By Becky Boggus
During the first week of each semester at McLennan Community College, single-parent college students in the Support and Empowerment Program (SEP) gather in a conference room for Program Orientation. Among the refreshments, name tags, and ice breaker questions, there is something deeper going on: a large group of single parents are all gathered in a room with a unifying goal of earning a college degree. It will entail a huge sacrifice of money, time, and energy – resources they are already desperately short on.
My name is Becky Boggus, and it’s my privilege to work with these amazing single-parent students at McLennan Community College in Waco. I work with students in a grant-funded program called the Support and Empowerment Program. We are federally funded by the Carl Perkins Grant and have been on MCC’s campus since 1979. Over the last 36 years, we have helped over 7,000 students.
Single-parent college students are one of the most at-risk groups of students for non-completion of a college degree. They are more likely to work while in school, be low-income, be first-generation college students, and are less likely to be college-ready upon entry. They juggle all of the usual high-stress demands of college while also solely meeting the emotional and financial needs of a family.
Equipping and empowering single parents to complete their college education changes the trajectory of an entire family system, leaving an impact for generations. We know this first-hand because behind every parent succeeding has a child watching, learning the value of education and hard work.
Nationwide, just about 12% of single-parent community college students complete an Associate’s degree within 6 years of starting it. Yet, research demonstrates that at-risk college students often fail academically due to clusters of personal and financial barriers, rather than a lack of academic skills (Adelman & Taylor, 2008, 2010). To put it simply, the stress outside the classroom affects a student’s performance inside the classroom. A mom who can’t feed her kids will never be able to fully focus on her history exam. Exclusively addressing academic concerns falls short of helping these students be successful.
Students who are involved in SEP are assigned an SEP Coach upon entry to the program. The coach meets with every student at least once per month to provide holistic support—from parenting advice to career counseling, community resource connections, and self-care training. They are the cheerleader, the listening ear, and often times the shoulder to cry on. Ideally, this coaching relationship is established immediately upon entrance to college and lasts until graduation, establishing consistent care and support in a student’s life. The Support and Empowerment Program also provides various workshops throughout the semester. Students gain skills in parenting, resume-building, managing their money and stress, accessing the court system, and studying more efficiently. We are also able to provide students with monthly financial support to help them alleviate stress and make ends meet during their time as a student.
The great news about SEP is that it works. With these basic supports established, our students flourish. They graduate at rates 2-3 times the national average, report lowered levels of stress, more confidence in their parenting skills, and greater ability to communicate with their faculty members. It’s an honor to walk alongside these students as they succeed. They are the hardest-working, most compassionate, driven people I know.
Our staff serves as support to the overworked single parent. The interventions we use are simple, intentional and relationally-driven. The students served by the Support and Empowerment Program vary widely in age, number of children, marital history, socioeconomic status, and educational experiences. Yet a common sentiment is often expressed by those in SEP: “I don’t feel alone anymore. I know I can do this.” Investing in personal support translates into academic success and that is what SEP works to accomplish every day.
To all the people reading this who thought furthering your education was out of reach: I’m here to tell you that it’s not! It is never too late to take on new challenges and reach new goals; we’re doing it together at MCC and we are here to help you along the way! We can’t wait to meet you!
Want to learn more about the Support and Empowerment Program? Call Becky Boggus at 299-8569 or Lizette LaStrape at 299-8600. To learn more about the Success Coach Program at MCC, call 299-UCAN (8226).
Becky Boggus is a Social Worker, a pastor’s wife, a mom, and a believer in education and strengthening Waco families. You can probably find her anywhere outside this summer: hiking in Cameron Park, chasing her kids around, and most likely eating a popsicle.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
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For more information on how to help single-parent and at-risk college students be successful, check out these great sources:
Adelman, H.S. & Taylor, L. (2010). Mental health in schools: Engaging learners, preventing problems, and improving schools. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.
Adelman, H.S., & Taylor, L. (2008). Rebuilding for learning: Addressing barriers to learning and teaching and re-engaging students. New York: Scholastic, Inc. This book is also available (PDF, 5.75MB) online.
America’s Promise Alliance. Don’t call them dropouts. Retrieved May 21, 2014, from http://gradnation.org/report/dont-call-them-dropouts
Goldrick-Rab, A., & Sorensen, K. (2010). Unmarried parents in college. Fragile families, 20(2), Retrieved from http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=73&articleid=536§ionid=3692
Huelsman, M., & Engle, J. (2013). Student parents and financial aid. Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Retrieved from http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/student-parent-success-initiative/resources-publications
Miller, K. (2010). Student parents face significant challenges to postsecondary success. Institute for Women, IWPR #C376, Retrieved from http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/student-parent-success-initiative/resources-publications
Schumacher, R. (2013). Prepping colleges for parents: Strategies for supporting student parent success in postsecondary education. Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Retrieved from http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/student-parent-success-initiative/resources-publications
By Christina Helmick
It has been about a year and a half since Prosper Waco hosted the Inaugural Event that drew more than 400 community members together to discuss the issues the community wanted to prioritize when the Prosper Waco initiative kicked off.
In September of this year, Prosper Waco is hosting its Annual Summit Event. It will be an opportunity for our community to come together to celebrate the progress we’ve made since the initiative kicked off in January of 2015 and to have integrated conversations around other issues that our community wants to undertake to work on in the future. Below is a quick outline of how the Summit will flow this year:
- Opening Session: this will be a chance for our community to celebrate the progress that has been made since the initiative kicked off in January of 2015. As the staff, we really want to celebrate the hard work that has been (and is being!) done in our community. This initiative wouldn’t move forward without the will of cross-sector community partners, which is why we strongly believe in having a celebration of the successes in the opening session!
