The Carbon County Collaborative discussed homelessness, suicide prevention and more last week.

• Cathy Lamm of the Homeless Task Force and Family Promise said that the task force will be taking place in the point in time count that is coming up on Jan. 22.

With regards to homelessness, the collaborative asked if any discussion had taken place regarding whether or not the county dog shelter could care for dogs whose owners are homeless for a certain amount of time.

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said there had not been, but could ask the shelter director Tom Connors and the animal shelter advisory board. He noted that it would depend on space availability at the dog shelter as well since the number of dogs at any one time fluctuates.

• Larissa Kimmel, system care coordinator for Carbon-Monroe-Pike Mental Health and Developmental Services, said that her organization is working with the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services on developing a suicide prevention project for youth and young adults called Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality or CAMS. The new suicide prevention coordinator has been hired and is working on getting the model up and running.

Kimmel said the program aims to identify suicidal possibilities happening in the younger population and working to get them with outpatient services to reduce the likelihood of suicide.

• Sharon Alexander from Carbon County Community Foundation announced that the foundation’s grant cycle will be opening soon and more information would be published on its website. She also announced that scholarship applications would be opening this month. This scholarship is open to any high school seniors.

• Jill Geissinger, representing Kids Zone, reported that a car seat check held in Mahoning Township in November was well received and quite a few car seats were checked to make sure they were installed properly and that there were no recalls. Another check is being planned for later this year.

• Geissinger also said that the Right From The Start program hosts children playdates for children under age 5. The sessions come together and caretakers, whether a parent or grandparent raising the child, can talk about their experiences, while the children enjoy some playtime.

The next session is at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Panther Valley Library, 117 E. Bertsch St., Lansford.

For more information on the program, email megan.rodgers@jtasd.org or call 570-249-8560. Flyers are also posted on the group’s Facebook page Carbon County “Right From The Start.”

• With regards to Children and Youth Services, Geissinger announced that the department has hired five more staff members so hopefully caseworkers will be better able to serve families more effectively in the future.

• The Dolly Parton Imagination Library has approximately 1,400 children active in the program and more outreach opportunities will be taking place in the coming months.

• Amber Zuber of Lehigh Carbon Community College announced that the college received a grant from the Schuylkill Community Foundation for its EMT program. The next class in Tamaqua begins in March and runs through August.

LCCC also holds free GED and English as a Second Language classes at the Morgan campus through a partnership with the Google Lifelong Learning Center.

Zuber said there have been five GED students and six ESL students in the fall and hope to see them grow in the future.

• Holly Dolan of the Penn State Cancer Institute of Community Outreach and Engagement reminds everyone that the institute can offer Carbon County residents with community education programs for those with cancer. In addition to Carbon, the institute serves residents in Schuylkill, Lehigh and Luzerne counties.