“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”
The mission of the Healthy WashCo collective is to help create a happier, healthier and safer Washburn County. We believe that the work we do to empower people today will create a brighter tomorrow.
Planting seeds for tomorrow
Healthy WashCo programs are free and open to anyone in and around Washburn County.
Community Engagement
Community Engagement
Community Engagement
It takes more than one group to make changes in Washburn County. Healthy WashCo engages the community through events, outreach and training to provide opportunities and promote the work we do to raise awareness of local issues.
Youth Development
Youth Development
Youth Development
Youth development is community development. In the world of prevention an emphasis is placed on the building up of youth populations. The effort that we put into developing the character and integrity of our young people dictates what our future looks like.
Local Concerns
Local Concerns
Local Concerns
Many campaigns are used to promote AODA education to the Washburn County community. These are funded through grants such as the Drug Free Communities Grant. Small Talks, Real Talks, and Dose of Reality are widely used.
Social Emotional Learning
Social Emotional Learning
Social Emotional Learning
Healthy WashCo offers several social emotional learning curriculums to area schools. These programs are evidence based. The goal of the programs are to develop student resilience, promote mental wellness, and encourage healthy lifestyles. All of these factors will ultimately lead to a healthier, happier life.
Data Collection
Data Collection
Data Collection
Healthy WashCo collects a variety of data throughout the county. The primary sources are through the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the Youth Wellness Screen. Other quantitative and qualitative surveys are used to collect important data regarding trends in substance misuse and mental health. This data is used for grant applications, presentations and to see changes year to year in trends.
Youth!
Have you ever gotten frustrated because there isn't much for young people to do in Washburn County? Are you passionate about making a difference? Do you want to grow your positive friend group? Do you want to build your leadership and advocacy skills? If this sounds like you, check out all Healthy WashCo has going on!
About Healthy WashCo
The foundation of Healthy WashCo is our two coalitions - The Community Alliance for Prevention and The Mental Health Task Force. The coalitions work in tandem to address community health through initiatives focused on mental health advocacy and substance prevention.
Up and coming
Check out the local events and activities we are excited to be a part of. We hope you join us.
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Local solutions for local challenges
Washburn County has a great number of resources to support everyone's social, emotional and wellness needs.
Youth Participant
FAQs
You cant make a donation on this website! We use a secure plateform called Stripe. Monetary donations can be mailed to PO BOX 250 Shell Lake, WI 54871 or 304 2nd St. Shell Lake, WI 54871 ATTN: Prevention Team. We also accept in-kind donations to support our youth programs and events. All proceeds generated through monetary donation directly fund programming costs. As an example, that might be the food and boarding costs for the Youth Leadership Adventure.
Healthy Washco programs are provided at no cost to the participant. At this time we are able to accomplish this through grant funds. The approximate program cost per student participating in leadership programming specifically is $250 each.
We can observe changes in local data and trends. Many of our programs identify at-risk individuals and connect them with resources. Anecdotally, we have directly observed the benefits our programs have had on the youth we work with.
One challenge that HealthyWashCo has faced are the limitations of human resources in a rural community.
The community is unaware of the prevalence of mental health challenges and substance misuse. The complexity and interconnection of these issues makes addressing them complicated. There is no easy fix. It takes time and commitment from the community for meaningful change to occur. Unfortunately, most traditional funding sources are looking for very short-term measurable outcomes. Individual, group and community social norms do not change in a linear fashion, nor quickly. Sustainable community change is not a sprint, it's a marathon.
In short, grant funding to support programming is inherently unsustainable.
Washburn County Health and Human Services is the fiscal agentof Healthy WashCo. The program and staffing costs are funded by the followinggrants: Drug Free Communities, Brighter Futures Initiatives, CommunityPartnerships for Diversion from Youth Justice and the Strategic PreventionFramework - Partnerships for Success grant. We also receive some communitysupport from local businesses and individuals. All costs associated with prevention programming are delivered to the community at zero tax levy.