Prosper Waco History: A brief history of the Prosper Waco initiative will be given during the opening session so all attendees can enter the integrated conversations with the background knowledge of the extensive community work the Prosper Waco initiative was built upon.
- Integrated Conversations: Many of your attended Prosper Waco’s Inaugural Event in February 2015, where education, health and financial security were split into different rooms to be able to dive deep into specific issues within those three impact areas. This year, we are taking a slightly different approach. As staff, we have heard from all levels of the community and involvement in the initiative that people who are involved in education want to learn about what is being in health and financial security, those involved in health want to learn about education and financial security….you get the idea. Community members want to know about what is being done in the areas they don’t work in or attend meetings in. By having integrated conversations with perspectives from education, health and financial security at the same table, all will be able to talk about issues our community wants to undertake with the feedback from all areas the Prosper Waco initiative is focused on. Keep reading to find out who the facilitators will be!
- Closing Session: The closing session will be a feature a dance performance from the well-known, local dance group Miriam’s Army! We are so thrilled to be working with Restoration Haven to have these talented girls perform a tap dance routine for Summit attendees. After the performance, guests will enjoy delicious food from none other than George’s Restaurant! To close the event, Dr. Tyrone Tanner will talk with Summit attendees about how systematic change happens through collaboration and partnership—exactly what is happening in the Waco community! His energizing talk will leave us all ready to head into to the new year ready for more collaboration and hard work!
At this year’s event, we will have three expert facilitators in each of the rooms to help guide the framework of the conversations. We believe having third-party facilitators will allow all members of the community—including the Steering Committee and Work Group Chairs—to have the opportunity to listen to community feedback and think strategically about how community partners can tackle certain issues as it relates to education, health and financial security. Click the links to learn more about the facilitators: Dr. Larry Hill, Dr. Tyrone Tanner and Dr. Luis Torres.
This event is truly created with the community in mind. We want each person, whether they have been involved from this initiative from the beginning or just heard about it through our Fox 44 News PSA, to know they are encouraged to come to this event!
It’s very easy to register! You can give us a call at 254-741-0081, sign up by clicking this link or send me an email at [email protected].
If you have any other questions, comments or want more information, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I’m so excited for this event and to hear the feedback from each of you at this event about what other issues our community wants to undertake.
In the wise words of Henry Ford, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
Christina Helmick is
the director of communication at Prosper Waco. She is a recent graduate of Baylor University with a BA in Journalism, Public Relations & New Media. Originally she is from Washington, D.C., but has stayed in Waco post-graduation. She is an active mentor at J.H. Hines Elementary School, enjoys spending time with her family and watching Baylor football. Sic ’em Bears!
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Crystal Hernandez
Maybe I age myself by admitting that I’ve been working in the fitness industry for 20 years. Although I did luckily move into the field just behind leg warmers and sweat bands, I did ride in on the wave of step aerobics. So over the past 20 years I’ve seen lots of changes. I’ve seen dance fitness become a craze, boot camps become the latest and greatest, and I’ve watched pilates and yoga emerge and re-emerge in facilities all over.
So many times I’ve heard, “________ is the greatest workout ever. You have to take this class.” Fill in the blank with every new fad that has ever been. Well, you know what? None of them are the greatest, but they are all great!
Here’s the bottom line, exercising is important, but there isn’t one way that is the best for every single person out there. When you’re choosing your form of exercise, choose what you enjoy. If going to dance fitness with your best friend makes you feel like you have two left feet, try something you like. In the end, if you like it, it becomes a habit probably something you will do your entire life. If it feels like torture, your sneakers will be in the back of the closet gathering dust. If boot camps make your knees and back hurt, but water aerobics makes you feel lovely, then that’s the great workout for you! You don’t have to choose the latest fad. What you do need to consider is what you enjoy doing and what is safe for your body.
Regardless of the type or types of exercise that you’re doing, make sure that you’re following these guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine:
- Acquire at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous cardiovascular activity per week. Aside from heart health and weight control there are a ton of other reasons to do cardio, like improving mood and alleviating anxiety.
- Get your strength training in. Not only is this important for gaining muscular strength and endurance but also for building bone density and increasing your metabolism. Aim for resistance training 2-3 non-consecutive days per week, and try to get in 2-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions for each major muscle group.
- Don’t forget to stretch. Stretching improves range of motion, flexibility and just like resistance training, makes activities of daily living easier. Muscles stretch best when they are warm so save your stretching for the end of your workout. Get some serious stretching in at least 2-3 days per week, stretching each muscle to the point of tension (not pain), holding for 10-30 seconds (building up to 60 seconds) and repeating that stretch 2-4 times. Catch all the major muscles and remember that chest, shoulders, hip flexors, hamstrings and calves tend to need a bit more flexibility work.
- Neuromotor exercise is important too, especially for those of us that are getting older, and who isn’t. Focus on balance and agility work 2-3 days per week spending 20-30 minutes at it.
Find a facility to be a part of that doesn’t just offer one format or type of exercise and allows you to try numerous types of exercise so you can discover your personal favorite. Additionally, changing your workout, or cross training, can reduce boredom and lower your risk for injury. Your needs and likes will change over time and so will your workouts. Good luck discovering what makes you want to stay healthy, even if it includes leg warmers and sweat bands, and remember that frequency, intensity and duration are all important when it comes to reaching your goals.
This Act Locally Waco blog post was written by Crystal Hernandez. Crystal is the Chronic Disease Specialist for the Waco Family YMCA. She received her degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from the University of Memphis. She and husband Shawn are blessed to be the parents of 4 beautiful children. In her free time, she loves hitting the pavement and pounding out a good run.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Ashley Bean Thornton
My Facebook feed is full of babies right now: Girl babies, boy babies; bald babies, hairy babies; laughing babies, serious babies, crying babies; every shade and shape of baby! I am in awe everyday of all of these beautiful ears and toes and tiny fingers, all these little eyes taking everything in, all these little brains growing and growing! Hooray for all these babies!
