Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is important for healthy child growth and development and can reduce the risk of chronic health conditions later in life. However, according to the CDC, half of children aged one to five years don’t eat a vegetable daily, and one in three don’t eat a daily fruit. Schools play a key role in improving access to healthy foods and introducing children to new fruits and vegetables.  

The Regional Community Health Team (RCHT) is an initiative of the Health & Well-Being Institute to provide training, technical assistance, and resources to strengthen community-based partners’ ability to address health priorities. Launched in Spring 2024, the RCHT expands HWB’s statewide reach and impact in advancing community health.

Managing stress and maintaining emotional well-being are ongoing challenges for many individuals, particularly in the face of life’s uncertainties. Research has shown that chronic stress negatively impacts both mental and physical health, increasing the risk of anxiety, depression, and other health conditions. In Wisconsin, communities have expressed a need for accessible and effective strategies to help individuals build resilience, cope with stress, and improve overall well-being. As one participant put it, “Last year was tough for many reasons. WeCOPE was a lifeline in a rough sea.”

Getting, keeping, and using health insurance is a challenge for many Wisconsinites. Confusing and conflicting information makes it hard to know who to trust. Scams and out-of-state agents may sign people up for programs that don’t provide the care they need. Understanding the out-of-pocket costs and finding in-network providers are additional barriers. Navigating these systems can be time-consuming, and by the time someone receives an expensive bill or learns their provider is out of network, they may feel discouraged and delay or forego needed care.  

Substance use disorders impact millions of Americans, with an estimated 23 million in recovery. Stable employment is key to sustaining recovery, yet stigma and workplace policies often create barriers. Many employers lack the resources to support employees in recovery, leading to missed workforce retention opportunities, increased healthcare costs, and economic instability.

At the Health Justice Clinic, we take a holistic approach to advocacy, ensuring clients get the care they need. This is a story of how a Center for Patient Partnership Health Justice Clinic student advocate helped a client access life-saving cancer treatment.

Physical activity is essential for maintaining mobility, independence, and overall health, especially for older adults. However, access to structured physical activity programs can be limited by language barriers, geography, and availability of in-person classes. 

The Safe and Healthy Food Pantries Project equips Wisconsin pantries with tools and training, resulting in safer food handling and improved nutrition for pantry guests.

Since 2015, the College of Menominee Nation (CMN) has worked to address barriers to local food production, support the local economy, and increase food grown within the reservation through the Kehtekaewak Farmers’ Market.

While interest in community spaces, resources, and education for the processing and preserving of traditional Menominee foods has been long standing, the Kemāmaceqtaq team joined local partners in 2020 to move these interests forward towards their realization.

LIFT Wisconsin is a collaboration between the Economic Justice Institute, Center for Patient Partnerships, Legal Action of Wisconsin, UW Law School’s civil legal clinics, and the Employment and Training Association.

In partnership with DHS, Covering Wisconsin (CWI) planned an extensive targeted outreach campaign with strict data sharing, privacy, and security agreements.

There is limited access to substance use and mental health education in rural Great Lakes communities. The Great Lakes ROTA-RC project addresses this challenge by creating a virtual learning community.

The Behavioral Health Program delivered evidence-based mental health programs to equip community members with the skills needed to recognize and respond to signs of mental health issues.

Extension partnered with public health organizations statewide and held six deliberative dialogue sessions in three Wisconsin counties. These dialogues were facilitated using an issue guide the group created around what makes communities healthy — without using polarizing language.

Las clases de ejercicio StrongBodies en el Sixteenth Street Community Health Center en Milwaukee se dictan totalmente en español.

StrongBodies classes at the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center in Milwaukee are offered completely in Spanish.

Youth mental health has been a growing concern in Wisconsin with 1 in 5 youth ages 14-24 living with a serious mental illness and suicide being the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34. Raise Your Voice is a youth-led program that hopes to change that.

Covering Wisconsin received a Service to the Citizen Award, given to state and federal government agencies to honor exemplary public service. They were recognized for developing and implementing a WebChat digital outreach and enrollment tool.

Extension taught a variety of stress management techniques and mindfulness to adults, adolescents and those in helping professions.

Extension’s FoodWIse and Healthy Eating Active Living Programs worked with multi-sector partners throughout 2021 to support policy, systems, and environmental changes. This included work to improve nutrition policies for community meals and systems-level changes that increased access to healthier foods for food bank participants and seniors.

UW–Madison Extension’s Behavioral Health Program provides direct education to young people and adults to build individual knowledge and skills on positive self-management, stress, and coping skills to improve mental health and reduce the risk for substance misuse.

Shifting from direct education to policy, systems and environmental (PSE) change efforts, Menominee FoodWIse Educator Chelsey LaTender saw early efforts of a Master Gardener Volunteer (MGV) in an abandoned plot as an opportunity to develop and learn with the community around garden-based education.

Cooking classes bring the whole family to the kitchen to learn techniques and strategies for enjoying healthy, nutritious meals. Through innovative virtual lessons, Polk, St. Croix and Pierce participants in Wisconsin found energy and engagement with Cooking Matters.