Category: Health

Animals, Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Family, Health, teachers, UTC, women

A Special Education

Written by Bethany Cothran

Hannah Wilson began teaching at Soddy Daisy High School in August 2023. As the only autistic teacher with a service dog she has ever seen, Wilson works to provide a safe space where all students, no matter who they are, can find a sense of belonging.

The smells of cafeteria food and teenage angst would be overwhelming to many, but to Soddy Daisy High School’s autistic ninth grade English teacher Hannah Wilson, the locker-lined hallways are more like home.

“[School] provided a really good structure for me and people with autism often need a lot of structure to keep them going or they get kind of off the rails,” Wilson said. “So I really like that structure and then I kind of fell in love with English.”

After a day of teaching, Wilson recognized that she has come a long way since she was first diagnosed with autism in seventh grade. 

“Finally getting that diagnosis was like an eye opening experience for me because like…other people experience the things that I’m experiencing,” Wilson said. “I’m not losing my mind, and I just need a little bit extra support in some places and some places are just not my area.”

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Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, donate, Family, Food, Healing, Health, Hugs, Love, Sustainability, UTC, women

Let’s Go Shopping

Written by Caroline Colvin

Niki Bishop is the program director at Metropolitan Ministries. Bishop manages the grocery store program, which provides food to anyone in need.

Niki Bishop is the Program Director at Metropolitan Ministries’ Impact Hub on Rossville Boulevard. The Impact Hub is a conglomerate for many different community resources all under one roof, giving help to those in need. 

Bishop manages the grocery store program at MetMin. Funded through a grant from the Lyndhurst Foundation, the store provides a wide variety of fresh food and essentials once a month to anyone who needs it, no questions asked. 

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Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Family, Health, Love, Sports, Uncategorized

A Game of Miracles

Written by Maddie Charnes

Hayden Morgan (left) plays shortstop alongside Luca Hyde (right). Saturday, October 28, 2023. (Photo by Noah Camacho)

Cheering and laughter fill the baseball field as smells of burgers on the grill cloud the air. The athletes excitedly make their way to the diamond with smiles stretching across their faces as their loved ones watch from the stands.

The Miracle League of Chattanooga is an organization providing those with disabilities the unique opportunity to play the game of baseball and build connections while experiencing the thrill of competition.  

“The community needs to know that the Miracle League is out there, because there are people out there who need the Miracle League,” said Kim Chapman Whitfield, president and co-founder of the Miracle League of Chattanooga. 

“The Miracle League is joy,” Chapman Whitfield said. “The ‘Miracle’ part about it is getting to see those kids play and not feel inhibited, picked on, [or] bullied.”  

Originating in Atlanta and now consisting of 200 leagues in three different countries, the Miracle League is an organization open to people of all ages with any kind of disability. The Chattanooga league was formed in September of 2017.

“Miracle League is my heart,” Chapman Whitfield said.

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Animals, Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, donate, Family, Health, Love, Uncategorized

McKamey Trailblazers

Written by Ali Lemmons

After walking around campus, Becky Grose scratches Blue’s ears. Blue was a shelter dog at the time of this photo. Grose introduced him to many other students on campus. Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (Photo by Ali Lemmons).

Becky Grose, a senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, did not know her day would be filled with walks, car rides, and belly rubs—that is, until she found herself checking out a dog named Blue at the McKamey Animal Center.

Blue is just one of more than 100 dogs at the McKamey Animal Center patiently waiting for their forever home. The shelter is so overcrowded that they are currently operating over their maximum capacity, according to the center’s website.

While they wait, dogs can quickly become stressed and overwhelmed in the crowded shelters. Luckily, the staff at McKamey provide a great solution—the Trailblazer program.

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community, Health, LGBTQ+, Love, women

Activating Your Activism

By Maddie Charnes

Darin Wright amongst other women of the New Suffragettes creating new posters for an upcoming march. Tuesday, February 14, 2023. (Photo by William Chen.)

A mere 50 years ago, women celebrated the ruling of Roe V. Wade, but many, like Darin Wright, 58, have lived long enough to witness its overturning. The fight for not only women’s rights, but human rights and equality is a never-ending battle, and Wright is proving that it is never too late to take action.

“We called ourselves the New Suffragettes to honor the women that fought for our rights,” Wright said. “They were our inspiration.”

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Healing, Health, Nurses, women

Sight & Hope Restored

By Anna Truss

Kathleen Stephens stands on a hill in front of the dock in the Chickamauga Dam Day Use Area. Wednesday, November 23, 2022. (Photo by Anna Truss).

While many people plan to retire fully by 65, that dream is not always a reality for everyone. Kathleen Stephens, a resident of Hamilton County, TN, is still a full time certified nursing assistant at the age of 79.

“I still work full time and I thank God for that because I can see what I’m doing, because before I wouldn’t have been able to see,” Stephens said.

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Daily Life, Family, Healing, Health, UTC

Heather’s Story

Written By Sarah Chesek

Video By Jules Jackson.

“When people tell you to live life to your fullest, you never know what’s going to happen or it can be taken from you in an instant, oh did I really experience that,” Heather Kounthapanya, a senior at UTC said. 

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Environment, Health, outdoors, Sports, UTC, women

Row As You Grow

Written by Anna Truss

Filmed by Jake Redfern and Madison Van Horn. Edited by Jake Redfern.

“Shoulders, ready, up,” calls the coxswain as the team of rowers lifts the boat onto their shoulders.

Kay Hughes and her team were moving their boat to a different dock to prepare for the Head of the Hooch regatta in early November. Even after 10 years of rowing, the thrill has not died for Hughes.

“We had so much fun and people started posting pictures and the camaraderie and the group coming together, it really is truly a team sport,” Hughes mused.

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Chattanooga, community, Family, Health, women

Gender Equality in Tennessee: The Fight Continues

Written By Madison Van Horn

Elizabeth Sparks looks on at her newborn son, Conan, as her husband holds his hand. Sunday, October 2, 2022. (Photo by Allie English).

Last December, Elizabeth Watts found out that she was pregnant at the age of 19 and was immediately burdened with a heavy decision; to have her child or to have an abortion.

“I’ve always been pro-choice, but I thought to myself, ‘There’s no way I could go through with an abortion,’” Elizabeth said. “I don’t think I could handle that emotionally, but having got pregnant, it made me consider, ‘Does this kid have a future? Will I be able to take care of it? Will I be able to work?’”

This narrative is all too familiar for women across the country, but specifically here in the 45th state for women, Tennessee.

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Chattanooga, community, Healing, Health, Sports

Corporate to Crossfit

Story By Kylee Boone

Emily Griffith performs bar muscle-ups in her gym at CrossFit Brigade. April 9, 2022. (Photo by Kylee Boone.)

Chasing a check instead of chasing a dream is a dilemma that many people in corporate America face each and every day. Married couple and owners of CrossFit Brigade in Chattanooga, Eric and Emily Griffith, made a decision many would never dare to do. They quit their corporate jobs to follow their shared passion for fitness.

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