Working in the social services field, Janice Smith was accustomed to fielding questions from families seeking to improve their quality of life. Last spring, she established a neighborhood committee to provide a platform for residents of South Pablo Beach to share information and offer help to everyone in the community.
“I have information, and I know other people who have information, so I wanted to spread it out to people. I know a lot of people who do a lot of different things, so I was trying to make it readily available to people because some people just don’t ask,” said Smith. “Some people are afraid to ask."
The Community Involvement & Resources Committee meets at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month at Carver Center, 77 5th Ave. S. in Jacksonville Beach. This month’s speaker was Toni Darby, an HCA Healthcare and Medicare broker. Topics included the upcoming Medicare enrollment period beginning in October, information about available providers and the proper method for changing providers.
“Maybe not everybody is eligible for Medicaid or Medicare,” said Smith. “We’ve got to look for those people who, a lot of the time, seem like they're forgotten. We want to benefit people in the neighborhood and let them know what's going on because open enrollment starts in October."
For those ages 65 and up seeking Medicare coverage or those eligible for coverage under the ACA Marketplace, Darby urged people to make sure their doctor is in the plan's network, make a list of all medications, and know your household income that determines eligibility.
"The whole thing is to keep you healthy," said Darby. "I can't tell anybody what to do, but I can tell you what I can do. This has to take care of you."
The committee meets the first Tuesday of each month at the Carver Center, located in the center of the Pablo Beach community. Meetings are limited to an hour and open to any issue that will improve quality of life. Smith said the group took a two-month hiatus for the summer, but is already planning ahead to next summer.
“We only meet once a month. We’re not trying to take up everybody’s time,” said Smith. “All they have to do is let any of us know by coming to the meeting and we will try to find help and the resources they need to get that help. Knowledge is power. We want to keep that going."
The meeting also sought ideas for new programs to benefit children and young adults in the community, from academics to athletics. Smith said she is looking for teachers to provide after-school tutoring.
“That’s my idea, so I’m hoping other people might have some other ideas,” said Smith. “Since we are at the beginning of the school year, what can we do for the end of the year as far as a summer camp or something for the kids? There’s lots of stuff going on.”
Another possible concept was opening the free lunch program in the summer to local groups to provide healthy options for the kids. Many kids may not have access to healthy meals, and “Blessings in a Bag” can help fill the need.
“The meals they get, which are breakfast and lunch at school, were usually the only meals that some of these kids got. So, Blessings in a Bag is something that some of the elementary schools did on Fridays, and they gave kids some stuff to snack on and warm up that would last them Saturday and Sunday so when they came back to school on Monday, they wouldn’t be famished,” Smith said.
During the last meeting held in June, residents were invited to share ideas to help improve the community center, from updated programming to new playground equipment and landscaping.
The Carver Center was originally established as a safe haven for the neighborhood children. As the times have changed and as the community has grown, the needs of the center have shifted to serve all generations, from young kids on the playground equipment to the teens who gather and play basketball on the outdoor courts to the seniors who utilize classroom space for art and fellowship.
“We’ve been after them about the Carver Center for years. It seems like they forgot about our park. It was around before [the city] decided to take the money and build Sunshine Park. They forgot about the old neighborhood,” Smith said. “With that being said, we’ve just been trying to get them to improve the park so people wouldn’t have to go past one park to get to another.”
Creating a multi-use gym would open the facility up to additional programming for all ages and would provide space for everything from a media room, banquet hall, and conference rooms to space for basketball leagues and indoor volleyball tournaments.
“We are just opening it up for everyone,” said Latoya Thomas, director of the Carver Center.
The information collected during Tuesday’s visioning meeting will be presented to the City Council to consider short and long-term plans for the community center.
