These two basketball courts at Gorin Park were painted by the Resilience Factor program, which is based out of Barren County High and Middle Schools. The paintings were completed through a GEER II grant.
(BARREN COUNTY SCHOOLS)
BY BRENNAN D. CRAIN, WCLU News
GLASGOW — For the second year, a group of local students and community members joined to paint another basketball court at Gorin Park.
The Resilience Factor Program was created two years ago and consists of local families and students at Barren County Middle and High School. It provides these groups with wrap around services including mental health counseling, academic assistance, transportation, housing, food, medical interventions, and relationship building activities, according to a news release from Barren County Schools.
“We’ve just had the support of the community, honestly,” said Shelley Thomas, youth service coordinator at Barren County High.
The school system received funding from the GEER II grant – a program administered from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief fund. The money was put to work last year at Gorin Park to brighten the area and create an attractive environment for the area’s youth, Thomas said.
The court’s design, which consists of a sprawling abstract design of colors, was created by Lauren Simmons, the art teacher at Barren County High. Her designs were brought to life through the help of volunteers from the BCHS BioMedical class and other stakeholders.
“Through that GEER funding, one of the main things that we wanted to focus on was giving back to our community,” Thomas said.
Other projects funded through the GEER II grant include a sensory walk, which is planned for next spring at Gorin Park along East Main Street. Donations to Functional Mental Disabilities classrooms at BCHS and two $500 sponsorships to a disc course at Gorin Park were also gifted through the grant. Funding will expire after two years and must be used within that time.
The Resilience Factor program meets bi-monthly and seeks to strengthen families, promote protective factors and build resiliency. Donations to the program can be made through the Barren County Education Foundation.