October 5, 2008Get help, use faith to heal the mindAs black people, we try to pray away our demons rather than treat them. Mental illness carries a stigma in this country. But especially in the black community. Suicide? We don't do that. Counseling? Pray harder. Laverne Williams of the Mental Health Association in New Jersey visited Roanoke on Thursday to speak about mental illness and call on churches to take the lead in helping black members break down barriers to emotional and mental well-being. "We know a lot of people are rushing up to the altar, and it ain't the Holy Ghost," Williams said during a breakfast sponsored by Mental Health America of the Roanoke Valley. "Something else is happening." September 30, 2008Answer the callA recent transplant from Northern Virginia, Ralph Owen showed up one day last fall at Roanoke's Local Office on Aging with a few cans of soup and $100. He left and came back a few hours later with $200 more. The retired Ashburn postmaster's wife had chided him that they could do better. The same day, Bethany Price posted a flier on the communal mailboxes of her small north Roanoke County community. Price's note rallied some Meadowbrook Village residents to contribute to the LOA's Soup for Seniors drive to feed elderly strangers who weren't as fortunate in their retirements as she and her neighbors. Price collected and delivered more than 100 cans of soup to the LOA office on Melrose Avenue. September 25, 2008Goodwill expands building, outreachLast year, bargain hunters from Harrisonburg to Wytheville shelled out more than $22 million in Goodwill stores. Although selling donated goods accounted for nearly 62 percent of Goodwill's income, the agency always has been more than a place to pick up a $4 dress or an $11 suit. The mission of Goodwill is to change lives. Now, as the organization expands its purpose, it sits poised to change a neighborhood in Northwest Roanoke. July 8, 2008TAP group guides kids to schoolYoung black men are in peril. We see it in the barrage of statistics that define the challenges of being black and male in this society. More disturbing, we see it in the faces of too many boys and teens whose paths we cross. From presidential candidates to pundits, everyone is talking about it. But thankfully, Total Action Against Poverty in Roanoke has joined the ranks of those trying to do something to save the next generation of black men in this community. April 17, 2008Walk to help cast public eye on MSMultiple sclerosis is a disease on the down low. The central nervous system disorder afflicts 400,000 Americans and can cause numbness, tingling, blindness or paralysis. But MS patients don't have their own weekend telethon, the way Jerry's Kids do. It largely afflicts women but doesn't have its own color the way breast cancer does. B-list celebrities such as Annette Funicello and Montel Williams have MS. But they don't attract the public awareness or sympathy that Michael J. Fox does for Parkinson's. Even many with MS don't talk openly about it. March 6, 2008Teen clinic is a good way to talk about sexBeginning this afternoon, area teens again will have a place to seek knowledgeable advice about sexual health. With teen pregnancy rates on the rise, thank goodness Planned Parenthood Health Systems has reopened its teens-only clinic for a few hours every month. From 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month, high school and middle school students can drop by the Peters Creek Road facility for free, professional help with confidential services including birth control, pregnancy testing, gynecological exams and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. Abortions will not be offered as part of the clinic. But abstinence will be part of the comprehensive and essential discussion about sexual health. Continue reading "Teen clinic is a good way to talk about sex" » January 31, 2008Rotary's free trips can be a tough sellErnest Bentley is a Christiansburg businessman with a great story to share. But often he can't get anyone to listen. He's got a tantalizing offer that should be hard to refuse, but many do. What Bentley is selling doesn't cost anything, but it pays off in huge returns of personal enrichment, enlightenment and a sense of adventure. Bentley is a Rotary Club member. As chairman of Western Virginia's Rotary Group Study Exchange, he's always looking for people to send on trips abroad. These are monthlong excursions to such places as Brazil, the Philippines, Mexico, Japan, the Bahamas, New Zealand ... and the list goes on. Rotary sponsors the trips -- read, they're free. Now is anybody listening? Continue reading "Rotary's free trips can be a tough sell" » January 13, 2008West End Center's benefits unsungThe West End Center has no more rabbits to pull out of its hat. The scrappy little agency that always has managed somehow to find the dollars to keep its doors open after school to some of Roanoke's most disadvantaged youngsters said Friday it has no more money mojo. Executive Director Kaye Hale, board Chairman Joe Christenbury, and board members Frankie Robbins and Judith Jackson said that without an infusion of cash by March, the center is looking at reducing an already bare-bones staff, merging with another organization or, in the worst case, closing. |
About this blog In her signature plainspoken style, Michigan native Shanna Flowers peels away the layers and gets to the heart of the issues. No pretense. Just straightforward perspective. Shanna writes about local people whose circumstances reflect decisions made as near as City Hall or as far away as the halls of Congress. Other times, she weighs in on a topic because it is incredibly ridiculous. Or heartening. Or fascinating. Read Shanna's column three days a week, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, at roanoke.com
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