Category Archives: Hot Topics
#BlackLivesMatter
Below is a list of some of the #BlackLivesMatter resources in our collection. This selection includes both fiction and non-fiction for adults, teens, and children. Clicking on the title will link you to the book in the WPCL online catalog. It is not a comprehensive list, a search of “race,” “diversity,” and/or “inclusion” in our library catalog will return other titles – along with ebooks, audio books, and DVDs in the same subject area.
by Howard Bryant
Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation
by Latasha Morrison
Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race
by Thomas Chatterton Williams
Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do
by Jennifer L. Eberhardt
Some of My Friends Are…: The Daunting Challenges and Untapped Benefits of Cross-Racial Friendships
by Deborah Plummer
It Was All a Dream: A New Generation Confronts the Broken Promise to Black America
by Reniqua Allen
The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in America’s Law Enforcement
by Matthew Horace
White Fragility: Why it’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism
by Robin Diangelo
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of our Racial Divide
by Carol Anderson
Backlash: What happens When We Talk Honestly about Racism in America
by George Yancy
So You Want to Talk About Race
by Ijeoma Oluo
Skin Deep: Black Women and White Women Write About Race
by Marita Golden
by Frank Wilderson III
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
by Michelle Alexander
A Long Dark Night: Race in America From Jim Crow to World by War II
by J. Michael Martin
Black Software: the Internet and Racial Justice, from the Afronet to Black Lives Matter
by Charlton D. McIlwain
Losing Power: African Americans and Racial Polarization in Tennessee Politics
by Sedou M. Franklin and Ray Block Jr.
The Black Cabinet: the Untold Story of African Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt
by Jill Watts
Remembering the Memphis Massacre: an American Story
edited by Beverly Greene Bond and Susan Eva O’Donovan
CHILDRENS TITLES
by Torrey Maldonado
We are the Change: Words of Inspiration from Civil Rights Leaders
with an introduction by Harry Belafonte
Not My Idea: A Book about Whiteness
by Anastasia Higginbotham
by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, A Young Civil Rights Activist
by Cynthia Levinson
by Julius Lester
The Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality
by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy
by Brandy Colbert
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices
by Wade Hudson
by Parker Jewell Rhodes
by Nic Stone
by Karyn Parsons
Who We Are!: All about Being the Same and Being Different
by Robie H. Harris
by Varian Johnson
Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship
by Irene Latham
by Jerry Craft
by Alicia D. Williams
by Sharon M. Draper
You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!
Alex Gino
by Alexandra Penfold
I Walk with Vanessa: A Story about a Simple Act of Kindness
by Kerascoet
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
by Lynne Sarah Reul
March Forward Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine
by Pattillo Melba Beals
Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow
by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
YOUNG ADULT TITLES
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
by Jason Reynolds
This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up
by Tiffany Jewell
March: (graphic novel collection) Book One, Book Two, Book Three
By John Lewis
Getting Away With Murder: True Story of the Emmett Till Case
by Chris Crowe
by Angie Thomas
by Jay Coles
by Jason Reynolds
by Robin Talley
by Walter Dean Myers
by Nic Stone
by Renee Watson
by Shannon Gibney
Celebrate Juneteenth Today!
What is Juneteenth?
It was June 19th, 1865 (two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had legally freed slaves on January 1, 1863) that Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of the Civil War and slavery. Slave owners had withheld that information from slaves to be able to get another harvest out of them. Granger’s General Order Number Three left no doubt about the fact:
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absoluteequality of personal rights and rights of property, between former masters andslaves and the connection heretofore existing between them, becomes thatbetween employer and hired labor. The Freedmen are advised to remain attheir present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will notbe allowed to collect at military posts; and they will not be supported in idlenesseither there or elsewhere.
Juneteenth is a day of commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, it is often referred to as the Black Independence Day. It is recognized as a state holiday or observance in forty-seven states and the District of Columbia. Although the push to have it named as a Federal holiday has not been successful, the last four U. S. Presidents have made remarks about its observance. Over the course of 155 years, Juneteenth has become a global event.
