Hello everyone my name is Steve
Whittington, I'm an Army veteran and
currently work at MSU Extension as the
West Michigan Veteran Program Instructor
located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At
Michigan State University Extension we
are dedicated to providing our military
veterans with programming and outreach
efforts that support the health and
well-being of our veterans, their
families, and their businesses. We're
going to share our efforts to connect
veterans with local and virtual
resources with you. Our first resource
update is from Holly who will share
about some of our health programs. Hi my
name is Holly Tiret and I'm a senior
Extension Educator serving Kent, Allegan,
Ottawa and Barry counties. I teach
programs aimed at helping people improve
their social-emotional health through
classes in mindfulness and anger
management. MSU Extension's mindfulness
programs are intended to benefit any
adult who's dealing with everyday stress.
Research has shown that practicing
mindfulness is an effective way to
reduce stress symptoms such as; worry,
depression, and physical tension and may
be helpful in managing chronic
conditions such as cardiac disease and
diabetes. For more information or to sign
up for a class please visit our
website, as you see below. MSU Extension's
program RELAX: Alternatives to Anger
helps people improve their skills in
identifying their own anger, learning to
calm down and manage strong emotions,
communicating effectively with others,
and learning to work on forgiveness. For
more information or to sign up for a
class that meets your needs
please visit our website. Hi my name is
Georgina Perry, I am an MSU Extension
Educator serving the counties of Allegan
Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass
Kalamazoo, Kent, Ottawa, St. Joseph and Van Buren.  I am part of a grant project which
is Michigan's Substance Use Prevention
Education and Recovery (MISUPER). This is a
two-year collaboration with MSU
Extension, MSU College of Human Medicine,
and the Health Department of Northwest
Michigan. This project is funded by the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration. The overall goal
of MISUPER project is to increase
awareness of opioid misuse in rural
communities regarding prevention,
addiction treatment options, and recovery
support so that community members and
health care professionals can recognize
signs of misuse, suggest options for
professional treatments, and support
those in recovery. We have presentations
that are available for the general
public and healthcare professionals
along with slides that are specific for
audiences that are most affected by the
opioid epidemic such as older adults and
veterans. Currently these presentations
are available online. For more
information or if you would like to
request a presentation please visit our
website listed below or you may email me
at my email listed in the link below.
Hello my name is Christi Demitz and I'm an
Extension Educator serving Allegan, Barry,
Kent, and Ottawa counties. According to
the Michigan Department of Health and
Human Services, 60% of Michigan's adult
population has at least one chronic
condition such as arthritis, heart
disease, and diabetes. MSU Extension
offers a wide variety of online
workshops that help adults better manage
their chronic health conditions so they
can enjoy the things they like to do. In
our PATH workshops people living with
chronic conditions, chronic pain, or
diabetes learn how to use
self-management skills to better manage
their health conditions. People with
arthritis have found Tai Chi for
Arthritis helpful in managing their pain
and preventing falls. Participants in our
National Diabetes Prevention Program
learn how healthy eating and physical
activity can reduce the chance of being
diagnosed with diabetes by over 50%. Our
Powerful Tools for Caregivers program is
helpful for family caregivers and
introduces self-care tools that help
improve the caregivers well-being. All
our programs are aimed at giving
individual
the knowledge and tools to make positive
impacts on their health. Our course
calendar is available at the website
listed on your screen. Hello my name is Katie
Hodgman and I am a Community Nutrition
Instructor in Kent County, but Community
Nutrition Instructors can be found in
most counties around the State including
Ottawa, Kent, Allegan, and Barry counties.
MSU Extension provides free education
for seniors, parents, families, single
adults, as well as those for caregivers
for children. In our programs we
discuss the importance of healthy
lifestyle changes pertaining to our food
using MyPlate education and physical
activity. Other topics include food
resource management and food safety.
Currently our programs are being offered
online. While we have many free resources
for community members there are a few
I'd like to highlight that may be
beneficial.
First, as you can see on the screen, is
your Budgeting Your Benefits resource.
This resource helps organize the
different benefits you may receive. Next
is our MI Health Matters YouTube page.
This page offers videos for different
recipes cooking techniques as well as
some gardening crafts for families and
other health topics. Next is our Discover
Michigan Fresh page. On the page you can
see is a website that has different
resources about Michigan produce, recipe
cards, and finding what's in season. This
website gives different PDFs with
specific produce items on how to buy,
store, and use that produce. If you're
interested in nutrition education please
contact me at the email below. Hello my
name is Jinnifer Ortquist and I'm a senior
Extension Educator with the financial
and homeownership education work team.
