence. 

    “I think they try, but they really don’t know how to reach out,” a junior from Gibbs High School, who prefers to remain anonymous, said. “It feels like they just tell us to reach out and let us know, but how can I tell you if I don’t feel comfortable?” 

    A 2024 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that 39.7% of students reported persistent feelings of hopelessness, with 28.5% experiencing poor mental health. 

    Suicide attempts were also found to be more prevalent among underclassmen compared to their upperclassmen peers. 

    “Because of my busy schedule, I feel burnt out and drained,” said the junior from Gibbs High School. “I have a lot of self-doubt, and my teachers make it harder because they can be disorganized, which makes me feel insecure and stupid.” 

    The pressures extend beyond daily schoolwork, with looming concerns about college applications, financial stability and future plans. 

    “A lot of my friends are in the National Honor Society, and we are stressed about money and where we’re going,” the junior said. “Can I even get into the college I want at this point?” 

    For some students, the stress is intensified by the uncertainty in how they will afford higher education. 

    “I don’t know if I’ll be able to go to college,” said Karla Jimenez, a sophomore from Pinellas Park High School. “I might have to start working soon to save up.” 

    The county currently offers access to the 988 hotline and other similar suicide prevention communication methods, including foundations that can assist with at-risk students.  

    Each high school in the region is also equipped with social workers, guidance counselors and other various specialists to assist the students. 

    The district has significantly increased the budget for the local schools by adjusting the local taxes and implementing a plan that prioritizes student success and caring relationships.  

    India Stallings, a counselor at Hollins High School, said it may take time before the budget increases lead to tangible changes. 

    “Regarding the impact of recent budget increases, we have not observed any tangible effect thus far,” Stallings said. “Based on our understanding, it is most likely that any significant impact would not be evident until the 2025-2026 school year.” 

    Some students have expressed understanding that the support they do receive is reflective of the efforts of their school staff. 

    “I think the school does the best that they can in balancing the stress,” said Abigail Aldas, a junior at Gibbs High School. “We have good counselors, and they do the best they can.” 

    As Pinellas County commits to the improvement of mental health services, future students can benefit from these efforts and receive better support in managing the challenges they face. 

  • Hurricane Irma: Midtown Edition – A Community Copes with Disaster

    Hurricane Irma: Midtown Edition – A Community Copes with Disaster

  • Healing the Community Through Food

    Healing the Community Through Food

    Expanding knowledge of health through urban agriculture

    BY MIKE SINGER

    The Et Cultura festival was hosted in South St. Petersburg from Nov. 15-19. There were a number of themes of the event, including music, art, healthy eating, addressing the future of St. Petersburg and its schools and more.

    On Thursday, Nov. 16, the Et Cultura theme was SEEDS, which deals with sustainable healthy food systems and urban agriculture.

    The morning SEEDS session, called “Prescribing Food as Medicine,” had a panel of experts in the urban agriculture field. As moderator and public health specialist, Mark Trujillo, spoke with John Correy of PlantPure Inc.; Randall Russell, President & CEO of Foundation for a Healthy St. Pete; Dr. Roland Lajoie, board-certified endocrinologist; Dr. Bob Linde, Owner of Acupuncture and Herbal Therapies; and Reverend Katie Churchwell from the Cathedral of St. Peter.

    Of the five on the panel, one person stuck out from the crowd as someone who is not necessarily an “expert” in the urban agriculture field, and that was Churchwell.

    And she will admit it.

    Churchwell doesn’t know a whole lot about urban agriculture, but what she cares about is people.

    “Here’s the thing – you’re probably going to encounter a lot of people where [urban agriculture] is their passion,” Churchwell said. “They love growing food; they love the health aspect. But my passion is people. I have to be really honest that this is really exciting for me to be in a place like this and learn from people because this is not my area of expertise. It’s not even a personal area of enjoyment. So much of this is nothing that I know about. But what I really care about and what I’m really passionate about are people.”

    “Next year, it’d be really easy for you to see me talking about housing or economics. I’m not a housing expert and I really know nothing about the economy other than I love to shop local.”