This post is for the parents of those babies. It’s hard for you to imagine now, but in 2040 these babies you are holding in your arms today will be 24, 25, 26 years old. Many of them will be finished with college, getting married and having babies of their own. Congratulations Grandma and Gramps, or GiGi and Big Pop, or Ona and Gumbo…you’re soon to be grandparents! (Well, in 24 years or so, anyway!)
My question for you today, new parent/future grandparent, is what kind of Waco do you want for your grandchild? I’m asking you this because that future Waco we get depends to some extent on the decisions we make today. If you want that grandbaby to be playing under nice shade trees, we need to plant those saplings now!
Those trees are important, and they aren’t the only things we need to be thinking about. Where will your grandchildren live? Will they be able to walk to school? Will they have a beautiful diversity of friends to play with? Will there be a park nearby? Will their parents be spending hours a day commuting back and forth to work? Will they be able to find work in Waco? Will the air be clean? Will they have good water to drink? Will you be able to find an affordable place to live nearby so you can help out with raising them?
I’m sorry new parents/future grandparents – I know you are way, way too sleep deprived to be thinking about all of this right now! Luckily, the City of Waco Planning Office has already been doing some of the thinking for you. They have scoured pages and pages of reports and studies and strategic plans that have been developed by different groups and organizations throughout Waco these last several years (Imagine Waco, The Upjohn Report, Prosper Waco, to name just a few), and have worked really hard to pull it all together into one document: The City Plan: Waco Comprehensive Plan 2040. That plan is now available on their website for you to review. They are even still taking comments till August 5.
The plan is pretty long though, over 90 pages in fact . And, no offense to the city planners, but I have to say it is a little…ummm… dry. Buried in those charts and graphs and all that planner-speak, though, are some important ideas for building a terrific hometown for your future grandbabies! And that terrific future Waco isn’t going to build itself! We all need to be informed about the comprehensive plan, because we are all going to have to help build the future city it describes.
Still, I sympathize with your dilemma. You want to be a great, informed citizen and build that future for your grandbabies…if only you could get your current baby to go to sleep!
Here’s an idea: read the city plan to your baby at bedtime! Voila! Multi-tasking at its best! Maybe this little excerpt will get you started, and inspire you to read more of the plan…to yourself and to your baby! With apologies to Dr. Seuss…
Waco City Plan 2040 (Bedtime Version)
Hello sweet baby! I wish you would sleep!
If you would start snoozin’, off to bed I could creep!
You won’t close your eyes! You’re still crying! Oh man!
Would this calm you down? It’s the new City Plan…
The overall goal is “make Waco sustainable.”
This goal will take work, but we think it’s obtainable!
We must make decisions we can live with right now,
and they must make good sense for YOUR future, but how?
Economic development is one good place to start –
We’ve got lots of colleges, with kids who are smart…
Let’s use them as bait for good jobs with high pay,
Then maybe our smart college grads will all stay!
And when they all stay, they’ll want fun stuff to do!
They’ll want music and culture and arts, wouldn’t you?
So investing right now in these things is essential,
And maybe downtown should be more residential…
If this all works out, we will grow, yes we will,
And one trick to really smart growth is in fill!
By “in fill” we mean live and work close together.
There’s all kinds of reasons together is better!
When we’re all spread apart it just costs more to serve us,
Sprawling and sprawling should make us all nervous.
It uses up gas, all those roads cost a bunch…
When we live close together we can just walk to lunch!
And speaking of walking, let’s talk transportation…
A subject that stirs up a heap of frustration!
You don’t have a car? Too bad! That’s tough luck!
You can’t get to work or the store – you’re just stuck!
Bus rapid transit would help quite a bit,
And bike lanes and sidewalks just might be a hit!
We could build a good network for non-auto modes,
That new fangled thinking would help us out loads!
Hey sweet little baby, don’t fall asleep yet!
There’s a whole chapter here on environ-ment!
I still haven’t read you the part about housing,
The utilities section is really quite rousing…
Sweet dreams little one, rest your head and sleep tight…
I guess that’s enough City Plan for one night.
That’s right, nighty-night! You can lay your head down,
Count on us, Waco baby – to build you a great town!
This Act Locally Waco blog post is by Ashley Bean Thornton, she works at Baylor, helps out with Act locally Waco, and facilitates the Waco Foundational Employment Network which is a part of Prosper Waco. She likes to walk and doesn’t mind at all if you honk and wave when you see her.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
(Note: This post is part of a series called “Entrepreneurs of Waco.” The series is collaboration between the McLennan Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the Professional Writing program at Baylor University, and Act Locally Waco. The McLennan Small Business Development Center offers technical assistance, business mentoring, training, and resources for all stages of small business. For more information, visit their website: www.mccsbdc.com. To see all the posts in this series, click here: Entrepreneurs of Waco. – ABT)
By Allison Le Grice
In what was once a popular saloon on Third Street in McGregor, Texas, Branda Pavlas and Susie Hughlett have realized their dream of owning a bakery. From Tuesday to Saturday, the small “Open” sign inside Cuppiecakes flashes, welcoming guests to enter the historic brick building to enjoy some savory treats. Like a beacon, it has attracted customers from as far as ninety miles away.
Nine years ago, Susie met Branda at church, and they became inseparable. Often mistaken for sisters, Branda and Susie both stand at just about the same height with short blonde hair, inviting blue eyes, and eager expressions. “We’re completely different though,” Susie mentions. “She’s the doer. She’s made everything possible.” “Oh stop, this place wouldn’t be here without you,” Branda responds.