I serve Allegan, Barry, Kent and Ottawa
counties as well as serving some
statewide responsibilities. According to
the 2018 FINRA Investor Education
Foundation, the Michigan survey showed
that 15% of Michiganders reported
spending more than they were earning and
45% reported they did not have an
emergency fund
which would be enough to cover three
months of expenses. MSU Extension offers
a variety of programs to help promote
financial capability and stability
empower informed decision making and
information to consider when determining
affordable housing costs. We do this in
two different program areas the first is
Money Management Education. We offer a
six our money management series which
promotes topics such as making money
decisions, deciding the difference
between needs and wants, also how to
create and manage a spending plan, and
the importance of saving and investing,
and lastly managing credit and debt. This
is offered in person for free or we have
an online self-paced option which is
available in English and Spanish. This is
free for DHHS recipients or the cost is
$25. In addition to the series, we offer
Money Management workshops and webinars
which are offered in a one-time format,
again they are delivered in person or
virtually via Zoom. Topics include making
a spending plan, tips to build and
protect your credit, how much home can
you afford, applying for student loans or
student loan repayment options, and
lastly retirement myths and facts. Our
second program area is Home Ownership
education. Again, these are offered in
person virtually and again we have the
online self-paced option available in
English and Spanish and that self-paced
version the cost is $89. This four hour
home ownership series will provide you
with valuable information about the home
buying process which includes the steps
in that process, the costs of home
ownership, the importance of good credit,
again how to determine how much you can
afford,
mortgage loan basics, and to protect your
investment. Attending the series and
returning the required paperwork
fulfills the requirement for certificate
of completion. The certificate can be
shared with your mortgage loan officer
to satisfy the homeownership education
requirement for programs such as the
MSDHA and Down Payment Assistance
Program, USDA Rural Development Loans, and
the City of Grand Rapids Downpayment
Assistance Program. If you would like
more information on these programs
please visit our website at MIMoneyHealth.org.
Hi my name is Melissa Haug and I'm a
4-H Program Coordinator in Ottawa County.
4-H is a youth development program of
Michigan State University. Many people
think 4-H is just for kids who live on
farms or those interested in raising and
selling animals but that's just
not true. Offering a diverse range of
topics and interest areas 4-H is the
largest youth development organization
in Michigan. By contacting a local 4-H
Program Coordinator you can learn about
the different opportunities the 4-H
provides for youth within your county
and around the State. 4-H programs are
offered in club settings, camps, mentoring
programs, and much more. Animal science,
arts, careers and entrepreneurship,
environmental and outdoor education, and
global and cultural education are just a
few of the program areas offered through
4-H. Not only can youth join 4-H but we
are always looking for adults who would
love to volunteer in the program and
help youth learn new life skills. Reach
out to your local 4-H Program
Coordinator to find out how you could
get involved with 4-H by visiting the
Michigan State University Extension 4-H
youth development website. Hello my name
is Jim Yates, I'm a marine veteran and
currently work at MSU Extension as a
Veteran Program Instructor located in
the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The SNAP
Outreach Program developed at MSU
Extension is a response to the reported
food insecurities by our veterans. SNAP
is a really effective way for veterans
who are food insecure to access food to
feed themselves and their families. The
way that the Michigan State University
Extension Vet Outreach Team developed
this program was by providing culturally
relevant SNAP outreach materials for
veterans with information about SNAP and
how to apply for the benefit. These
examples will be provided below. The
purpose of the outreach materials was to
promote the benefit that they fought for,
remove the stigma that some veterans
have about food benefits, and finally to
provide SNAP navigation and enrollment
assistance for Michigan veterans. Hello my name
is Kai Gritter and I coordinate the SNAP
Outreach for Veterans Program. As you can
see, MSU Extension has numerous programs
and resources that support the health
and well-being of our communities. The
Veteran Outreach Team
recently compiled a list
of resources specific to veterans and
their families. This includes much of
what has been discussed including MSU
Extension remote learning programs, VA
and community resources, information
about SNAP benefits and food access
points, financial assistance information,
and online resources for family fun. For
more information about MSU Extension
programs and resources check the link
below and don't forget to like our page
on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube
channel. Thank you.