    Churchwell did have a reason to be selected on the SEEDS panel of experts though. There can be a lot of “talk” about initiating urban agriculture programs in Midtown St. Petersburg, but Churchwell is actively leading a community outreach initiative.

    Campbell Park Recreation Center is located on 14th Street S. and 7th Avenue S. and is home to the Food is Medicine program. It is a six-week class that engages in health, diet and nutritional needs. Each member of the class also receives a free health care screening from community health nurses from Baycare.

    Food is Medicine is a collaborative effort comprised of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Baycare Health Systems, Gulfport Produce, The Cathedral Church of St. Peters, and the city of St. Petersburg.

    “It is modeled after the Florida Hospital System West Division’s Food Is Medicine program,” Churchwell explained. “One of the requirements for determining the placement of a Food Is Medicine site is that the location must be situated within a food desert.

    “The Cathedral Church of St. Peter, already having a robust and joyful relationship with Campbell Park Elementary School, felt that it made a lot of sense to set up Food Is Medicine St. Pete at Campbell Park Recreation Center, just across the street from the elementary school.  In working with the City of St. Petersburg, we are glad that we were able to secure – as an in-kind gift – the room use at Campbell Park Recreation Center.”

    Trujillo, was a key contributor in helping the St. Petersburg chapter of Food is Medicine launch.

    “He was instrumental in bringing everyone to the table,” said Churchwell.  “His hard work made Food Is Medicine St. Pete happen.”

    Currently, Food is Medicine St. Pete has been showing progress as it has reached its third-class series (it launched Aug. 16). Churchwell noted that they are still learning more about the community’s needs, and they accomplish that by conducting class surveys.

    “I have been really intrigued by what I have seen coming out of the urban agriculture initiatives in St. Pete and have even sampled some of the delicious and healthy produce,” Churchwell said.

    The Food is Medicine program could extend to other areas across the state of Florida that finds itself in a food desert.

    “Food Is Medicine St. Pete is a standard template of free health screenings, free health education and access to fresh produce,” Churchwell explained. “This template can be replicated and altered to fit the needs of any community – to help address the needs and concerns of specific communities.”

     

     

  • If you build it, will they come?

    [Insert optional subhead]

    Photos and story by Eillin Delapaz

    1. PETERSBURG – “What do community gardens need? Why isn’t the Bartlett Community Garden as well as all other community gardens in the city [at] the center of fellowship, education, connectivity, community? Because we need to recruit those very same entities to be a part of it,” panelist Adrian Taylor said at the Et. Cultura SEEDS themed event at the Morean Center for Clay Nov. 16, 2017.

    Community, support and involvement were all recurring themes at SEEDS. To an extent, the planning of SEEDS severely lacked this sort of connectivity and recruitment. This was prominently revealed in the lack of attendance, especially from the local communities of South St Petersburg.

    SEEDS revolved around the sustainable growth of urban agriculture in St. Petersburg. The Urban Ag Revolution session involved three speakers: Shannon O’Malley, the co-founder of Brick Street Farms; Janet Keeler, an instructor and writer from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg; and Adrian Taylor, manager of Bartlett Park Community Garden.

    Walter Balser, Director of OPEN Partnership Education Network speaking at the SEEDS themed Et. Cultura event Nov. 16, 2017.

    O’Malley and Taylor spoke about their food growing experience, the hurdles they’ve crossed and how they have ultimately become successful urban growers. Due to St. Petersburg’s lack of local food production, they both expressed the importance of urban agriculture and the conversion to eco-friendly sustainable practices as an outlet.

    “Community gardens are a wonderful niche in order to solve a mass problem in a refuted city. You have to figure out how to produce more with the same or less resources,” said O’Malley. “So that’s the problem Brick Street is looking to solve. Roughly six acres and three shipping containers every five weeks, now that’s mass production,” O’Malley said during her presentation.

    Both farms are well respected for their positive and integral roles in the community. Brick Street Farms was established in 2016 and is a boutique, climate-controlled, hydroponic farm that uses innovative technology to grow food vertically and more sustainably inside upcycled shipping containers.