Observances are usually community events, including parades, cookouts, picnics, festivals, marches, and prayer vigils. Given the current protests concerning the systemic racism that permeates our American culture – with the focus on police brutality and a biased criminal justice system, June 19th or Juneteenth takes on special significance. This day is to recognize African American freedom and achievement and take the time to promote and cultivate our appreciation of the diversity of cultures. In recent years, the celebrations have been global, as the sacrifices to achieve freedom are still ongoing.
The state of Tennessee passed legislation in 2007 (Tenn. Code Ann. §15-2-113 (2007) to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday.
In Multnamah County in Oregon, June 19th is now a paid holiday.
~DD
Additional Resources:
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44865.pdf
https://www.juneteenth.com/history.htm
Juneteeth Books in WCPL Collection
Children’s Fiction and Nonfiction
Juneteenth, Jubilee for Freedom
Juneteenth for Mazieby Floyd Cooper
Freedom’s Giftsby Valerie Wesley
Traditional African American Arts and Activitiesby Sonya Kimble-Ellis
Adult Fiction and Nonfiction
Go Tell It On the Mountain
by James BaldwinGo Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
Several editions available here, here, and here in print, a children’s version, and a film adaptation. Also available as an ebook or audiobook on Tennessee R.E.A.D.S.
Juneteenth: a novel
by Ralph EllisonJuneteenth: A Novel by Ralph Ellison
Available on Tennessee R.E.A.D.S. as a digital ebook or audiobook.
General Gordon Granger: the savior of Chickamauga and the man behind “Juneteenth”
by Robert ConnerGeneral Gordon Granger: The Savior of Chickamauga and the Man Behind “Juneteenth” by Robert Conner available online as an ebook.
Covid-19 and Tips for Caregivers
For those living with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia and their caregivers, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique challenge. Many Tennesseans are currently not able to visit their loved ones living in memory care facilities and family caregivers with loved ones in the home may feel more isolated than ever before.
The Alzheimer’s Association stands ready to help families in the Williamson County community, and statewide, who are impacted. In addition to advocating for vital public policies to protect long-term care residents and workers, the Alzheimer’s Association has also released guidelines and tips to support Tennesseans through this crisis.
If you’re a family caregiver for someone living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, these tips can help you and your loved one stay healthy:
- For people living with dementia, increased confusion is often the first symptom of any illness. If a person living with dementia shows rapidly increased confusion, contact your health care provider for advice. Unless the person is having difficulty breathing or a very high fever, it is recommended that you call your healthcare provider instead of going directly to an emergency room. Your doctor may be able to treat the person without a visit to the hospital.
- People living with dementia may need extra and/or written reminders and support to remember important hygienic practices from one day to the next.
- Consider placing signs in the bathroom and elsewhere to remind people with dementia to wash their hands with soap for 20 seconds.
- Demonstrate thorough hand-washing.
- Alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol can be a quick alternative to hand-washing if the person with dementia cannot get to a sink or wash his/her hands easily.
- Ask your pharmacist or doctor about filling prescriptions for a greater number of days to reduce trips to the pharmacy.
- Think ahead and make alternative plans for the person with dementia should adult day care, respite, etc. be modified or cancelled in response to COVID-19.
- Think ahead and make alternative plans for care management if the primary caregiver should become sick.
If you or a loved one are living in a residential care facility, the Association recommends the following:
- Check with the facility regarding their procedures for managing COVID-19 risk. Ensure they have your emergency contact information and the information of another family member or friend as a backup.
- Do not visit your family member if you have any signs or symptoms of illness.
- Depending on the situation in your local area, facilities may limit or not allow visitors. This is to protect the residents but it can be difficult if you are unable to see your family member.
- If visitation is not allowed, ask the facility how you can have contact with your family member. Options include telephone calls, video chats or even emails to check in.
