Health
The Challenge
- 65% of the adults in Anderson County are either overweight or obese.
- Childhood obesity continues to increase at an alarming rate.
- 18% of Anderson County residents lack health coverage.
- Over the past 5 years, rates of child abuse and neglect have increased by approximately 50%.
Dollars raised through the United Way are invested in community projects and local non-profit programs that:
- Increase healthy lifestyles, preventing disease and disability.
- Improve our County’s health environment.
- Decrease the number of children who are abused or neglected.
- Increase access to health resources.
Internal Programs
UNITING for IMPACT
United for Health
The plan and mission of the United for Health collaboration between AnMed and the United Way of Anderson County is to identify, develop strategies, and leverage resources to meet our community’s most critical needs as they relate to Health. Below you will find a breakdown of the funding for the upcoming cycle. This information in conjunction with data released from the 211 networks, has helped to shape the strategies we have put into place to meet the needs of the residents of Anderson County. We have begun to address these critical community needs through various partnerships and community collaborations.
One of the changes that we are seeing highlighted as a result of COVID-19 is Mental Health. These uncertain times have caused stress and anxiety for almost everyone. This crisis has not affected just one group of people it has touched the lives of everyone. Many individuals are currently facing uncertain times and they have never been in a position of needing resources or access to care before. It is our mission and duty to ensure that those individuals have those resources available to them when they are ready to access them.
Sheltering has been another area of need that has become critical during our response to COVID-19. Although crime is down the rate of Domestic Violence calls has seen an increase with individuals being confined to their homes. Partnering with Safe Harbor in Anderson County ensures that individuals who are the victims of Domestic violence during this time have somewhere to turn and access to resources when seeking shelter from an abusive situation.
Since the start of COVID-19 sheltering at the Salvation Army, the only homeless shelter in Anderson County has looked very different. Since the shelter was placed on an official shelter in place lockdown this left many homeless and vulnerable without access to showers, restrooms, and handwashing stations. In partnership with the Salvation Army and leveraging several resources at hand the UWAC was able to assist in securing a showering station, port-a-potties, and a hygiene station outside the shelter. This partnership was also able to organize the counties only homeless COVID-19 quarantine shelter should an individual become diagnosed and need to self-quarantine.
In responding to COVID-19 we must keep individuals with basic minor health care issues and medical needs away from the Emergency Department, for their safety and that of the hospital staff. The Anderson Free Clinic partnership with UWAC allows for individuals to receive medical care and prescriptions. This allows the hospital system to focus on the current issue of COVID-19 cases and testing.
The United Way has developed relationships with partner agencies in Anderson County for the past 75 years. The United Way has hosted an AmeriCorps team that specializes in Disaster Preparedness and Response for the past three years. Through this partnership with AmeriCorps, the United Way of Anderson County has developed an invaluable partnership with the Anderson County Emergency Management Department. This has allowed for an inclusive and complete response to the COVID-19 crisis in the Anderson community. We have the ability to utilize a large volunteer component as well as the 211 system that is critical in the event of any crisis. The benefit that both AnMed and the United Way of Anderson County will provide to individuals is consistency and access to resources across the county. This consistency will create a foundation on which these programs can grow and transform as needs change within our community as time goes on. The purpose of these collaborations is to strengthen the foundation on which we are building community response and resilience.
It is our hope that through your generous funding all individuals who reach out a hand for assistance during these times will not find that hand empty, but full of the valuable resources that will allow them to get back on their feet, grow, and move forward in the hope that they might one day be back and in an even better place than they were before COVID-19.