    On the other hand, The Bartlett Community Garden represents more traditional farming practices such as outdoor garden beds, water from a well and greenhouse compost bins. The garden was established in 2008 and since then it has been kept up with by community members.

    “Each community garden needs cross-sector involvement because then we get cross-sector intellect, then we get cross-sector perspective,” Taylor said.

    So, who benefits from SEEDS?

    After speaking with Mr. Brayboy from Chef Creole’s restaurant, it was clear to see that there wasn’t much marketing of the event in the Midtown area from the residents’ perspective.

    “I had some flyers in my restaurant, but they were not very clear. They were a little confusing,” Brayboy said.

    OPEN Partnership Education Network, the organizers of SEEDS, communicated with Deuces Live preceding the event. Deuces Live is a nonprofit organization in South St. Petersburg working with business associations in the community to preserve the historic African-American culture.

    Guests at the 2017 Et. Cultura SEEDS event viewing photos while learning about other successful urban gardens and farms across the globe.

    “The SEEDS people wanted to involve the community, and I communicate that the Deuces Live is not the only organization in the African-American community. You can’t come to the Deuces and say “I want to involve the community,” it’s much more multifaceted than that,” said Deuces Live program manager, Veatrice Farrell.

    Part of Farrell’s role consisted of encouraging necessary outreach and connection between OPEN and the people of Midtown. She attended a couple of meetings and made some suggestions to include the community, but the attendance of the event showed that the effort fell short.

    The session was one of few that were free and open to the public. Yet, it could not have even been considered a full house with attendance around 50 people in comparison to the roughly 100 available seats. The audience mainly consisted of other like-minded Sustainable Urban Agriculture Coalition members, entrepreneurs who want to promote their already established farms/gardens and entrepreneurs seeking direction in the business.

    The African-American community of South St. Petersburg was nearly nonexistent at SEEDS. After the event, the Neighborhood News Bureau contacted Walter Balser, director of OPEN, to better understand who was really supposed to benefit from the event. In response, he said, “It’s so multifaceted, you can say that the ultimate end user might be people that are not even getting access to sustainable healthy food, but I would say that at this juncture, the primary beneficiaries are these key leaders in the community.”

    Those not getting access to sustainable healthy foods include the residents of Midtown.

    John Muhammad, director of Child’s Park Neighborhood Association, learned about the event through social media. It was not until the week of the event that he was contacted about setting up a table at the SEEDS event – which only happened when a mutual connection mentioned the association’s involvement.

    Adam Gyson, director of the Historic Roser Park Neighborhood Association, also denied any contact for involvement stating that none of the association members had been contacted by the SEEDS group. The same goes for the Historic Kenwood and Methodist Town Neighborhood Associations.

    Bernice Darling, director of the Lake Maggiore Shores Neighborhood Association, did not know about the SEEDS event before the Neighborhood News Bureau contacted her.

    “I Googled Et. Cultura SEEDS Sustainable Healthy Food Systems and Urban Agriculture aforementioned event and realized that perhaps I missed a wonderful opportunity to participate,” Darling said.

    The idea behind SEEDS is a positive and influential message critical for St. Petersburg’s possible sustainable and urban agriculture future. Unfortunately, the promotion and communication efforts were insufficient in the southside neighborhoods. Without their attendance to learn and benefit from the conversations, the main initiative may have fallen short.

     

    Edited by Kayla Jensen

     

  • Urban Agriculture About More Than Just Resilience

    Urban Agriculture About More Than Just Resilience

    By Michael Singer

    When Hurricane Irma was on a collision course with the mainland of the United States, Floridians were rushing to their local grocery stores to stock up on food in the chance that the storm would knock out power for an extended period of time.

    Instead of relying on non-perishable foods in times of emergency, people can be self-sufficient by eating their own lawns. Urban agriculture is not only vital in times of panic though.