- If your family member is unable to engage in calls or video chats, ask the facility how you can keep in touch with facility staff in order to get updates.
Additionally, the Alzheimer’s Association has shifted their educational and support programming to a virtual format, including recurring programs in partnership with the library. You can find a full schedule of those programs here.
And finally, remember you are not alone. The Alzheimer’s Association offers a free, 24/7 Helpline where you can reach a master-level clinician for support or advice. Call 800-272-3900 to get connected.
About Racism
The Women’s March
The March against Gun Violence
The MeToo Movement
The Climate Change Movement
Corona Virus Pandemic
Black Lives Matter
All of this has been brought to the forefront of our collective consciousness in the last three and a half years. And always, betwixt and between, acts of racism, the images of brutality by both police and civilians interspersed with all these other subjects of community concern. But this racism, by far, is the ugliest; the violence we see against Black and Brown people on our news casts and news feeds is the result of systemic, inherent racism that has been a part of the American experiment for over 400 years.
On the American Public Health Association’s website, racism is defined as such: “ (r)acism is a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on the social interpretation of how one looks (which is what we call “race”), that unfairly disadvantages some individuals and communities, unfairly advantages other individuals and communities, and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources.” — APHA Past-President Camara Phyllis Jones, MD, MPH, PhD
https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/health-equity/racism-and-health
‘Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, like we do!’
Admonishments that imply laziness and idleness – what if you have no bootstraps? What if your bootstraps were removed long before your birth? Your parents have none, and they are rare in your community. Equal opportunity becomes a myth.
Betty Before X
by Ilyasah Shabazz
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, we must recognize that children raised in African American, Hispanic, and American Indian homes face higher risks of parental unemployment and to reside in families with significantly lower household net income relative to white children in the United States, which create barriers to equal opportunities and services designed for health and vocational results . “The social environment in which children are raised shapes child and adolescent development, and pediatricians are poised to prevent and respond to environmental circumstances that undermine child health.”
“Racism is a public health issue. The AAP condemns violence, especially when perpetrated by authorities, and calls for a deep examination of how to improve the role of policing. Systemic violence requires systemic response.”
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/144/2/e20191765.full.pdf
Count Me In
by Varsha Bajaj
From Timothy Peoples at Baptist News:
“I had a flashback to first grade, to the first time my mother gave me The Talk. Every black mother has given this talk to her son; it’s pretty much universal in black households in the United States. It begins – at least in my experience and in that of others in my family – with the mother discerning whether her son is ready for this news because she knows this just might shatter his world.
“My mother got down on my level, kissed me on the cheek and with tears in her eyes said, “Baby, you are a black boy in a white man’s world.” She was very intentional about her choice of words: boy versus man.”
There is a stressor inherent in living with Black or Brown skin that is unique; just living with the stressor causes health inequities – no matter if the exposure to police violence was personal or not. Just waiting for that hammer to drop, anywhere, anytime.
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices
edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson
From the American Medical Association:
“Research demonstrates that racially marginalized communities are disproportionally subject to police force, and there is a correlation between policing and adverse health outcomes.”
The higher frequency of police encounters is linked to elevated stress and anxiety levels, along with increased rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, and asthma—and their fatal complications.
It is widely understood in medicine and public health that structural racism manifests in unequal access to opportunities, resources, conditions, and power within their respective systems.
“AMA policy recognizes that physical or verbal violence between law enforcement officers and the public, particularly among Black and Brown communities where these incidents are more prevalent and pervasive, is a critical determinant of health and supports research into the public health consequences of these violent interactions.”
https://www.ama-assn.org/about/leadership/police-brutality-must-stop
Where Are You From?
by Yamile Saied Menendez
In an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes, in part:
“Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands. But we have to stay vigilant, because it’s always still in the air.”
