Bourbon County Inter-Agency Coalition
General Membership Meeting Minutes
September 3, 2025
- Welcome: Twenty-three members representing sixteen agencies attended the meeting held at the Scottview Apartments Conference Room.
- Member Introductions and Announcements:
- Janice Durbin – Head Start- Head Start provides home-based and center-based education services to children up to age 5.
- Cheyanne Bolin – Head Start
- Theresa Amershek – Child Exchange & Visitation Center (Safehouse)
- Ana Salas, Advocate – Safehouse Pittsburg
- Dave Gillen – Beacon – The Beacon provides food assistance, hygiene items, taxi passes, gas vouchers, and financial aid. The Beacon is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00-1:00. The Beacon served 20 new families in August, and provided $2743 in financial assistance.
- Bryan Cook, Crisis Team Director – Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center
- Kym Hargrove, Manager of Adult Services- Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center
- Christa Vaughn, Children’s Case Management Services Team Lead – Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center
- April Jackson – SEK Recovery Resources & Thrive Allen County – Provide services to aid harm reduction, such as: naloxone, fentanyl test strips. These can be found in the vending machine outside the Bourbon County Health Dept.
- Christine Abott- SE KANSASWORKS – Staff are in the Fort Scott office (located in HBCAT building) on Tuesdays. They can provide help with resume building, GED, and job searches. SE KANSASWORKS is always looking for clients who need assistance with training. The CDL program is running in Fort Scott. KANASWORKS can assist with the cost of the program.
- Stephanie Breckenridge – Bourbon County Response Advocate- Stephanie works in homes to keep children safe
- Star Culp – Parents as Teachers – PAT recently added an additional educator in Bourbon County, so more spots are available.
- Patty Simpson – Fort Scott Housing Authority – FSHA has 190 income-based apartments. All units are currently full, and there is a short waiting list of approximately 1-3 months.
- Kathy Romero – Angels Home Health – Angels Home Health serves five counties in SEK. They have specialty programs that most other companies do not have. Angels Home Health and Medicalodge will be hosting a Senior Expo in Crawford County from 9:00-1:00 on September 24th. The Expo will take place at the Pittsburg YMCA. They are hoping to do another Senior Expo in Bourbon County in the future.
- Cherri Walrod, Community Health Worker – K-State Extension – Cherri can assist clients with the SNAP app, medical paperwork, and fill in gaps in services. Cherri leads a support group for parents with special needs kids. She helps find resources for kids with special needs. Her position is grant-funded through the end of the year.
- Michelle Stevenson – Fort Scott Early Childhood Program- FSECP is funded by the Early Childhood Block Grant. Michelle works with families prenatal-6. She assists with tracking development and offers early learning activities. Michelle is a resource for parents and can help connect families with additional resources as needed.
- Janelle Tate – Early Childhood Block Grant
- Kelli Mengarelli – Family Resource Center/Early Childhood Block Grant – ECBG works with preschools and childcare providers in six counties in SEK.
- Dee Dee LeFever, Community Liaison – Greenbush
- Kathy Brennon – SEK Area Agency on Aging – SEK AAA is hosting an Aging=Living Event for seniors and their families. The event will take place from 9:00-3:00 on October 22 in Chanute. Topics will include legal tips for fraud and scam prevention, a Golden Bats exercise demo, and a meal. The fee for the event is $10.
- Shanda Stewart- Clear Path Recovery Center- Clear Path is an adult recovery center in Nevada, MO. Doors will open on September 10. Clear Path will be one of only a few centers in the area to provide medical detox services. Patients will be able to stay up to 30 days. Clear Path will start with 8 beds, with plans to expand to 30 beds in the future. They will offer coed services where couples can recover together.
- Program: Shanda Stewart & Abby Stepps – Kansas Renewal Institute-
Kansas Renewal Institute is a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Treatment Facility in the old Mercy Hospital building. KRI is not a detention center like the one in Girard. KRI opened in January of 2024 and accepted its first resident on May 13, 2024. They have served approximately 160 children since that time. KRI is licensed to serve children ages 8-22. Kids are now initially approved for 60 days, and the average stay is about 158 days. 54 kids are currently attending KRI, which has a capacity of 58 beds. The original contract with the state of Kansas limited students to Kansas residents only; now, about 90% of kids are from Kansas, but KRI can take kids from all states. KRI currently employs about 125 people. Kids live in the facility full-time, so Abby makes sure kids are entertained in healthy ways. Kids belong to multiple groups, one being an activity group. Staff try to integrate kids into community activities and have guests come into the facility to interact with kids. Kids go to the movie theater once a month, and are going bowling later this month. USD 234 provides education services on-site. School takes place Monday through Thursday from 8:30-3:30. Students participate in Individualized learning online through USD 234, teachers and paras are on-site. Students also attend special classes such as music, art, PE. KRI is working with Freeman to add acute care services. This would provide an additional 8 beds for kids in crisis. Kids would be served one-on-one on a case-by-case basis for a few days. KRI employs therapists, nurse practitioners, case managers, behavioral health techs, housekeeping staff, and kitchen staff. The community has been very gracious with donations, and they are very appreciated. Check the Kansas Renewal Institute’s Facebook page to learn more about what is going on at the facility.
- Open Forum: Nothing further came before the membership.
- Adjournment: The next General Membership meeting will be October 1, 2025.