    “It’s not just about emergency situations, although that is a consideration,” Sustainable Urban Agriculture Coalition (SUAC) President Bill Bilodeau said. “First of all, our whole food system, on a national scale, is broken. Many of our foods come from 1,500 miles away or more. That involves a lot of environmental impact in terms of transportation.”

    An organization in south St. Petersburg that is working in the urban agriculture field is the Local Food Project, which is run by Executive Director Carol Smith, who is also one of the boards of directors at SUAC.  The Local Food Project is partnering with Pinellas Technical College’s St. Petersburg campus located on 34th St. S.

    Pinellas Technical College had a landscaping program that was shut down in May. The program is getting a makeover and a jump start, led by Smith, who will head the new Urban Agriculture program. 

    “The estimated date that we’ll start our regular scheduling of classes is February of next year,” Smith said.

    “We’ll be running classes mostly in the evening and then on Saturdays. We have a lot of hands-on classes, so we need the daylight, and we can extend the hours in the summer. In addition to that, we’ll be doing activities with the community year-around, and those will gear up around April.”

    Bilodeau also plans to be involved in the urban agriculture program at Pinellas Technical College.

    “We’re interested in teaching there because of the location – it’s very positive in terms of potential impact,” he explained. “To have a public facility like that as an urban center potentially could have real ramifications in the city and be a hub for anyone who wants to grow.”

    Carl Lavender, the Managing Officer of Workforce Innovation and Community Strategy at Pinellas Technical College, worked with Smith at the Local Food Project. That connection helped lead Smith to create the new urban agriculture program.

    “We knew [Lavender] because he served on our advisory council for a number of years, so he really understood what we were trying to do with sustainable, local food system development,” Smith said.

    Smith would like to run a program that can function on its own and not rely solely on grants.”We’ve been working towards that all along with whatever we do”, said Smith.

    The project’s designed to allow self-sustainability and faster growth of opportunities for citizens interested in urban agriculture.

    “We’d really like to make it more accessible to have fresh produce in this area. We have five food deserts around us here. This is a high poverty community with low transportation, so to have it right here at their doorstep makes it really it convenient. It shows them that it can be integrated into anything. It’s integrated here at a college campus. It can be into your own yard, your own business, another non-profit’s land – there are so many ways that you can bring the food to the people, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

    Resilience is a term often used in conjunction with urban agriculture. Recognizing that St. Petersburg is a hurricane-prone city, Smith hopes that the program can capacitate citizens to recover quickly from potential food scarcity.

    “One of the top three things that need to happen to help the community is to be resilient,” Smith said. “Food is important; shelter is important. All of these things go together.”

    Bilodou is also convinced that crop growth education can have a permanent impact on the community.

    “In terms of people becoming more resilient in the face of emergencies – or economic downturn, which is a real possibility – if people are growing their own food, they become much more resilient,” Bilodeau added.

    “The benefits are that you know what you’re growing when you grow it. Or, if you buy from a local grower, you can develop a relationship and you can actually go to the garden or farm and see how it’s produced and what kind of chemicals they’re using. We promote organic agriculture across the board for reasons of safety, health, and environmental impact.”

    Organizations such as SUAC work to make St. Petersburg a better and healthier city. SUAC was founded several years ago (year?) by Bilodeau and a large group of people in the urban agriculture field. Although many team member’s of the coalition aren’t active, eight board of directors hold monthly meetings at the Enoch Davis Center every first Monday of the month.

    “What I’ve found is that people are really drawn to the presentations if the subject matter is very practical in nature and something they can put into practice,” said Bilodeau.

    SUAC’s vision is to be a “coalition of diverse yet like-minded people who see the importance of growing healthy food in the City and teaching others how to do it. Our mission is to advocate for healthy food, jobs, and economic development through sustainable urban agriculture,” according to their website, suacstpete.org.

    There are more restrictions on urban agriculture than most might think. St. Petersburg is limiting in what Bilodeau and other members of the urban agriculture community can accomplish to distribute food.

    “We advocate with the city in terms of trying to move ahead of their urban agriculture ordinances and trying to make them more friendly to growing food here,” Bilodeau explained.