How do we all care, support, and work with each other and our community to disrupt the racism in our culture eliminating health and wealth disparities, institutional racism, and inherent racial bias? What role can our libraries play to help our communities heal, grow, and develop? We ensure information and enhance learning, for all. We stand with the members of our communities that face prejudice, violence, and death, based on their race/ethnicity or gender. These acts degrade our institutions and destroys our communities.
The American Library Association unequivocally condemns racism and endorses recent statements by the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (PDF).
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/diversity/libraries-respond
President Barack Obama writes on Medium and published on his own website:
Not My Idea: a book about whiteness
by Anastasia Higgenbotham
How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change
“Let’s not excuse violence, or rationalize it, or participate in it. If we want our criminal justice system, and American society at large, to operate on a higher ethical code, then we have to model that code ourselves,” former President Barack Obama wrote.
“The bottom line is this: if we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform.”
New Era of Public Safety: An Advocacy Toolkit for Fair, Safe, and Effective Community Policing
An initiative of the Policing Campaign at the Leadership Conference Education Fund, the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
https://www.obama.org/wp-content/uploads/Toolkit.pdf
The Tipping Point
by Malcolm Gladwell
In Malcom Gladwell’s The Tipping Point (a very appropriate read at this time, on so many levels), he borrows the phrase Tipping Point from epidemiology (the study of epidemics) to describe the moment an idea or a social movement has reached critical mass – the right number of people, with the right message, in the right context. He writes that we intuitively think that the transactions going into relationships or systems are linear, a product of cause and effect (one for one, two for two, etc.), “(t)o appreciate the power of [social] epidemics, we have to abandon this expectation of proportionality. We need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that sometimes big changes follow from small events, and changes can happen quickly.”
We can only hope so.
Put The Tipping point by Malcolm Gladwell on hold here, and keep an eye on our recommended summer reading lists for more inclusive and educational literature selections.
Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Abacus, 2015.
For further reading, see our books addressing racism and discrimination in our Children’s Collection at Williamson County Public Library:
Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz ; with Renée Watson
Count Me In: A Novel by Varsha Bajaj
Not My Idea : A Book About Whiteness written and illustrated by Anastasia Higginbotham
Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Méndez ; illustrated by Jaime Kim
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson
~DD, Reference
Kicking off June: History of Pride Month
Webster’s Dictionary defines pride as “the quality or state of being proud: such as a reasonable or justifiable self-respect,” and Wikipedia articulates pride as having a feeling of being good or worthy.
The month of June is filled with Gay Pride celebrations, festivals, and parades that commemorate all the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people that have been discriminated against because of sexuality and/or gender.
The parades are the result of Gay Activists Alliance and Gay Liberation Front marches in the late 1960’s that were a precursor to the Stonewall riots. The Stonewall Inn was an illegal gay bar in the Greenwich Village part of Manhattan, NY; it was run by the mafia to give the New York City’s gay population a place to mingle and associate, which, prior to 1970, was illegal in the United States. The Stonewall was raided on the evening of June 28, 1969 by the New York City police, starting a riot that lasted for days. It was the cumulation of constant discrimination, inequality, and intolerance.
Marsha P. Johnson was an American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen. Known as an outspoken advocate for gay rights, Johnson was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969.
Although there had been peaceful Gay Alliance Marches in Washington DC during the 1950’s and 1960’s, it seemed that it took this single act of revolt and violence to get the Gay Rights activism ball rolling. A march was planned for the following June 28, to commemorate the riots, by scattered gay activist communities in New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco; by the next year, 1971, the marches were international.
The “Gay Liberation” or “Gay Freedom” marches evolved into the Gay Pride Parade. The word ‘pride’ was used to soften the movement from ‘liberation’ and ‘freedom’ and was indicated to promote the philosophy asserting that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
Although there have recently been some “Straight Pride” attempts to promote heterosexuality, the distinction becomes moot without a long history of inequality and discrimination based on heterosexuality.
