Healthy Ferry County Coalition

THE MISSION OF HEALTH FERRY COUNTY COALITION IS TO COORDINATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, STRONG HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICE SYSTEMS, AND A HEALTHY POPULATION TOWARD ACHIEVING THE VISION THAT FERRY COUNTY IS CONSISTENTLY AMONG THE TOP 10 HEALTHIEST COUNTIES IN WASHINGTON STATE.

FREE QPR SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAINING: ANTICIPATING THAT COVID EVENTS AND POST COVID ADAPTATIONS WERE LIKELY TO INCREASE THE DISPARITY BETWEEN FERRY COUNTY'S AND THE STATE'S AVERAGE SUICIDE MORTALITY RATE, WE DECIDED TO BEGIN ADDRESSING THE ISSUE BY OFFERING PREVENTION TRAINING TO ALL FERRY COUNTY RESIDENTS, FREE OF CHARGE, THROUGH A WELL- RESEARCHED AND TESTED PROGRAM USED WORLDWIDE, QPR (QUESTION, PERSUADE, REFER). OUR GOALS ARE TO: 1) REDUCE STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CRISIS AND SUICIDE AND 2) EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE ABOUT SUICIDE WARNING SIGNS, PREVENTION SKILLS, AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE. HFCC AND ITS PARTNERS HAVE CHOSEN TO USE BHT COUNTY EQUITY PROJECT FUNDING RESOURCES TOWARD ACHIEVING THESE GOALS BY OFFERING FREE QPR TRAINING TO FERRY COUNTY RESIDENTS AND THOSE PROVIDING SERVICES IN FERRY COUNTY TO RESIDENTS.

WE HAVE IDENTIFIED CHILD CARE AS ANOTHER ISSUE AFFECTING FERRY COUNTY, SPECIFICALLY THE SHORTAGE OF CHILD CARE OPTIONS. THROUGH A CHILD CARE PLANNING GRANT FROM THE WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, WE ARE TAKING THE FIRST STEPS IN ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE BY RESEARCHING AND DATA GATHERING TOWARD LAYING OUT A ROADMAP OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR PROVIDING LICENSED CHILD CARE IN FERRY COUNTY, INCLUDING LICENSING, PROGRAMMATIC OFFERINGS, FACILITIES, GROUNDS & EQUIPMENT AND STAFFING RATIOS FOR THE VARIOUS TYPES OF CHILD CARE OFFERINGS.