    “There have been a lot of restrictions in the past that wasn’t in the interest of urban agriculture. The codes have to be amended continually to make them more liberal in terms of allowing the existence of urban agriculture and activities such as vending food on site at the garden. Right now, that’s an issue, and we’re working on that.”

     

  • Having the ‘Talk’: Help Us Help U provides sex education to young adults in poor communities

    Having the ‘Talk’: Help Us Help U provides sex education to young adults in poor communities

    Listen to the audio file here:

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    By Devin Rodriguez

    Pinellas County is ranked number one in Acute Hepatitis C in Florida. It’s ranked number seven for HIV infections, according to the Florida Department of Health.

    Sexually transmitted infections disproportionately affect low-income areas, like Midtown or the greater Southside of St. Petersburg, in part because of poor education and a lack of consistent health care.

    Two employees for Help Us Help U, an education program in Pinellas County, are trying to reach out to young people and provide them with reasons to care about their health.

    Loreal Dolar (left in photo above) and Maureen Oginga (right in photo above) often visit community centers, like local public libraries, with food to draw young people into an educational workshop they call ‘Say It Straight.’ Not only do the two discuss proper STD prevention, but also provide information about positive relationship behaviors. These workshops are targeted to people 13-24 years old.

    “We really believe that that is a really important age group because they’re the one’s that can start from the ground up and learn more from the community,” said Dolar. “We really want to help them make a better stance in the people that they interact with and encourage more educational behavior when it comes to health education.”

    Help Us Help U works in part for the Pinellas Substance Abuse HIV Awareness Responsibility Program (SHARP). SHARP provides both HUHU and the Pinellas Ex-Offender Reentry Program (PERC) which provides education and community resources to people recently released from correctional facilities.

    Dolar and Oginga said that they have seen first-hand the need for these programs in poor communities. While education is an important resource for prevention, HUHU also provides testing and information about living with an STD.

    One of the biggest issues we’re facing is when individuals end up testing positive, they have a hard time finding health care services and health resources,” Dolar said. “A lot of them may be uninsured; some don’t know where to go.”

    Health care has drastically improved over the past decade, but HIV infections are still rising, according to the CDC. HUHU and the greater Pinellas SHARP program consider educating youth in the community to be paramount to lessening the chance of infection.

    “Our biggest goal is [to reduce] the cases of substance abuse for HIV infections. So, increase HIV testing and basically pushing for prevention within the community,” Oginga said.

    Both Dolar and Oginga are USF alums. Dolar was a graduate student, and Oginga an undergraduate who was recommended to apply by a professor she kept in touch with. Oginga said that she is excited about the responsibilities.

    “This is my first job doing actual public health work,” Oginga said. “I didn’t know anything jumping off my degree, and this falls way above my expectations. I’m working with youth and doing outreach, also the analytical side of public health, so I got way more than I expected.”

    The hardest obstacle, Oginga said, was connecting with youth. Since the two center their message on health education and behavior, it can be difficult to draw in young adults.

    “Youth, they’re not particularly too excited about learning about their health. That’s always a challenge, finding people who are kind of standoffish,” said Oginga. “That’s a very big challenge, we try to do as much as we can, show our face every so often, go to different locations to make those type of connections. Initially, it’s kind of challenging but once we get past that barrier, it becomes [easier] to deal with.”

    To find out more go to huhuinc.org.

  • African American Heritage Trail: Mercy Hospital’s past is linked to Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center’s present

    African American Heritage Trail: Mercy Hospital’s past is linked to Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center’s present

    BY YURI ROSS,  TATIANA CUBAS, AND DAVID STONER
    NNB Reporters

    MIDTOWN — Mercy Hospital was the only facility that provided medical care to St. Petersburg’s African-American residents.

    It operated between 1923 and 1961. This had its advantages as compassionate professionals dedicated the best possible care to their community.

    Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center maintains the historic value of Mercy Hospital and continues to use the same mission, providing quality of care at a low cost.

