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On a cool sunny April morning, members of the Blue Ridge community gathered on the lawn of the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association and anxiously waited for the unveiling of a new sculpture—a gift from the Fannin County Family Connection commemorating Save the Children Month. The crowd cheered as volunteers hoisted the blue tarp, revealing the painted black and natural steel sculpture of the couple and child from the Family Connection logo. "The statue is dedicated to the children of Fannin County," said Linda Mahan, executive director of Fannin County Family Connection. "The permanent sculpture crafted by artist Mary Dean Cochran, is titled 'Celebrate the Children.' "
When the Fannin Family Connection discussed what to present to the community, Mahan suggested a sculpture. "I got the idea from Catusa County, which had commissioned art for its community," said Mahan. "My children are artists and I was involved with the Arts Center here, so I appreciate art." While contemplating in her office how to express the idea of celebrating the children in her community, she noticed the Family Connection logo printed on a poster and knew that image captured the essence of the message. According to Mahan, Cochran, a graduate student who has a welding degree in art to do metal construction, gave up her spring break to stay in town and complete the project. She also expressed gratitude to Superior Court Judge Brenda Weaver and the Appalachian Bar Association, who paid for the granite dedication slab. Fannin County celebrates children for an entire month every year because there is such a high rate of child abuse in that area. "We have serious issues here," said Mahan. "Fannin County has the most child abuse cases in the state. At the advocacy center, 75 percent are child sexual abuse cases, mostly by the parents. The top three problems here are drug abuse, child abuse, and domestic violence," said Mahan, who believes the child abuse and domestic violence stem from the drug abuse, specifically methamphetamine. Mahan chairs the anti-meth task force committee, which is tied closely to local churches. "At first we had no faith-based relationships, but the meth issue got them involved," she said. "That's a great thing because it's opened so many doors. There are 1,001 churches in Fannin County, and people from those churches were looking to help so they came to Family Connection." According to Mahan, after 10 years, the Family Connection philosophy of collaborating with partners is beginning to catch on and pay off. "The problem was that people wanted to volunteer but didn't know how," she said. "We created a database to make it easier. Now people are more aware that it's everybody's responsibility to take care of people here." In addition to the other crises it's sparked, meth abuse has given rise to a homeless problem there as well. Mahan manages the Blue Ridge Housing Authority, which opened in April, and is strictly run by volunteers, mostly church members.
"We also get a lot of college students who receive financial education awards for service through the Americorp education program," said Mahan. "They help staff the Domestic Violence Shelter, which is always full. Family Connection is hard to grasp but gets easier when other programs like Americorp are attached. There's not a lot of turf-guarding between agencies. We all need help so we help each other." Americorp is housed in the Family Connection office. The collaborative also operates supervised visitation for children and their natural parents in a trailer that's falling apart. The county has applied for a grant to build a new Family Connection building that would include a large gym. A house in desperate need of repair was recently donated to the collaborative to restore and sell to raise money. "All the people working on the property are recovering drug abusers," said Mahan. "This has made them realize that the community cares for them. Though we haven't licked the problem, we provided a lot for them." If you are interested in commissioning Mary Dean Cochran to work on similar projects for your county, e-mail Mahan at lindamahan@etcmail.com for details and costs. |
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