BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – Change in Our World, Freedom Ministries, New Hope Counseling, and Family Connection received four substance abuse grants at the August 2020 Union County Commission Meeting.

Five local organizations applied for the grant, and an independent committee selected the four winners. The members of the committee are anonymous. The commissioner had zero input on who received funds. These grants began in 2010 after the passage of the alcohol referendum.

“I make the commitment to set aside $50,00 each year from alcohol license fees and tax receipts to put back into the community for the purpose of helping to combat the alcohol and drug abuse problems that already exist in Union County,” said Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris.

The county distributes half of the assets in the form of grants to organizations that applied for the funds.
Change in Our World, founded by Rebecca Brendle in 2015, is a suicide prevention organization that helps young people navigate their teenage years. The organization offers several outreach initiatives throughout the year and provides teenagers with a meeting facility at the Change in Our World office. Recently, Brendle purchased Blairsville’s Ice Cream and Mini Golf as another area for Change kids to volunteer. She hopes it will be open almost all year round to provide young people with a fun place to go.

“A lot of this has to do with prevention work because their families are bad situations for them, so they can either repeat the pattern or come out of that pattern,” explained Brendle. “We’re a faith-based organization, so we’re not necessarily a part of the school. It’s a lot of word of mouth on how they come to us.

Freedom Ministries in North Georgia provides addiction counseling for almost 15 years. The faith-based program has classes for men and women. It also has the Freedom House for men in the area who don’t have a safe place to stay.

“Right now, with all this going on, our alcohol and opioid addiction is spiraling out of control. It’s just climbing. We thank everybody in the county for supporting us,” said James Spiva.

L to R: Family Connection Katy Jones, New Hope Counseling Troy Beaver, Freedom Ministries James Spiva, Change in Our World Rebecca Brendle

Established in 20015, New Hope Counseling is an accredited alcohol and drug treatment program as well as DUI school. Out of 2,300 to 3,000 clinical evaluations, 40 and 50 percent of people are in treatment, and 20 and 30 percent are in recovery. Since 2008, New Hope Counseling has struggled to keep the doors open due to the non-renewal of the federal grant it received in 2005.

New Hope Counseling Representative Troy Beaver enlightened the room about the difficulties of prevention measurement:

“It’s extremely difficult to measure prevention, I can’t tell you how many cases of the coronavirus were prevented because you’re wearing a mask…I can’t tell you how many of your lawnmowers or chainsaws or weed eaters weren’t stolen last night because someone received treatment at New Hope…but I could fill this room with individuals that will give testimonials about how New Hope Counseling through their work and our supportive treatment are now productive, tax-paying members of our community.”

Family Connection, founded in 1998, works with children to ensure a child’s success and instill productive habits that they will carry into adulthood. The program has paid out over $25,700 emergency funds to families in need. The Goodies from the Heart and Panthers’ Pantry worked to deliver weekly meals to 60 families who lacked transportation during the COVID-19 shutdown. Over 400 students participated in the Backpack to School Bash, which removed the financial stress of back-to-school shopping for those families.

“There’s a Family Connection in every county. It might look a little bit different. In Union County, since the beginning, we have realized how to prevent poverty and break that cycle is to get a good education. We work in the school, that’s where our clients are…Our main goal is to make sure that all children in Union County grow up to be successful, contributing members of their community,” said Family Connection Coordinator Katy Jones.

The non-profit also creates positivity polls to inform students that their peers aren’t all drinking alcohol or using drugs. The number might be much smaller than they realize.

“In this time of such tremendous problems, nationwide with the opioid crisis, it’s nice to know that we have these non-profit organizations spending their time and effort in Union County,” stated Paris.

https://youtu.be/bnXjsKfLaO4