Community – Digital Storytelling

ACCPD works to improve mental health response procedures

May 17, 2019August 27, 2019 Amy ScottAdvantage Behavioral Health Systems, Athens, Athens-Clarke County Police Department, crisis intervention, Georgia, John Radford, Katie McFarland, mental health, Mental Illness, Robie Cochran, suicide prevention0 comment

Story written and produced by: Amy Scott, Alexandria Ellison and Ashlyn Webb ATHENS, Ga. — Athens-Clarke County Police linked approximately 140 citizens back to mental health resources in 2018, continuing their 2016 initiative to lower the incarceration rate of the mentally ill. This is due in part by the ACCPD’s 2016 mental health collaboration and Georgia’s Crisis Intervention Team training.The mental health collaboration is a partnership between ACCPD, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office, Advantage Behavioral Health and UGA’s Fanning Institute. The collaboration was created to “examine policies, enhance interdepartmental communications,…

The Wesley Foundation Attracts Thousands of Students for Their Weekly Services

May 13, 2019May 14, 2019 Emma TolandAthens, UGA, UGA Students, University of Georgia0 comment

ATHENS, Ga. — The Wesley Foundation, the largest ministry on the University of Georgia’s campus, is attracting 1,200 to 2,000 students per week for their weekly Wednesday night service at Tate Grand Hall. For many, college is the first time students are away from friends and family, so they seek out communities that make them feel welcome. Wesley understands this desire for community and uses it to garner student involvement, according to their mission statement. “I did Freshley last year, but wasn’t super involved because I always had something going…

Community Government News Organizations Social Issue

Dreamers in Athens Maintain Hope Amidst Uncertain Future

February 19, 2018April 13, 2019 Rebecca Nauth, Emma KorstanjeDACA, Dreamers, Immigration0 comment

ATHENS, Ga. – The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) is scheduled to expire on March 5 putting as many as 21,600 registered beneficiaries of this federal program popularly called Dreamers in Georgia at risk for deportation, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The ending of DACA, which allows undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children to live and work in the country, would demographically affect those that are single and under the age 24. If faced with deportation, almost 80 percent of these young DACA recipients…

Community Health News Organizations Social Issue

Campus Kitchen Provides Thousands of Meals for Food Insecure Households

February 18, 2018December 7, 2018 Rachel GraceACCA, Athens, Athens Community Council on Aging, Campus Kitchen, Campus Kitchen at UGA, Food Insecurity, Hunger Relief, SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, UGA, UGA Office of Service Learning, UGArden, University of Georgia, Volunteering0 comment

ATHENS, Ga. – Campus Kitchen at the University of Georgia distributed 25,000 pounds of food to food insecure households and food banks around Athens last year, according to the program’s website. The organization recovered more than 43,000 pounds of food from local grocery stores and gardens, such as UGArden, which they used to provide weekly nutritious meals for their clients and then redistributed unused food to related programs in the area. “Our model is built on creative food sourcing,” said Brad Turner, the program coordinator for the organization at UGA’s Office of Service…

Athens Tattoo Artist Makes Scars Disappear

February 9, 2018December 7, 2018 Caroline Elliot#scar, #scarcorrection, #skin, #tattoo, #tattoshop, Athens, UGA1 Comment

ATHENS, Ga. – Ron Hendon, a tattoo artist from Athens, Georgia, removed over 40,000 scars in almost 30 years using his artistic ability and decades of tattoo expertise for scar removal therapy. Hendon’s scar removal involves irritation of the scar tissue using tattoo needles. One of its aspects is paramedical micro-pigmentation, a method of cosmetically covering scars. Hendon developed these techniques by accident when a client came in with a large scar on her breast after a domestic dispute. “When the same client came in for a touch up of her floral tattoo,…

Athens Attempts to Increase Bicyclist and Pedestrian Safety

December 8, 2017December 7, 2018 Ryan SwindellAthens, Athens-Clarke County, bicyclist, bike, community, crash, cyclist, Georgia, government, pedestrian, safety, transportation, travel0 comment

ATHENS, Ga. – Athens-Clarke County is constructing a new bicycle and pedestrian master plan, Athens in Motion, with the intention of making the roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians. The plan rates roads on a level of comfort scale that ranges from one to five, with a score of one being the safest and five being the least safe for cyclists of varying skill levels. The ratings system is bolstered by Athens-Clarke County residents who point out problem areas for bicyclists and pedestrians on an interactive map provided by the…

Community Crime Government News

ACCPD Builds Community Relations, Strengthens Communication

December 8, 2017December 7, 2018 Robert DentyACCPD, Athens-Clarke County, community oriented policing0 comment

ATHENS, Ga. – The Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD) is using a new strategy of community oriented policing in hopes of changing the relationship between local law enforcement and the public. The policy, implemented by ACCPD Chief Scott Freeman, gets officers out of their patrol cars and into the community to build stronger bonds with the people they serve and will usher in the next era of policing in Athens, Freeman said. Click below to watch an interview with the University of Georgia’s Dr. Brian Williams on community policing. “I think…

Lil’ Ice Cream Dude Sweetens Athens

December 7, 2017December 7, 2018 Marielle WilliamsAthens, BrandBank, business, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Entrepreneur, Georgia, Greek Life, Ice Cream, Lil' Ice Cream Dude, UGA, UGA Football, UGA Miracle0 comment

Beau Shell, 13, owner and CEO of Lil’ Ice Cream Dude, from Athens, Georgia, poses in front of his popsicle truck in, Athens, Georgia, on Tuesday, September 19, 2017. Beau serves ice cream in his truck to the sweet-toothed community of Athens, Georgia. (Photo/Elizabeth Milano, eam60605@uga.edu) ATHENS, Ga. – Beau Shell, 13, better known as Lil’ Ice Cream Dude, has made a name for himself in the sweet and creamy business world as the youngest entrepreneur in Athens, Georgia. On his eighth birthday, Beau received a small makeshift ice cream…

Community Crime

UGA: Higher Crime Rate than Other Georgia Universities

December 6, 2017December 11, 2017 Gabriella CammarataAthens, Campus, Crime Rate, Georgia Universities, safety, UGA Students, University of Georgia0 comment

ATHENS, GEORGIA- The University of Georgia’s violent crime rate is more than double than that of Georgia Institute of Technology. According to 2014 FBI crime statistics, the rate of violent crime at UGA is roughly 21.7 per 10,000 students, whereas at Georgia Institute of Technology, it is roughly 9.3 per 10,000 students. At Kennesaw State University, the rate of violent crime is approximately 4.9 per 10,000 students. Adrian Salazar, a worker at the East Campus Deck at UGA, states that this might be because of the lack of cameras inside parking…

Abuse Community Health Social Issue

Seventeen Cases of Dating Violence Reported at UGA in 2016

December 5, 2017December 8, 2017 Ayesha JamilAthens, College Dating, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, Modern Dating, project safe, RSVP0 comment

ATHENS, GEORGIA – According to the University of Georgia’s annual Safe and Secure report there were seventeen reported cases of abusive relationships from university members in 2016. Ashley Dykes, a former text-line manager at Project Safe, a nonprofit organization aimed at working to end unhealthy relationships, said dating violence is a phrase used to explain the physical or emotional abusive that can arise out of the untraditional styles of modern dating. “Teenagers and younger kids use different words now with ‘hooking up,’ ‘talking to,’ [and] ‘going out with,’ so…