There are so many great things happening in children's mental health across Wisconsin – programs that are helping kids understand wellness, build resilience, and foster positive connections. At the Office of Children's Mental Health we want to highlight some of these awesome efforts and inspire others across our state to initiate programs and activities to accomplish similar goals.
More Good Work Supporting Social Connectedness throughout Wisconsin
Throughout our state, organizations understand the value of social connections for our youth and are engaging in programs that support it. We want to highlight some of these organizations.
- Boys & Girls Club of Greater Green Bay: Providing a safe, inviting, place for youth ages 7-17 to learn, grow, and have fun; with a focus on building relationships, the arts, social emotional learning, and working with the community. The Club staff focuses on building relationships with their youth and then moving to programs. They have dedicated Social Emotional Learning (SEL) staff. Learn more: https://www.bgcgb.org/
- Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee: Starting with a safe place to learn and play, efforts focus on relationship development, positive adult-to-youth interactions, and social emotional development (SED) to enhance young people's strengths and positive outcomes. SED coordinators run programs at the individual Clubs as well as work with Club staff to build their social emotional and trauma-sensitive skills. Club managers and staff are clear – their work is all about the kids they serve. Learn more: https://www.bgcmilwaukee.org/
- Family Resource Center St. Croix Valley: Providing education, resources, and support to families with children prenatal to kindergarten in Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix Counties. The Center is creating social connections through a variety of programs that focus on areas from parenting to special events. Learn more: https://frcscv.org/
- In a New Light Galley – Northwest Passage: Providing a therapeutic nature photography program and art gallery for students at Northwest Passage Residential Treatment Center. The program emphasizes skilled expressive arts training and nature immersion that empowers youth who are struggling with mental health issues to find beauty in the world that surrounds them, as well as in themselves. Learn more about In a New Light: https://nwpltd.org/inanewlight/. Learn more about Northwest Passage: https://nwpltd.org/.
- Mental Health Matters – Eau Claire and Chippewa Valley Counties: Building a community culture to support youth resilience and decrease depression among middle and high school age youth, the initiative has brought together over 20 partnering organizations to support actions that will improve youth mental health. One attendee noted a lot of organizations were working independently, doing their own thing. The initiative caused the groups to “row their boats" in one direction. Learn more: https://cvmentalhealthmatters.org/
- Racine Unified School District/Racine Collaborative for Children's Mental Health: The Academies of Racine preparing high school students for college and the workforce by providing real-world experiences with local businesses and professionals. The Academies offer small learning communities or pathways that provide real-world experiences with local businesses and professionals. Students select a pathway in their freshman year and study it for the next three years. Learn more: https://rusd.org/academics/academies-racine/about-academies
- Washburn County Mental Health Task Force: Identifying youth with unmet needs and connecting them with appropriate services. The task force developed a youth-wellness screen assessment and built a spectrum of services. Learn more: https://sites.google.com/view/washburncountycommunityprevent/mental-health-task-force
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