June also is the month that is celebrated for the landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down all state bans against same sex marriage, on the basis that marriage is a fundamental right guaranteed by both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. After a rocky history during the second half of the twentieth century, ultimately by 2010, with over 70 percent of the U.S. population in agreement, June 26, 2015 was the day same sex marriage became legal in all fifty states. This allows lesbian and gay couples equal benefits of marriage which include social security and veterans’ benefits, health insurance, Medicaid, hospital visitation, estate taxes, retirement savings, pensions, family leave, and immigration law.
~Dori
For more information about these topics, consider the following sources:
https://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4182201
https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots
https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/resources/commemorations/gay-lesbian-pride-month/
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trump-recognizes-lgbtq-pride-month-first-time-n1012611
COVID-19 Drive-through Testing Continues in Williamson County
Franklin, Tenn. – The Williamson County Health Department (WCHD) is continuing to offer free COVID-19 drive-through testing and mask distribution for the community on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Williamson County Agricultural Center located at 4215 Long Lane, Franklin TN.
Public health nurses and/or National Guard and State Guard medics will collect nasal swabs for those who want to be tested, and test results may be available within 72 hours after the samples arrive at the lab, depending on lab volume. Individuals do not have to present symptoms to be tested. Masks will continue to be distributed while supplies last.
In an effort to plan for potentially high testing turnout, large businesses recommending their employees be tested are encouraged to call the Williamson County Public Information line at (615) 595-4880. The line is operational Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Businesses are asked to provide an approximate number of employees that desire to receive a test.
WCHD would like to remind the community to follow CDC guidelines by physically distancing and wearing a mask while in public settings. Businesses should continue to follow Governor Lee’s Tennessee Pledge Guidelines which can be found here: https://www.tn.gov/governor/covid-19/economic-recovery.html
For developing information, individuals can subscribe to the Williamson County’s Public Information text opt-in system by texting keyword WCCOVID to 888-777.
TDH is posting updated COVID-19 case numbers by 2 p.m. CDT each day at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html. Find additional information at www.tn.gov/governor/covid-19.html and www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
###
Visit the Williamson County Emergency Management COVID-19 page online at williamsonready.org/Coronavirus.
World Press Freedom Day
May 3rd is World Press Freedom Day; a day designated by the United Nations to recognize and celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom. This year’s conference originally scheduled the last weekend in April at the World Forum in The Hague has been postponed until October, in the same location.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), headquartered in Paris, is launching the 2020 global campaign on media and social media channels focusing on Journalism without Fear or Favour with special emphasis on:
- Safety of Woman and Men Journalists and Media Workers
- Independent and Professional Journalism free from Political and Commercial Influence
- Gender Equality in All Aspects of the Media
Proclaimed in December 1993 by the UN General Assembly, World Press Freedom Day acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to freedom of the press. It is also a day for media professionals to reflect about current issues surrounding press freedom and professional ethics.
The stated purpose of the World Press Freedom Day is to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, assess the state of press freedom throughout the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence, and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
World Press Freedom Day was chosen to highlight freedom of expression as a fundamental human right. As agreed by the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, Article 19 says “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Access to information and media freedom contribute to human empowerment, which in turn helps people gain control over their lives and their communities. These are achieved through access to fair, accurate, and unbiased information, representing many opinions. The ability to have unfettered access to information and to relay it throughout their community allows active collective participation. These freedoms must be protected by rule of law and the populace must be educated in the information literacy that supports civic engagement by the citizens of all countries allowed into the United Nations.
https://www.un.org/en/observances/press-freedom-day
Book available at WCPL:
War on words: who should protect journalists? by Joanne M. Lisosky and Jennifer R. Henrichsen (323.445 LIS)
~DD
Book Review: Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
To be able to understand the possible genetics that could result in schizophrenia and psychosis; to pinpoint the gene or genes that are damaged or missing, alone or in concert – that is what the Galvin family can offer.
