Moccasin Bend Eagle Project - The "Eagle's Mile"

Hello, my name is Aiden Beaupain. I am a 16-year-old Life Scout at Troop 29 in Pacifica, California, working on my Eagle Scout Project.

My father lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where I have decided to do my project. Working with a local troop, Troop 116, and with health practitioner Karen Milen, I have decided to put my efforts toward a project that would benefit the patients at the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute (MBMHI).

MBMHI is located on a private area of land on the Tennessee River, and it was founded in 1961 by the Tennessee State Legislature. MBMHI is a psychiatric hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with 150 beds. Survey data for the latest year available shows that the hospital had a total of 2,340 admissions. The hospital was built into five different buildings, and the first building was built in 1961.

The Staff at the MBMHI advised that many medications used to treat mental illness cause obesity, and that was why they reached out to the Boy Scouts to see if someone would be willing to take on this challenge to help the patients. I believe this was an excellent cause to support and requested the MBMHI if I could take on their project.

The idea behind my project is to design and construct workout stations along a 1-mile long loop connected to the institute, calling it the "Eagle's Mile." These stations would involve pullup bars, parallel bars, rubber mulch pits designated for workouts, and guide signs to help facilitate a workout routine for the patients.

Karen Milen has addressed how important physical exercise is for these patients and how beneficial exercise stations would be an excellent addition for the institute. The MBMHI had previously wanted a patient health project, but things fell through due to COVID, and it was never completed.

I feel it is vital that everyone has access to adequate exercise, whether they have mental disabilities or not. This project will provide many opportunities to some of these patients and the staff who could benefit. The only downside to taking on such a project is the costs.

After calculating the estimated costs, and materials needed for the stations, the total comes out to approximately 2,000 dollars. This expense is calculated with three workout stations in the budget. Keep in mind the budget is the minimum goal; my idea is that if we can raise more money, I would like to build more stations to provide patients with a more diverse workout loop. Any leftover money not used in this project will be donated to the MBMHI.

Since the MBMHI cannot assist in funding this project, I am doing everything I can to find more ways to reach the budget goal and beyond. Any support will be greatly appreciated by myself, the volunteers involved, the MBMHI advisors, and the patients themselves.

If you have any questions, you can contact me. Thank you for your time.