SHORT STUFF

A Mother’s Rest Opens Second Respite Inn for Caregivers A Mother’s Rest Charitable Respite Foundation is bringing its revolutionary health initiative and respite program for parents and caregivers to north Georgia.

A Mother’s Rest will host its first getaway in early April at the historic Lawton Place Manor in Mt. Airy, the former home of baseball player Ty Cobb and most recently a popular wedding venue. It will now be a year-round respite location.

The benefits of proactive self-care have been long overlooked in the disability community, according to a representative of the foundation. Acknowledging the emotional and physical strains parents and caregivers face is imperative in ensuring the best long-term care to their loved ones, they say.

The flagship respite inn is The Terrace Guest House in New Market, MD, and it was considered the first of its kind. Lawton Place Manor will be open nearly every weekend and free of charge to all parents and caregivers who have loved ones with disabilities and/or chronic illness. Reservations will be required and space may be limited.

All donations to A Mother’s Rest are tax deductible and they also have a Go Fund Me link. They rely entirely on donations. For more information, call 804-399-6687 or email commdirector@amothersrest.org.

Birmingham’s Smoke-free Health District Launches The smoke-free Health District on Birmingham’s Southside created by a Birmingham City Council ordinance has launched. Smoking is now prohibited on public property within the Health District, including city sidewalks.

The city has a website, www.bhamhealthdistrict.com, which provides information on the ordinance, and also offers guidance on what to do or not do to encourage a smoke-free environment in the district.

“Please don’t call the police about smoking in the district,” said Jefferson County Department of Health CEO Mark Wilson. “We hope the health district will create a positive environment of awareness and support, and valuable first responder resources and communication systems should not be tied up.” The Jefferson County Department of Health is one of several health-focused organizations that requested and advocated for the district.

Property owners within the district have the option to create designated smoking areas on land they own, if not prohibited by another ordinance. UAB’s university campus will remain smoke-, vape- and tobacco-free, per policy. At this time, a limited number of designated smoking areas will be offered on the UAB Medicine campus and Children’s of Alabama, where information and resources to help people quit smoking will be promoted. “Evidence is clear that there is no safe level of first- or second-hand smoke,” said Susan Walley, M.D., physician at Children’s of Alabama and faculty in the UAB Department of Pediatrics. “It is our hope that, with improving access to tobacco quitting resources, information and encouraging changes in social norms, the health district will decrease tobacco use and smoke exposure in Alabama.”

General resources to help people quit smoking are available to everyone and will be promoted through Health District initiatives. Partner organizations within the district offer additional resources, many at no cost, to their employees, patients, students and others. -Courtesy of UAB

Research released by The Alabama Counts! 2020 Census Committee, an advisory group, reveals early indications that the state will have healthy participation in the 2020 Census.

The research surveyed participants from all of the state’s 67 counties and was commissioned by Alabama Counts! and conducted by Birmingham-based New South Research.

About 43 percent of all counties polled indicated the primary factor deterring individuals from completing the census was lack of understanding of its importance or use. Also, about the same percent said they believed it would take more than 12 minutes to fill out their Census form, with 38 percent reporting that they were unsure of the time investment. In reality, there are only 10 questions for a head of household and six per additional person. Ultimately, participation should take five minutes or less. This census will be the first in which participants can fill out their forms online. For more information about the census, visit www.2020census.gov.

UAB English Language Learners Invited to Take Free Classes

English language learners in the greater Birmingham area can expand their knowledge and language skills at UAB’s free English classes, offered Thursday evenings and Friday mornings for learners at all levels.

The classes are hosted by the UAB School of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, taught by graduate students who are being trained to become teachers of English as an international language, in order to teach in intensive English programs within American universities or to teach abroad. The English classes take an integrated skills approach and include integrated listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar skills into the lessons.

Two classes with five different levels, ranging from emerging English language learners to advanced, will be offered every Thursday from 7:30-9 p.m., running through April 23, and every Friday from 9:30-11 a.m., running through April 24. For the Thursday and Friday classes, additional registration dates and times for the spring semester will be Thursday, Feb. 27, at 6:30 p.m. and March 26 at 6:30 p.m.

Child care for children ages 3-10 years will be available for classes offered Thursday evening and Friday morning. These community English classes have taken place on campus for more than 20 years. For information, contact Josephine Prado, Ph.D., assistant professor of English learner education, at 205-975-5045 or jprado@uab.edu. -Photo courtesy of UAB

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