    According to Cheryl Robinson, clinical operations director, the health center opened in May of 1985 in the basement of Lakeview Presbyterian Church. It later moved to the Mercy Hospital site in February of 2004.

    While health care is not free, the health center accepts all managed care plans and many commercial plans. For uninsured patients, the facility has a discount service fee based on income and number of family members in the household, Robinson said.

    The health center provides services in pediatric, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, behavioral health, and dental care. It is one of ten centers in the Community Health Centers of Pinellas network. The center has its own ACCESS program to provide help for those in need, and the ACCESS program attends many community functions to keep the community aware of its services, said Robinson. They also hold several community events every year including the annual African American Health Forum and the Junior League Back to School event.

    There have been no plans to expand their services at this time.

    Mercy Hospital became an important part of the community since it was the only hospital to provide care to African-Americans during segregation when integration was not available. It provided low cost care and performed all types of surgeries. A gallery that commemorates Mercy Hospital has signs saying that the staff and patients knew each other and the patients were not simply numbers. It became family oriented and the heart of the community.

    However, the hospital would experience its burdens because of its small size.

    Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center maintains a link to the history of Mercy Hospital. The renovations at the health center allowed the Mercy Hospital to be connected to the it.

  • Shame encourages hunger

    BY LAURA MULROONEY
    NNB Reporter
    [Edited By Ivelliam Ceballo]

    Twenty-five percent of Pinellas County’s underage population has no idea where their next meal will come from, the definition of chronic hunger.

    Approximately 86 percent of people in this country take for granted food choices available to them, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

    While food is freely distributed throughout the city at numerous food banks and outreach programs, what prevents residents from being food and nutrition secure?

    Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal nutrition assistance program, not a cash assistance program. Similarly, Women, Infants and Children (WIC) offers food for low-income women who are pregnant or have children under the age of 5.

    SNAP and WIC nutrition programs are used interchangeably with the word welfare, which causes confusion and misunderstanding for those who might qualify for the programs but never apply because of a perceived stigma.

    Participation in the SNAP program has dropped by more than a million people since October 2014. October 2015 marked the fifth straight monthly decline. Even as more people are applying for benefits, about 20 percent of eligible applicants will not receive them, according to the Food Research and Action Center.

    Why the decline?

    Beth Houghton, the executive director of St. Petersburg Free Clinic, believes awareness is the biggest problem.

    “Many families don’t know they qualify for food assistance like SNAP, commonly referred to as food stamps,” said Houghton. “Many families are unaware of the qualifications they need to benefit from this federal program. Education about available programs and resources is key.”

    Some groups are working to raise awareness.

    The St. Petersburg Free Clinic Food Bank started advertising with other area food banks to share food resource information using social media.

    Did you know 1 in 4 children in Pinellas County are chronically hungry? Posted by St. Petersburg Free Clinic on Tuesday, August 25, 2015
    Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger provides education initiatives and resources through the University of Florida Extension program which includes help with finances, nutrition and home gardening. The Food Research and Action Center provides dedicated web space for research including resources on nutrition and healthy living. Short pre-screenings to determine eligibility can be done online for SNAP and WIC. Still, the suffering from chronic hunger persists and it’s not always visually apparent. There is a fear of being stereotyped, the stigma behind being a welfare recipient is harsh in a world where the rich are idolized and the poor are ignored.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_column_text] 27% of people in Midtown are at or below poverty level, which is much higher than the state’s average of 17%.  city-data.com [/vc_column_text][vc_separator color="grey" align="align_center" style="" border_width="" el_width=""][vc_column_text]Links to Program Prescreening Supplemental Nutrition Assitance Program (SNAP) Women, Infants and Children (WIC) [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] NNB reporters Esteban Rodriguez and Marla Korenich contributed to this report.

  • Resource Center Reinvigorating Lives

    20150902_092418

    BY BRIGITTE TOULON and CHOYA RANDOLPH
    NNB Reporters

    MIDTOWN– Nearly 21,000 people have walked through the doors of the Pregnancy and Family Resource Center in Midtown, and received help with more than they anticipated.