In biographical form, Kolker narrates the history of the Galvins beginning with the childhoods of Mimi and Don Galvin, their meeting, romance, marriage, and family that resulted in twelve children over the course of twenty years. In a post war society of competition, the Galvins were successful in the number of children they were able to produce, but why or how did six of their sons end up with a schizophrenic diagnosis? Kolker weaves the Galvin’s history with the nineteenth and twentieth century’s progression of mental health diagnosis and treatment, and how the Galvin family crossed paths with the National Institutes of Mental Health. The nature versus nurture argument looms large – was the extremely high number of schizophrenic children (6 of 12) a result of flawed genetics or a result of a strict mother yet violent “boys will be boys,” outbursts and shocking abuse? Hats off to the Galvin family for their candid story – it could not have been an easy journey.
With most of the Galvin family members donating samples of their DNA to the study of mental illness, they have joined other families with multiple members exhibiting symptoms of mental psychosis to help detect abnormal or predeterminate genes. These genetic studies have gone on for decades – these families’ genetic contributions have been an invaluable tool in understanding the evolution of mental illness.
I read this book because it landed at the top of the New York Times Bestseller List for nonfiction; it sounded interesting. It read like a novel; I was able to finish it over a weekend. It was engaging and, on some level, horrific. At times it was like a train wreck, I was unable to look away, and on the way, I learned a lot.
I will be adding Kolker’s 2013 book, Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery to my reading list.
~DD
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
May has been observed as Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States since 1949 to reach people through various media, local events, and available resources and screenings. Mental health is something we all should care about. While 1 in 5 will be directly affected by mental illness during their lifetime, we all face challenges, especially now, that impacts our mental health. Mental Health America provides tools for all segments of our society to help care for ourselves and each other.#breakthestigma allows us to share our stories and connect with others
https://mhanational.org/staying-mentally-healthy
During May the National Alliance of Mental Health joins the medical community to raise mental health awareness – fighting stigma, providing support, educating the public, and advocating for policies to assist those with mental illness and their families.
Using the #NotAlone hashtag, personal stories can be shared, increasing awareness and building connections with digital tools – especially during this climate of physical distancing.
There is ALWAYS a community, you are not alone!
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Never forget the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) is ALWAYS available to ANYONE. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Locally, Find Hope Franklin, offers a starting point for finding multiple resources easily anytime. Find Hope Franklin is a byproduct of City of Franklin’s Mayor Ken Moore’s Blue Ribbon Task Force. It was formed in 2019 to address mental health and substance use issues in Franklin and Williamson County.
On the website, there is a link at the top of the home page to “find help now” for those in immediate crisis. This provides multiple 24/7 crisis phone and text lines.
Source: https://www.franklintn.gov/Home/Components/News/News/9709/1354
~DD
COVID-19 DRIVE-THROUGH TESTING EVENT SCHEDULED FOR WILLIAMSON COUNTY SATURDAY, APRIL 25TH
Franklin, Tenn. – The Williamson County Health Department (WCHD) is hosting COVID-19 drive-through testing event for the community on April 25, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Williamson County Agricultural Center on 4215 Long Lane, Franklin TN.
“Anyone with health concerns, or who has concerns about the health of a family member, is invited to come this weekend to receive testing for COVID-19,” said Cathy Montgomery, County Health Director. “This testing will be provided at no cost to participants, and those who come for testing may remain in their vehicles throughout the process.”
WCHD continues to provide testing Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Agricultural Center. Public health nurses and/or National Guard and State Guard medics will collect nasal swabs from those who want to be tested, and test results may be available within 72 hours after the samples arrive at the lab, depending on lab volume.
Individuals can subscribe to the Williamson County’s Public Information text opt-in system by texting keyword WCCOVID to 888-777.
TDH is posting updated COVID-19 case numbers by 2 p.m. CDT each day at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html. Find additional information at www.tn.gov/governor/covid-19.html and www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
###
Visit the Williamson County Emergency Management COVID-19 page online at williamsonready.org/Coronavirus.
Connect with WCEMA on Facebook and Twitter