Susie had some experience with baking and was known around church for bringing her creations for the enjoyment of the congregation. When their pastor asked Susie to bake a cake for an upcoming church event, she invited Branda over to help. This one night of baking led to several more, and as word spread, orders started pouring in. Pretty soon, Branda and Susie’s routine became staying up until three in the morning to finish cake orders while balancing the demand of husbands, children, and full-time jobs.
As they gained popularity, they decided to officially start a business. Although baking from the comfort of their homes worked, they dreamed of something more. “We wanted to be smart about it,” Branda says. “We knew we were too old for debt, and we didn’t want to get caught up in it for what seemed like some frivolous dream of baking cupcakes.” So Susie and Branda consulted Jane Herndon, a business advisor at the McLennan Small Business Development Center, who helped them plan how they could start a business with their available resources. Finally, their goals appeared to be within reach. In May 2014, they settled on a location in Hewitt, where Susie lives. Unfortunately, they missed their opportunity to sign a lease by mere few hours. To make matters worse, Branda’s husband had a heart attack that same week.
“As if things weren’t stressful enough, my husband died.”
“But he’s alive now,” Susie jokes, “We call him Lazarus… get it? Because they resurrected him.” In the midst of these unfortunate events, Branda and Susie had faith. “We’re firm believers in God,” Branda says. “I had to constantly remind myself to be patient and trust in His timing. There were multiple times I broke down ugly-crying because nothing seemed to be working, but I reminded myself of all that I had to be thankful for. My family was well, and despite this business not taking off, I still had my job as a high school counselor. If I had quit that to focus more on the business, I wouldn’t have had insurance to help after my husband’s heart attack. That was a reminder of God’s perfect timing. I took a step back and I heard Him say, ‘Just wait.’”
Not long after, a close friend called to tell them about an available building she thought Susie and Branda would like in McGregor, Texas.
“McGregor? Really?” Branda rolls her eyes. “The three most important things you have to take into consideration when starting a business are one, location. Two, location. And three, location.” With its approximate population of 5,000, they worried that McGregor was not ideal. But there was one thing Branda and Susie knew, church people love to eat and they love to talk. So despite the uncertainty of business from newcomers, they knew their loyal church community would visit their shop and help spread the word. Finally, they would have their own bakery… that’s if the owners of the building decided to lease it to them. “We definitely understand why they were hesitant,” Branda says. “Their main fear was that they’d be wasting their time on a business that was going to flop. It took a lot of convincing, but they agreed to meet with us.”
“So we brought cupcakes,” Susie adds, “and that’s probably what won them over.”
Today, Cuppiecakes lures customers in with a bright green awning and a huge image of a cupcake. Inside, a display case filled with a variety of flavored cupcakes beckons. Also, in one corner, tables are prepared for one of the many birthday parties Branda and Susie host. Attracting customers is something they no longer worry about. Even on Sundays and Mondays, the days Cuppiecakes is closed to catch up on orders, customers can be found knocking on their door, and on any given day, Branda and Susie can be found baking between 250-350 cupcakes while also completing custom orders for birthday and wedding cakes. Although they tried to wean off of the custom orders, they never stop coming in.
In addition to their baked goods, Branda and Susie have started selling coffee and even sandwiches. Despite this, Cuppiecakes is still best known for its cupcakes, served in small plastic cups. From “Cookies n’ Cream” to “Snowball” coconut cupcakes to “Cup o’ Joe” caramel and coffee cupcakes, Branda and Susie are satisfying all types of cupcake cravings.
“God’s timing really was everything,” says Susie. “It truly is amazing how it all happened.” What started off as two women bonding and baking ultimately led to a booming business.
The Entrepreneurs… Susie Hughlett and Branda Pavlas are the owners of Cuppiecakes. Susie is the wife of Kevin Hughlett and mother of Drew (17), Kara (14) and Lindy (11). The family makes their home in Hewitt, and they attend Lorena United Methodist Church. Susie attended the University of Sothern Mississippi on a volleyball scholarship and has been teaching and coaching for 20 years. She now teaches mornings at Woodgate Intermediate as a 5th grade PE teacher and then goes to work at Cuppiecakes in the afternoon. Branda is married to Jake Pavlas, and the couple have 3 children; Jakey (19), Braylin (17), and Jadyn (14). The couple was also blessed to be able to share their home with Ashley Johnson (married to Matthew) who has given them 3 beautiful grandchildren. Branda atteded Texas Tech University and taught English for 16 years before earning a Master’s Degree from Tarleton State University and working as a school counselor for 8 years. She now works full time at Cuppiecakes. Like Susie, Branda and her family also attend Lorena United Methodist Church where they met the Hughlett family. The “Pavlas Hughlett Clan” enjoy dinner together every Sunday night and sometimes take family vacations. Life is good at Cuppiecakes!
The writer…Allison Le Grice is an English student at Baylor University. She is passionate about literature, mental health, and recycling. In her free time, she is most likely binge-watching “Chopped.”
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Joe Padilla
One of the ongoing challenges church pastors and lay-leaders face today are the mental health issues and illnesses affecting individuals and families. Why? Because research reveals that 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 5 children in a given year deal with mental illness. In addition, mental disorders are twice as frequent among the poor and low-income communities which tend to have higher risk factors for severe mental illness. Overall, about 25% of people in need of mental health support first seek help from the church before going to a mental health or medical professional.
It is confusing for church leaders because these problems are disguised as a personal problem, family crisis, divorce, financial challenges, addiction, etc. Congregants are coming to their clergy asking for spiritual guidance on these kinds of issues. The pastor has a huge heart and is willing to help but can be quickly overwhelmed, not knowing how to recognize a mental health challenge, or knowing the mental health resources for more help.