    Originally built in 1992, the center received grants and donations from the community and Suncoast Baptist Church to help them help the community.

    The Resource Center is a place where individuals can receive information on preventing pregnancies, contraception, alternatives to abortion and general counseling for individuals in these kinds of situations.

    “The center is orientated around the value of life, parents understanding their roles and love for babies, before and after the womb,” said Carole Alexander, director of the center.

    Before becoming a resource center, it was a condemned house that was donated to the Suncoast Baptist Association. The church allowed the fire department to use the home for fire drills. After being burned down, the land was cleared and built into the center in 1992 and began serving the community in 1994.

    Prior to the building being completed, the center began serving people through Pleasant Grove Baptist Church off 9th Ave S, for about a year. The center went from serving roughly 600 people in its first year to now almost 1,000 people a year.

    The center now offers programs such as the Gaining Opportunity and Achieving Life Success (GOALS). This program teaches families about hard work by having members earn points through activities including group activities, one on one’s, watching DVDs and participating in other programs. The points earned could be used at the Mother’s and Baby’s Boutique for parents to buy diapers and other necessities.

    Another program offered is the Baby Love Support group which is a six-week program for parents to bond with the child and each other and learn about prenatal care. For parents that have received abortions and may have lingering feelings about the experience, the center provides the Post Abortion Recovery Ministry.

    In 2010, the center began to struggle fiscally and was about to shut down because of the economic recession. Due to a letter the center sent out to the community which stated their financial needs, they were able to keep their doors open due to the flood of support and donations they received.

    “We give to the church, and the church gives to us,” said Alexander.

    The church provides help by way of financial donations and by encouraging their members to volunteer at the center. In turn, the workers of the center give back by volunteering for the church at different functions, in particular by giving vital information to the members of the church.

    Alexander, has a personal connection to the centers’ work, partly because she was faced with an unplanned pregnancy in her youth. Due to the lack of resources prior to her pregnancy, she is now committed to helping others understand the importance of life.

    “Here’s our vision, when we’ve accomplished and done all that we’ve been called to do, we want to see vibrant families in communities, whole and complete lacking nothing through Christ,” said Alexander.

    For more information:

    What: The Pregnancy and Family Resource Center

    Where: 1210 22nd St. S

    Contact: (727) 896-9119 or email: pcenter1@msn.com.

     

  • They stress fundamentals on the gridiron and lessons in life

    They stress fundamentals on the gridiron and lessons in life

    Andrew Caplan | NNB For eight years, local football standout Louis Murphy Jr. and his 1st Downs 4 Life organization have conducted a one-day camp at Lakewood High School.
    Andrew Caplan | NNB
    For eight years, local football standout Louis Murphy Jr. and his 1st Downs 4 Life organization have conducted a one-day camp at Lakewood High School.

    BY ANDREW CAPLAN
    NNB Student Reporter

    “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”

    That quotation from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one that Louis Murphy Jr. said he lives by every day.

    So when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver stepped back onto Lakewood High School’s football field earlier this month, he had one mission in mind: to give back.

    It’s a responsibility that was instilled in him early in life by his father, the Rev. Louis M. Murphy Sr., and mother, Filomena Murphy, who died of breast cancer in 2008.

    For eight years, Murphy Jr.’s organization, 1st Downs 4 Life, has conducted a one-day football and cheerleading camp at the high school where he once starred. The wide receiver and his crew spend the day with area youths, teaching both fundamentals and life lessons.

    The free camp was filled with youngsters ages 8 to 18. Their mentors were former collegiate and professional athletes like Gerard Warren, a former defensive tackle who was the NFL’s No. 3 overall draft pick in 2001; former USF safety Jerrell Young; Cornell Green, a former offensive tackle who won a Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2002; and Henry Lawrence, a former offensive lineman who has several Pro Bowl honors and three Super Bowl rings.

    Andrew Caplan | NNB Murphy’s father, the Rev. Louis M. Murphy Sr. (in orange shirt), leads some of the high school campers in prayer.
    Andrew Caplan | NNB
    Murphy’s father, the Rev. Louis M. Murphy Sr. (in orange shirt), leads some of the high school campers in prayer.

