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COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL April 8, 2015 PeaceHealth adds CG foot clinic Looking Glass battles youth homelessness BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel F C ottage Grove residents are often understand- ably appreciative of the convenience of access- ing goods and services in this community rather than making the drive northward. Such thinking was be- hind the recent establishment of a foot care clinic at PeaceHealth Community Medical Center in Cottage Grove, according to Patient Care Executive Marsha Crosswhite. “Many of our patients would have previously ac- cessed these services at the Barger Medical Building in Eugene,” Crosswhite said. “We’re thrilled to offer them here one day a week.” The hospital held an open house to introduce the public to the new foot clinic on Tuesday, March 31, with last Thursday as the clinic’s fi rst day of opera- tions. Visitors toured a room that had previously been used to develop X-ray fi lm but will now be used to provide basic foot care, with a dremel tool and vacu- um on hand to help reduce the thickness of nails and calluses. “These are things that you and I might be able to do ourselves,” Crosswhite said. “But for people with diabetes, atherosclerosis or fungal nails it can be very photo by Jon Stinnett diffi cult, especially if there’s pain involved. There are Heather Lyda and Rick Settelmeyer demonstrate the use of a lot of people who need foot care that are not quite as the foot clinic's new dremel tool. mobile and fi nd it diffi cult.” Habitat ReStore taking off, expanding hours BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel C ottage Grove Area Habitat for Humanity has branched out into a line of business that’s common among the organization’s larger affi liates, and to hear Habitat’s executive direc- tor tell it, business has been booming. “A lot of larger Habitat affi liates have a retail store- front,” Director Linda Oxley said. “They feature donations of gently used items with a focus on building supplies photo by Jon Stinnett and household items.” The Habitat ReStore has Habitat Executive Director Linda Oxley shows off the been open for about a year merchandise available at Habitat's ReStore. and a half and has been grow- “We were told that, once crazy. We had to essentially ing ever since. It currently oc- you start a ReStore, you take everything out to sort and cupies space in the Cottage quickly outgrow it, and that’s price it and put it right back Grove Industrial Park, space exactly what happened,” Ox- in.” that also doubles as Habitat’s ley said. “At fi rst, we were Business hours two days a local offi ce. open once a month, but it was week followed, though now Find Local Businesses. ,QWURGXFLQJWKHQHZHVWZD\WR´QGWKH Find Local Businesses. businesses that mean the most to you. ,QWURGXFLQJWKHQHZHVWZD\WR´QGWKH businesses that mean the most to you. www.shoppelocal.biz www.shoppelocal.biz Find GREAT MONEY SAVING COUPONS from local businesses the ReStore has made another leap and is open fi ve days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Volunteers staff the store, and the proceeds benefi t Habitat’s mission of providing stable housing for those who might not afford it otherwise. “The ReStores help sustain the business of the affi liate so that more money can go directly into programming,” Oxley said. “Our prices are comparable with other Re- Stores; we price things at about 40 cents on the dollar.” Oxley said the biggest chal- lenge with the ReStore so far has been getting the word out to the community that the store is tucked away in the back of the Industrial Park. Habitat will have a presence at this weekend’s Home Show and will host a sale from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday with that goal in mind. or the past 45 years, Looking Glass Youth and Family Ser- vices has sought to provide sanctuary for distressed youth in Lane County. Presently, organization offi cials are very concerned about the increasing prevalence of methamphetamines, heroin and sex traffi cking in rural communities, and they are seeking more volunteers for its rural host program to shelter more youth from these ills. “It is diffi cult to collect data on these issues, but we know that they are trending upward,” said Services Director Kirstin London. “They represent the hidden facet of a com- munity, and an alarming number of these situations that involve youth start in the home or on the Internet.” The Looking Glass Rural Pro- gram assists youth, ages 11-18, who are homeless, have run away or are at risk for homelessness and are in- terested in long-term situations to improve the quality of their lives. Its services include 24-hour crisis inter- vention, case management, tempo- rary shelter, education and counsel- ing. The program was brought to Cot- tage Grove in 2008. Last year, the or- ganization served 80 youth in South Lane County, including 47 who re- quired intensive case management. London said that most cases be- gin with confl ict in the home over substance abuse, mental health or fi nances. She said that there are no laws in Oregon that restrict a parent or guardian from kicking their chil- dren out of a home, so long as they provide them with some sort of shel- ter; a car, shed or even a tent could meet this provision. “We want to be the place where youth can turn to in an emergency,” said London, who has worked with the organization for over 10 years. There are currently just two beds in Cottage Grove’s rural host network, which are homes that provide shelter and basic needs to youth in crisis for 1-21 nights. London said she would like to have fi ve beds available every night, and that some of the obstacles to growing the program lay in mis- conceptions. “Many people believe that to be a host you need to be available 365 days a year, and that’s not the case. If a host is going on vacation or just isn’t available, we’ll take them out of the rotation. Many people also believe that hosts are case managers, and that’s not the case either. Hosts provide the basic needs, and they work with the staff in Cottage Grove to coordinate the other services,” London explained. London said that the South Lane Rural subcommittee, which she chairs, has picked up on signifi cant anecdotal evidence that suggests in- creasing methamphetamines, heroin and sex traffi cking are fi nding foot- holds in rural communities. In September, Looking Glass held an informational session at the Cot- tage Grove Community Center on sex traffi cking. London said 40 peo- ple – including community members and services providers — attended this event, and that she received pos- itive feedback from those guests. “It can be challenging to start that conversation because these are is- sues that carry a stigma and are often labeled as urban problems,” she said. “But there is a great need for educa- tion in rural communities, not only about the available programs, but on why youth run away from home, and what to do when you suspect a young person is in trouble.” Tree planting scheduled Cottage Grove's Urban Forestry Committee has announced that it will host a tree-planting starting at Bohemia Park this Saturday, April 11 beginning at 10 a.m. After trees are planted at Bohemia Park, the Committee plans to move to nearby Trailhead Park to continue plant- ing there. The Committee's Wayne Kleckner said six trees and about 50 smaller ones are due to be planted, with many set to replace trees lost to recent vandalism. Volunteers who wish to help plant trees are asked to bring shovels and gloves if possible. Those seeking more information can reach Kleck- ner at 541-942-7337. When serious illness or injury occur, our complete Emergency Department is ready. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Cottage Grove Community Hospital Emergency Department offers exceptional emergency care close to home. With state-of-the-art monitoring, imaging and digital technology, specially trained physicians, RNs and EMTs, and unmatched commitment to our community, we care for every body. Every day. In every way. peacehealth.org/cottage-grove Cottage Grove Sentinel Shoppe™ is a trademark of News Media Corp. 3A 1SJNBSZ$BSFt*NBHJOH4FSWJDFTt1IZTJDBM5IFSBQZt&NFSHFODZ 0VUQBUJFOU.FEJDBM.BOBHFNFOUt%JHJUBM.BNNPHSBQIZ $PUUBHF(SPWF$PNNVOJUZ.FEJDBM$FOUFS 7JMMBHF%SJWF$PUUBHF(SPWFt