The church is a gateway to mental health needs and can have the necessary tools to respond with simple and adequate support. Thankfully, all the resources are available and can be incorporated TODAY!
The Latino Mental Health Coalition (LMHC) is a collaboration of both Christian and community mental health organizations that can make mental illness a topic and solution of living hope!
On August 13, the Latino Mental Health Coalition will be hosting a FREE conference for Latino clergy and congregants to discover new insights, the available resources, and upcoming trainings for your congregation.
The conference will consist of:
- Free continental breakfast
- Short Keynote presentation from someone with a mental illness and has hope
- Workshops on suicide prevention, youth & mental health, hispanic culture perceptions and more
- Ending with a panel discussion with church leaders addressing new mental health support
Many groups will be represented for all the resources you need to know!
Share and pass this on to many in your church and community … hope is here!
Here are the details…
Mental Health: Tools for the Church
This is a FREE opportunity for practical training and networking with a focus on how local congregations can effectively support Latino individuals and families affected by mental health challenges. Detailed agenda and list of speakers will be available soon. Please RSVP by August 7, 2016. For questions, please contact Ana Chatham at [email protected] or at (412) 855-5912. It is not necessary to print your ticket.
When:
Saturday, August 13, 2016 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (CDT)
Where:
Diana R. Garland School of Social Work – 811 Washington Ave, Waco, TX 76701
Registration:
We are asking that you register for the Conference by going to the EventBrite RSVP site at http://mhtoolsforthechurch.eventbrite.com
Don’t worry if you are unable to register at the site-just let Ana Chatham or Dennis Myers know that you are planning on attending. Also, if you have questions about the conference, please feel free to contact one of us.
Joe Padilla is a Baylor University graduate and is a licensed and ordained minister who has extensive ministry and non-profit development work in Asia, Africa, Europe, and in the U.S. Currently, Joe is the co-Founder and CEO of Mental Health Grace Alliance an international mental health recovery support organization providing programs and training for those affected by mental illness and for clergy and community leaders. MHGA is an organization that came from Joe’s extensive research in clinical and biblical mental health views and helping his wife have long lasting mental health recovery. Joe and Dr. Matthew Stanford (neuroscience and psychology) founded in Mental Health Grace Alliance in 2010 and has grown to both a national and international impact.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
by Lucas Land
We are at a watershed moment in history. We face multiple ecological crises, and time is running out. Transitioning to a sustainable society is THE issue of our generation, the greatest challenge that the human race has ever faced. It is a truly global crisis and therefore unites us, because we are all in the same boat, a small blue marble hurtling through space. This is what I am passionate about and why I work tirelessly to improve our little corner of this blue marble.
Yet, I feel awkward writing those words as our country continues to wrestle with the highly publicized deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, and many others in recent years. The list of victims of police brutality continues to grow. The violent actions of individuals towards law enforcement has only heightened the tensions.
How can we focus on the ecological crises we face when our brothers and sisters are dying in the streets? I believe we can build a bridge between these two issues. This bridge depends on two things: recognizing and getting involved in the struggle of people who continue to face inequality, violence and prejudice, and recognizing that the consequences of the ecological crises we face are suffered disproportionately by minorities and the poor.
First, if we want people who are the victims of police brutality, inequality and prejudice to join our movement, then we MUST get involved in theirs. I cannot recommend enough Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow for a thorough history of the policies that have led to this era of mass incarceration, militarization of the police, and systemic disenfranchisement of minorities. People are not likely to get involved in the movement for a sustainable future when they fear for their safety and struggle to thrive.
The second half of this bridge I’m suggesting we build is recognizing that environmental pollution and climate disruption disproportionately affect people of color. More African-Americans will die this year from environmental causes than police brutality, but environmental racism is less dramatic and the threat of violence feels more imminent than the effects of climate change. [1]
According to Dr. Robert Bullard, the father of the environmental justice movement, “African Americans are 79% more likely than whites to live where industrial pollution poses the greatest health danger. People of color make up most (56%) of those living in neighborhoods within two miles of commercial hazardous waste facilities, and over two-thirds (69%) of those living near clustered facilities.” [2]
I had the pleasure of hearing a lecture by Dr. Bullard in 2014 at a conference on Environmental Justice at Texas Lutheran University. In his talk map after map revealed that the most vulnerable populations (people of color and the poor) in the United States are concentrated in areas with the highest risk for the effects of climate change, and they are the least prepared for those potential disasters. [2]
The water crisis in Flint this year is a recent example of the continuing effects of environmental racism. Officials are slower to respond to the concerns of poor, minority communities. In the case of Flint, state officials and the EPA attempted to cover up their lack of response. [3]
The affluent neighborhood of Porter Ranch in Los Angeles was affected this year by the largest methane leak in US history. The response by officials was swift to address the situation. Yet, residents of L.A.’s poorer neighborhoods have complained about the effects of drilling for years without receiving the same response. [4]
I’m thankful for the recent responses of Dr. Peaches Henry and Robert Callahan to recent cases of police brutality as well as violence towards officers. The NAACP, Community Race Relations Coalition (CRRC) and many others have worked tirelessly for years to make Waco a community where all of us can prosper and feel safe. There is a lot of work to be done to make Waco a community that is sustainable and to combat climate change. Let’s build a bridge between these movements and realize that they are not separate and isolated from each other. This is work that we can and must do together.
Here are some tangible things you can do to build this bridge:
- Attend the Justice Forum at Greater New Light MBC on Wednesday, July 27 at 7:00pm.