    “I think we should always give back and lend a helping hand,” said Murphy, 28.

    He believes it’s his job as a professional athlete to be a role model for young people. And they agree.

    “It lets us know that there are people out here that still care about the black community and the kids around it,” said Nyquel Alexander, a 2015 Lakewood graduate who plans to play in college. “This camp helped me become a man and make smart choices while I was in high school.”

     

    Indian Rocks Christian running back Theo Anderson said the camp is “very important” to him, too.

    “I think, honestly, this camp is about 60 percent life and 40 percent work,” he said.

    Anderson, 16, said he is considering attending the University of Wisconsin after he graduates in January. He said he is following the instructions at the camp: Do well in school and dream big.

    * * * * * * * *

    Murphy started 1st Downs 4 Life in 2008, shortly after his mother passed away. He said he remembers her working with some of the most troubled youths in the area at a juvenile delinquent center. He once asked her why.

    Her response was that the kids needed someone to encourage them and be a positive influence, Murphy said. “She had a heart for kids that were troubled.”

    Now with the help of volunteers, his goal is to give youngsters the same kind of encouragement.

    “We coach character and discipline,” he said. “Being a stand-up guy in the community, your classroom, on your little league football team, high school football team and being a leader. Those are the things we really preach to these kids.”

    Andrew Caplan | NNB Former collegiate and NFL linebacker Juan Long, shown coaching two campers, says Murphy Jr. has proven that “if you work hard and stay committed to your craft, anything is possible.”
    Andrew Caplan | NNB
    Former collegiate and NFL linebacker Juan Long, shown coaching two campers, says Murphy Jr. has proven that “if you work hard and stay committed to your craft, anything is possible.”

    Volunteer coach Justin Black, a former cornerback at West Liberty University, said he has been with the camp since year one, when he was in high school. Black, 23, spent his afternoon coaching the defensive backs.

    “I learned from my own experiences that putting emphasis on the little things will help you achieve great things on and off the field,” he said. “Just spending time plays a huge impact in a child’s life.”

    First-time camp volunteer Juan Long, a former Mississippi State and NFL linebacker, said even though it is a football camp, the goal is to see the attendees become great citizens in the St. Petersburg area.

    Although going pro is unlikely for most kids at the camp, Long said, it’s not impossible. Defensive end Dante Fowler, a 1st Downs 4 Life alum, was recently the No. 3 overall selection in the 2015 NFL draft.

    “A lot of times kids see people on TV they can’t really relate to it,” Long said. “But by Louis being here, he’s showing them directly that if you work hard and stay committed to your craft, anything is possible.”

    The camp ended with a few words of wisdom from those close to Murphy.

    Green told the young athletes to make good life decisions. Do your education right, he said. “Invest in you.”

    Warren told them to have respect for others as well as themselves.

    And Murphy’s father, the senior pastor at Mt. Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, urged them not to let others talk them into anything, but rather follow their own desires.

    * * * * * * * *

    Andrew Caplan | NNB Murphy Jr., says his mother, who died in 2008, and his father (left) taught him the importance of giving back. “The success of these kids inspires me and motivates me to keep going,” he says.
    Andrew Caplan | NNB
    Murphy Jr., says his mother, who died in 2008, and his father (left) taught him the importance of giving back. “The success of these kids inspires me and motivates me to keep going,” he says.

    Unlike past years, the camp did not host its annual basketball game on the same weekend.

    Murphy Jr. said he plans to have future events spread throughout the year to offer more guidance and build stronger relationships with the youngsters.

    Before year’s end, he said, he plans to host a backpack giveaway, a toy drive and a charity kickball game and start a mentoring program. He wants to offer guidance to not just football players, but entire communities.

    On July 25, 1st Downs 4 Life will host another football camp at Stetson University in DeLand.

     

    “It’s a joy and a blessing to pour into these kids,” Murphy said. “The success of these kids inspires me and motivates me to keep going.”