July 1, 2021
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, Inc Awarded $78,175 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Business Development Grant
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team (HBCAT) has been awarded the highly competitive USDA Rural Business Development Grant.
The award will be used to fund the HBCAT’s Center for Economic Growth program to provide technical assistance to small and emerging private businesses, increase awareness of available resources through community engagement, enhance quality of life, encourage economic growth, and foster healthy choices through cross-sectors of Bourbon County.
Bourbon County residents can meet with Dacia Clark, Assistant Director with Pittsburg State Small Business Development Center (PSU SBDC) in Downtown Fort Scott. Dacia, a Fort Scott native, provides a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and resources to help individuals get started on the right path.
Whether in person or online, PSU SBDC is helping entrepreneurs with starting a new business or new product, growing sales, running a business, protecting business, and succession planning every day.
In addition, Southeast KANSASWORKS, the Local Workforce Development Board that serves 17 counties in Southeast Kansas, will be available in person twice a week.
Southeast KANSASWORKS contributes to economic growth and business expansion by ensuring the workforce system is job-driven and matching employers with skilled individuals.
Southeast KANSASWORKS administers the regional Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) program.
State and local WIOA boards promote the use of industry and sector partnerships to address the workforce needs of multiple employers within an industry. They are responsible for activities to meet the workforce needs of local and regional employers.
Employers and job seekers alike benefit from services provided by Southeast KANSASWORKS which include free online job listings, labor market information, pre-employment testing, work opportunities tax credits, pre-screen applicants, recruiting services, federal bonding, interview space, youth programs, and more.
The program has seen measured success since November 2020 because of a coordinated, united, and participatory approach taken by all partners involved.
As a result, the HBCAT’s Center for Economic Growth offers a one-stop-shop to community members seeking to build financial stability.
“We are thrilled to be part of this successful collaboration,” Dacia Clark, PSU SBDC, “In my experience, this kind of synergy between the Chamber, local non-profits like the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, and regional organizations is extraordinary.”
Building a healthy community is more than a matter of fostering individual health, it is about public policy, systems, and environments that foster a healthy society. The HBCAT’s work
at the community level is to improve social integration and support systems, promote community engagement, and reduce stress and discrimination. These services are instrumental in addressing
the social determinants of health in wealth creation, enhancing quality of life, employment, and poverty. Providing local businesses expertise and guidance, particularly in these very turbulent
times, has shown to be a critical resource to increase the number of business start-ups and number of available quality jobs.
In order to address poor health outcomes, the HBCAT is looking upstream to the causes of disease.
According to The US Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2030, there is a clear and established relationship between poverty, socioeconomic status, and health outcomes—including increased risk for disease and premature death.
“Chronic disease can lead to low worker productivity, locked in low-income jobs, and an increase on household expenditures to pay for medical bills and prescriptions,” Jody Hoener, HBCAT President and CEO “As a result, food insecurity increases, the cycle of intergenerational poverty is perpetuated, and quality of life is inhibited.”
As a rural community, Bourbon County continues to feel considerable geographic disparities. There is a disproportionate lack of opportunity for upward mobility in employment,
inadequate levels of venture or capital injection and historically programming available locally to focus on employment, mentoring, business planning or other wealth building strategies.
Through the Center for Economic Growth, all generations, regardless of socio-economic status, will have the resources, programs, and technical assistance to develop their skills and
become successful entrepreneurs in Southeast Kansas.
“This program is giving individuals a unique opportunity to build financial stability,” Lindsay Madison, President and CEO Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, “We strive to break the cycle of poverty by investing time and resources in the people who do not have access to needed guidance, education, mentoring or financial means.”
By offering a new pathway to build wealth, the HBCAT is giving young adults alternative options to where they choose to live.
With the USDA Rural Business Development funds, Healthy Bourbon County Action Team aims to empower low-income minority, women, and food-based entrepreneurs. Providing
education, tutorials, assistance, and seminars on business and entrepreneurship concepts gives individuals a sense of competence and self-determination.
The HBCAT is located in the Historic Downtown Fort Scott on the second floor of 17 South Main Fort Scott KS. It is a “one-stop-shop” for business, employment, food, telework and distance learning needs. Current businesses, and those looking to start a business, have a physical location to meet with others. Additionally, services are available for those seeking employment, developing soft skills (i.e.interviewing), or other job seeking assistance.
Businesses are encouraged and welcome to contact Southeast KANSASWORKS to see how they can connect with those looking for employment.
Find us on social media! On Facebook, Instagram and Twitter #healthybbco
Background of The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team:
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team is a Blue Cross Blue Shield Pathways to Healthy Kansas Community. Its mission is to increase access to healthy food and physical activity, promote commercial tobacco cessation, enhance quality of life and encourage economic growth. The problems of health inequity and social injustice are complex in nature and inextricably linked to key economic indicators. A healthy workforce is a prerequisite for economic success in any industry and in all cities.
Contact information:
Jody Hoener, President and CEO
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, Inc
620-215-5725
[email protected]
Mary Hunt, Interim Operations Director
Southeast KANSASWorks
Desk: 620-232-1222
Cell: 620-670-0006 Website: www.sekworks.org
Dacia Clark, Assistant Director, PSU SBDC
[email protected]
785-445-2537
Lindsay Madison, President and CEO
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce
[email protected]
(620) 223-3566
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