On Oct. 19, the Kosciusko Leadership Academy cadets visited the K21 Health Services Pavilion to learn about many of the human services Kosciusko County has to offer through Cardinal Services, the K21 Health Services Pavilion and United Way.
Jennifer Stewart, from the K21 Health Foundation, hosted the session.
According to Matt Boren, executive director of Cardinal Services, “The mission of Cardinal Services is to assist and advocate for people with disabilities and challenges to live lives full of dignity, growth and opportunity.”
Cardinal Services’ programs fall into three categories: Individuals with disabilities, children and families with challenges and Kosciusko Area Bus Service (KABS) transportation.
Cardinal Services serves over 4,000 people annually through residential (group home) living, community (apartment) living, Career Links, Early Head Start, Headstart and affordable housing, according to a news release from KLA.
Laura Deal-Decker, director of K21 Help Center, presented information about each tenant in the K21 Health Services Pavilion.
Deal-Decker assists Kosciusko County residents who are overwhelmed financially due to health issues and need guidance for medical, dental and social services.
Pavilion agencies are all nonprofits that offer a health-related service, such as Brightpoint, providing free help for families to enroll in and understand state and federal health insurance programs.
Other Pavilion agencies include Healthy Families of Kosciusko County, Heartline Pregnancy Center, Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice, Medication & Dental Assistance, WIC and Northern Indiana Hispanic Health Coalition.
For more information, visit http://k21pavilion.org/.
Darren Bickel, president of United Way of Kosciusko County, explained how United Way’s 2-1-1 phone line connects people to local resources or online at https://in211.communityos.org/.
Additionally, United Way’s last Big Give delivered 2,500 bags of school supplies in August. For more information on that, visit https://www.uwwk.org/blog/united-ways-big-give-delivers-for-kids/.
Another great program is the Fill it Up Box, which provides essential supplies to children displaced from their homes. For more information, visit the website at https://www.uwwk.org/volunteer/fill-it-up/.
KLA cadets will meet next on Nov. 2 at Ivy Tech Community College for Whitepaper Round-up.
The Kosciusko Leadership Academy is in its 40th year of service to the county. As an independent 501(c)(3) organization, KLA conducts biweekly morning sessions around the county to expose leaders to a wide variety of local topics and experts. The annual whitepaper projects have yielded many benefits to the citizens of Kosciusko County, the news release states.
