Jackson State University's Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation and Psychometric Services recently received a five-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration for JSU's Rehabilitation Counseling Long-Term Training Project, which helps educate students to serve Mississippi's special-needs population.

Frank L. Giles, professor and director of the Rehabilitation Counseling Program, will serve as the project director. Giles, a forensic vocational expert and rehabilitation life care planner for federal and Mississippi state courts, has previously received $12 million in external funding for DCRPS projects.

JSU is the first HBCU in the United States to obtain and maintain master's level program accreditation since the 1979-1980 academic year from the Council on Rehabilitation Education, a release from JSU says.

For more information on Rehabilitation Services Administration scholarships, email [email protected].

JSU Receives Grant for COVID-19 Prevention Campaign

Jackson State University recently entered into a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control Foundation to receive $420,000 to develop a marketing campaign to reduce and prevent disproportionate COVID-19 transmission among African Americans ages 18-29 in Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties.

Hinds County, which has a 73% Black population, had the most infections in Mississippi over summer 2020 at 5,100, while Madison and Rankin counties saw rates of 28.8% and 52.4%, respectively. Even though the Black population in Mississippi is 37.8% versus 59.1% for whites, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported 1,672 Black deaths in the state compared to 1,864 white deaths as of Nov. 29.

JSU plans to work with the CDC Foundation to implement a campaign to counter these health disparities, raise awareness and change behaviors to combat COVID-19, a release from the university says. JSU will also implement media campaigns to address economic, social and secondary health consequences of the disease, with an emphasis on pre-existing and underlying health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.

The university also plans to partner with faith-based organizations, the Mississippi State Department of Health, municipal governments, community leaders and other educational institutions for additional projects, the release says.

USM, Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation Providing 50 Christmas Dinners

The Mississippi Network for Cancer Control at The University of Southern Mississippi is partnering with the Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation to provide 50 Christmas dinners to recently diagnosed cancer patients and underserved populations in Mississippi.

In previous years, the two organizations usually provided 25 families with free Christmas dinners annually. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the groups are now working to solicit extra contributions to support an additional 25 families in the Mississippi Delta for 2020 due to the increase in requests that lost jobs and related issues have caused.

The Mississippi Network for Cancer Control at USM and the Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation sponsor the dinners in collaboration with the Greenwood Community and Recreation Center, Inc.; Locust Grove Missionary Baptist Church of Greenwood; Harlow’s Casino Resort & Spa; and Greenwood Marketplace.

Each dinner will feed up to eight people per household. USM will distribute the meals on a “first-come-first-serve” basis. To apply, call or text 662-392-5458 by Monday, Dec. 7.