- Attend CRRC’s Celebration of Cultures on Thursday, July 28 at 5:30pm at St. Alban’s.
- Like Sustainable Waco on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainablewaco/) to find out what’s happening and connect with others working on sustainability
- Come to the next ACE CenTex (http://www.acecentex.org) meeting to work on transitioning to renewable energy August 18 from 6:30-8:30pm at 1721 Sanger Ave.
Lucas Land is an eco-theologian, urban farmer, activist, aspiring master naturalist, facilitator, musician, and writer. He is avoiding growing up by constantly learning and trying new things. He also works in Grants Management for Waco ISD. He lives with his wife, three children, flock of chickens, dog, and cat in the Sanger Heights Neighborhood in North Waco.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
[1] Ellison, Charles D. “Racism in the Air You Breathe: When Where You Live Determines How Fast You Di” (http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/08/environmental_racism_when_where_you_live_determines_how_fast_you_die/)
[2] Bullard, Robert. “Mapping Environmental Injustice and Then Doing Something About It”. Presentation, January 31, 2015 at Texas Southern University. (http://www.dscej.org/images/pdfs/2015TRIRegionalWorkshop/RobertBullardPresentation.pdf)
[3] Mathis-Lilley, Ben. “Michigan Knew Last Year That Flint’s Water Might Be Poisoned But Decided Not to Tell Anyone”. (http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/01/11/state_of_michigan_flint_broke_law_and_covered_up_lead_levels_in_water_expert.html)
[4] Bliss, Laura. “L.A.’s Slow-Moving Oil and Gas Disaster”. (http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/02/california-porter-ranch-gas-leak-oil-environmental-justice/425052/)
(Note: This post is part of a series called “Entrepreneurs of Waco.” The series is collaboration between the McLennan Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the Professional Writing program at Baylor University, and Act Locally Waco. The McLennan Small Business Development Center offers technical assistance, business mentoring, training, and resources for all stages of small business. For more information, visit their website: www.mccsbdc.com. To see all the posts in this series, click here: Entrepreneurs of Waco. – ABT)
By Kellie Fawcett
As you enter the Uncommon Healthcare office you don’t see tile floors or fluorescent lights. There aren’t dozens of people in the waiting room sniffling while they flip through year-old lifestyle magazines. There isn’t a TV playing cooking show reruns. The carpeted waiting area includes plush chairs and a soothing water feature. Complimentary drinks are available. In fact, if anyone is in the waiting area, it is because he or she has arrived early. When Dr. Macik schedules your appointment for 10:30, she’ll be with you at 10:30.
Dr. Felicia Macik, the founder, owner, and physician at Uncommon Healthcare, is the only direct primary care family physician between Austin and Dallas. When she greets her patients, she is not in a hurry. She greets each one with a smile and usually a hug. She is in casual clothes, not scrubs. The only way you would know she is a doctor is the stethoscope draped around her neck.
Aside from being owner, founder, and physician at Uncommon Healthcare, she is also the accountant, manager and marketer. None-the-less, when you meet with Dr. Macik in her office she sits next to you, ignoring the office chair she has at her desk. In doing so she lets you in on her secret to success: relationships.
Dr. Macik used to work for a hospital system but left employed practice after 17 years.” She had expectations of herself as a physician, the hospital system had expectations of her as an employee, and the insurance companies had their own expectations set by government regulation. This presented an obvious problem. Her solution: to pursue a new career path that she discovered via talk radio.
“My husband actually discovered it,” she says chuckling, “I was miserable in the system and was trying to figure out if I was going to leave medicine. I really thought, ‘If I can’t find another way to do this I’m not going to be a physician any more. I don’t want to continue to do this for the rest of my career.’ My husband was listening to talk radio and some physicians came on. They were leaders in the nation in direct care and were talking about their model of practice and how physicians were looking into this. So he came home and said, ‘Felicia, oh my gosh, you have got to listen to this and check this out. This is so who you are, this is exactly what you need to do.’ And so that was on a Friday afternoon and I will never forget, I went home and the entire weekend listened to podcasts about direct care and listened to those guys.”
This was a week before her sons’ spring break. She sat the family down and asked them to forgo their previously planned ski trip in order to road trip to Wichita, Kansas, to meet with the direct care physicians from the radio.
After meeting with six other well-known primary care physicians, interviewing their patients, and extensively researching direct primary care, Dr. Macik learned that roughly half of direct primary practices fail the first year. “So going into it I knew that was the case and that was a risk for me and my husband also knew. But, I also knew that this is who I am as a doctor.”
Dr. Macik feels strongly that healthcare should not be a source of physical or financial stress. Earlier this year she partnered with another entrepreneur to establish a pharmacy program to help her patients receive prescription medication at wholesale prices. “I have a patient who is a small business person. She just launched a business and her son developed a seizure disorder and the medication was so expensive that they literally could not afford it. We put them on the pharmacy program and now they’re only paying $47 per month for the medicine that was going to be right around $300 per month retail. So yeah, its life changing…”
At Uncommon Healthcare patients pay a monthly fee to receive high quality care tailored to each specific patient. Patients don’t go through insurance companies or hospital hierarchy. They are promised at least 30 minutes of personal questions and care each time they see Dr. Macik. Hospitals discourage their doctors from spending more than 10 minutes at a time with a single patient.
Dr. Macik makes herself available 24/7 through an after-hours phone number that allows patients to text pictures or Skype her if there’s an emergency. “I had a patient that had an abscess and she sent me pictures of it on my phone and those pictures dropped right into her chart so it’s all integrated. It prevented her from having to go to the emergency room because she was able to access me. We were off on Good Friday and I was kayak fishing with my son, and I was on my phone treating an abscess while we were kayak fishing because I can do that.”
