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. We are fortunate to have built a team of dedicated staff to invest in preventative programming, who are supported by a network of stakeholders that are vested in realizing a happier and healthier Washburn County.
Challenges at a glance
Rates of mental health challenges and substance use are elevated in Washburn County and in most cases exceed state averages in Wisconsin. Here is a snapshot of our community challenges:
39%
of high school youth report drinking more than a few sips before age 13 (Washburn County HS YRBS)
96%
of teens that use e-cigarettes tried them before age 13 (WI DHS Tobacco is Changing)
Only 34%
of LGBTQ+ high school youth feel they belong at school (Washburn County HS YRBS)
22%
of high school students 'Most of the Time' or 'Always' get the emotional support they need. 56% 'Rarely' or 'Never' get the emotional help/support they need (Washburn County HS YRBS)
Prevention in Washburn County
The Washburn County Board set aside $7500 to support healthy/substance free opportunities/activities.
The Community Alliance for Prevention and the Mental Health Task Force were formed. The Youth Wellness Screen was developed and implemented. Healthy WashCo was awarded the CONNECTED grant through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and the Brighter Futures Initiative grant through the Department of Children and Families. The CONNECTED grant jump started Healthy WashCo's youth-led programming efforts.
The youth-led group Healthy Minds was launched in Spooner High School. Healthy WashCo leadership initiated the development of the coalition Community First. The coalition was designed to address food insecurity and basic needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The coalition is now a not-for-profit and continues to make positive impacts locally.
The Mental health Task Force was awarded the Youth and Family Partnership award through the National Center for School Mental health. Healthy WashCo was awarded the Youth Diversion grant through the Department of Health Services. The grant opportunity increased capacity by adding a staff person.
The summer youth leadership program launched. In the first year, 37 students participated. The youth-led group CITY was formed. Healthy WashCo was awarded the Drug Free Communities grant. The grant opportunity increased capacity by adding a staff person. Healthy WashCo grew to a full staff of four individuals.
The Oak: WashCo Youth Center opened. The facility operations, staffing and school based mental health efforts in Spooner School District are funded through the SAMHSA Strategic Partnerships for Success grant.
Who’s who
We are blessed with a dynamic team who complement each other in pursuit of our common goals.
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.
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