Right now, Dr. Macik is living her dream. She has a loving and supportive family, she has started her own business, she is doing what she loves, and she’s succeeding in it. “It is still very stressful, but I know that if I stayed in the system it was never going to get better… this at least offers me the opportunity to ultimately have stability and to have satisfaction with what I am doing every day.” Success for Dr. Felicia Macik is not about cutting costs or maintaining a strict schedule, it’s about loving and serving her patients.
The entrepreneur… After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Tarleton State University with a BS in Biology, Dr. Felecia Macik attended medical school at the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth. She completed family medicine residency training at UTMB Conroe and then a women’s health fellowship at the University of Tennessee at Memphis. She previously served on the faculty of the Texas A&M Health Science Center and as the Assistant Program Director of Texas A&M’s Brazos Family Medicine residency training program. Dr. Macik has received numerous awards including being twice named Faculty of the Year and being honored with the Waco Tribune Herald’s Reader’s Choice Award for primary care physicians. She has a passion for patient care and has enjoyed serving the patients of this area for over 10 years. Uncommon Healthcare, 1000 State Hwy 6, Suite 100 Waco Texas 76712, 254-339-1360, www.uncommonhealthcare.com.
The writer…Kellie Fawcett graduated from Baylor in 2016 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing. She is from Brentwood, Tennessee. While at Baylor she participated in Baylor Buddies and Baylor women’s Lacrosse.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Anastasia Roberts
Life is such a beautiful anomaly. Three months ago I was blessed and honored to give birth to a little baby girl named Analee. She took my world and flipped it into a disarray…in the best way possible. After giving birth to Analee, I began to think a little more critically about the precious gift we call life.
For me, at one end of a spectrum life is a beautiful new born child and the other end an individual encountering death and contemplating afterlife. There are also all of the complexities, examinations, and enjoyment life has to offer in between. Along with engaging in the excitement of a new life, recently I have felt the sadness from the modern day strange fruit embedded in our nation of violent death.
The past few weeks, we have dealt with life ending through violence, anger, hate. These deaths make me question how life escapes us suddenly and why? Again, I began to evaluate life and this time I think about how I want to teach my daughter the value of a person’s life. This is somewhat of a cathartic process for me and hopefully will benefit my daughter in the long run.
As a Christian, I believe we have life in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (NIV, 2013). In my eyes, alone, being created from God, I choose to value life. Having the unique breath of life makes an individual worthy of love, care, compassion, justice, and freedom to live with others. Being made in God’s image, I believe we can live courageous lives. (Side note: Specifically, I am talking about human life.)
I would like for my daughter to have courage to believe all things are possible and that her value is beyond material possessions. Her value has no market price. She is a richness that is intrinsically found. Maybe my daughter will not have to see death as we have seen it recently in the news, but as a form of love in her life. She will love and refuse the enticing shallow means of living. She will actively live with all the people around her and deny and die to all inadequate means of viewing herself and others.
She will see humanity as a beautiful creation. She will love the skin she is in and the skin of others. How she values her life and that of another will affect the kind of neighbor she is, the community she will be involved in, and the type of advocate she will be. My daughter will know how to have an ABUNDANT LIFE. We are gifted as humanity to have a world filled with diverse groups of people. These diverse groups are in Waco, Texas, also. I believe I can start this journey with my daughter Waco by showing her different people and areas in Waco.
Go to the other side of town and enjoy! I want to surround her with different people groups, the rich and poor, and loved and unloved. I want to surround her with life. We decided the first church she would visit would be Church Under the Bridge. We wanted her to be surrounded by different types of people. I have also taken her to the Farmer’s Market, Downtown Waco, Cameron Park, Carver Park Baptist Church, Antioch, HEB, WALMART, community meetings at the Dewey, many more places, our neighbor’s house, and introduced her to the mail man.
Analee has precious jewels in her life like her father, Roy (her best male advocate), and all of our wonderful friends and family that pour endlessly into her life through wisdom and love. I think introducing her to all those who are around her and engaging with them, will allow her to feel safe and help her value others. I hope, we together, can teach our younger generation how to value and love each other in Waco, Texas. I believe it is our responsibility to love our children enough to target them and help them see the capacity they contain in valuing themselves and others. Waco has a wealth of people and places that help build up our younger generation and teach them how to embrace each other. Let us live Waco!
Anastasia Roberts is a native Houstonian that has lived in Waco since 2003. She is married with a newborn daughter. She works with Communities In Schools at La Vega High school.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By David Shleicher
Note: These were David Schleicher’s remarks for a graveside service for a relative that died an untimely death after years of struggling with bipolar illness. Names have been changed for the sake of privacy. These were first posted in TheContranym.com. – ABT
Even after a hundred thousand years, and knowing it happens to every single one of us, we are still not used to death.
On top of that, like few other things can, the death of children before their parents makes us feel like the universe is out of order, that chaos controls our fate, and that we dare not hope for a better future. I have lost a cousin under similar circumstances.
For Cindy’s service today, our mutual relative Rebecca told me she would not be here. You may not know this, but Rebecca is bi-polar. She said I could explain there was simply too much risk this would throw her into a depression.
For similar reasons I have requested that Michelle in my family, who also is bipolar, arrive just after the service. Or if she gets here while it is still going on, to stand where I cannot see her, because of the risk of my breaking down at the thought of her possibly coming to the same end.
Rebecca has described her own struggle to me as always having a little man in the back of her head, trying to persuade her that she is not loved, that the universe would be better off without her, and that there is only one way to end the pain.
In dark times, she says he is shouting this so loudly he is very difficult to disobey. In good times, he still says it, but she is able to tell him he is a liar and let him fade into the background.
In good times, there are few people more fun to be around than someone like Rebecca, Michelle, or Cindy. In bad times, the hybrid of depression and irritability drives others away when help is most needed.
We know enough now about neuroscience and the personal lives of the famous to be aware that it is often the most special among us that suffer from such conditions. Robin Williams comes to mind.
Looking through Cindy’s photo and memory album today, we were reminded of what a bright, beautiful, and shining light she was. I am passing around her physician father’s favorite photo of her: the very young Cindy examining her infant brother with a stethoscope.
She kept a note from a high school admirer who wrote, “Cindy—well you graduated. You think you’re bad and all. Well I’m here to tell you that you are…” Further down he added, “Even if you drop me like a football or even a baseball, I will always remember you. I reckon you are kinda hard to forget.”
Another page of mementos reminds us of her love for Gone with the Wind, of Godiva Chocolate, and an Eddie Money concert she attended while in high school.
We know these days that it is no surprise that in families that face such difficulties as we face today, one also might find a gifted opera singer (like him over there). Or an over-achieving medical researcher (like him there).
Cindy was accomplished whether on the tennis court, running cross country, or in the classroom as a member of the National Honor Society. Artistic and creative, she was rarely in need of inspiration for her designs and watercolor and acrylic creations. When she wore shoes from two different pairs at the same time, she would leave others wondering what new trend they were missing out on rather than if she knew what she was doing. Whether as a high school homecoming queen nominee or as a TriDelt at her alma mater, others were drawn to her sparkle.
It is a shared belief among most religions that humans are not up to the job, that left to our own devices we are broken, imperfect, and inadequate. In the lyrics of American saint Willie Nelson, “I may not be normal, but nobody is.” It is no coincidence that we live in political climate in which the only thing we all still agree on is that the other side’s candidate is incompetent, a moral failure, and far too irrational to lead us.
No matter how much brokenness and loss we see around us, the loss of life in today’s circumstances can make for a poison that is toxic to our happiness, mixing feelings of grief, guilt, anger, shame, relief for the end of another’s suffering, guilt for feeling relief, and incessant voices in our heads demanding to know “Why didn’t you…”, “What if we had…”, “If only someone…”, and “Why me…why us…why her?”
There is nothing that can be undone and life is just unfair enough that even if everything everyone’s brain is saying could have been done differently actually had been done differently, we very well could be here at this same place, this same day, or perhaps even have been here years earlier.
We cannot go back. The little man in our head that would try to take us backward to re-live, to ask what if, and why not–he is a liar and has no solutions or answers to offer. It’s ok to tell him to shut up.
What about God? Those who give God credit for all the good in their lives at times like these naturally may blame God for the heartache as well. Whether one follows the God of the Old Testament–who still considered David his favorite in spite of their arguments–or the God of the New Testament who withstood Jesus’ doubts and second-guessing in the Garden of Gethsemane, your God can take it.
You would not be the first to question, to doubt, even to curse God, and certainly not the last. Millions have before and millions will in the future, without any likelihood that God is surprised that people in loss are so angry and without any risk that God is going to run away to avoid having to hear it.
Others who do not view the world through the lens of a Creator God may be equally disenchanted and disheartened, but have no direction in which to channel their anger. They may despair that “it is what it is.” That there is no better way, no better place, no room for grace…
As we grieve the loss of Cindy today, look around. Someone else here may be the next person taken from us sooner than we planned, sooner than expected, before we have had time to say the healing things we wanted to say, to put petty slights behind us and move forward.
In the end–whether a believer, agnostic, or atheist–it is all we really can do: look forward. Taking with us the memories that are happy, but leaving in this place all second-guessing. Whether of ourselves or others.
When the little man in our head begs us to follow him back down the perilous path of what might have been, tell him simply, “It is finished.”
Our time on this planet is a limited one and it grows more limited by the minute.
As British saints Paul and John cautioned us in their lyrics, “Life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friend.” All we can do and what we must do is channel our grief, our anger, and all the other emotions, into creating more love among those that remain.
Find a friend or family member with whom we nurse some grudge or bear some resentment, or whose Facebook posts drive us absolutely insane, and nonetheless choose to love them and be loved by them. In all our glorious imperfection.
It drives that despicable little man in our head absolutely crazy. Which is ok.
The 46th Psalm:
God is our hope and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof rage and swell, and though the mountains shake at the tempest of the same.
There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most Highest. God is in the midst of her, therefore shall she not be removed; God shall help her, and that right early.
Be still then, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
LET US PRAY:
GOD, whose days are without end, we are reminded of the shortness and uncertainty of life, deeply grieved by the loss of dear, precious Cindy.
We are angry that we have lost her so soon, at how much she suffered, and fear we will be forever scarred by our helplessness in the face of it all.
Grant us and Cindy that peace and rest that so often has escaped us. Rescue us from the might-have-beens, the should haves, and what ifs that threaten to entangle us and keep us drowned in grief.
Give us the strength to tell that detestable naysayer in the back of our brains to sit down and shut up.
Perhaps most difficult of all, we ask your assistance in turning our swords into plowshares, in fashioning grief that is a lump of coal, or worse, into a diamond–of greater love and friendship for those of us who remain.
Give us the humility and strength to embrace those around us with all the faults we know all too well they have, in the hope that friends and family can likewise hold their noses and embrace us in spite of what failed, unreliable, quirky, and impatient creatures they know us to be.
God of mercies and giver of comfort: deal graciously, we pray, with all those who mourn, that casting every care on you, they may know the consolation of your love.
Show us light in this great darkness, lead us to hope though we may swear that none exists, and grant us the peace that passes understanding that we may share it with others suffering around us.
Amen.
David Schleicher is an attorney who lives in Waco.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.