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.

Partnering with public libraries, spaces where families may already frequent, FoodWIse Dane County Healthy Communities Coordinator Claire Mance modified and expanded a 2021 ‘Make it An Active Summer! Cards’ pilot program to increase physical activity for youth and families.

The SNAP-Ed funded program FoodWIse partners with McIntosh Library, Master Gardeners and Community Hunger Solutions in Viroqua, Wisconsin to develop a community education garden with Growing Together WI grants.

In Polk county, Wisconsin, the SNAP-Ed funded program FoodWIse partners with the HealthPartners Amery Hospital and Clinic, and local farming and food nonprofit Farm Table Foundation, to pilot Eating Well In Recovery.

In Portage, Wood, Marathon and Clark counties, partnerships support unique distribution models for connecting important food items to seniors with limited incomes.

In Manitowoc County, bilingual StrongBodies classes support Hmong and Southeast Asian elders as they stay active, build and maintain social connections.

Share Tables help reduce waste, reduce food costs and increase the opportunity for hungry students to eat more. Food Service Staff at Hintgen, Harry Spence, Hamilton and Summit Environmental Schools in La Crosse county quickly embraced the benefits of Share Tables in their cafeterias.

The Kemāmaceqtaq (“We’re All Moving”) team of Extension Menominee County/Nation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, worked with language and culture keepers and community artists to create a unique curriculum anchored in Menominee knowledge of the 13 moons and their associated Indigenous food practices.

To expand access to local farmers’ markets in communities with limited incomes, Extension FoodWIse programs increase not only the availability of EBT programs but also increase the awareness that SNAP participants have of EBT programs at farmers’ markets.

A long-standing partnership with Riverview Apartments in Fond du Lac created a strong foundation for FoodWIse educator Melanie Phillips to explore new education spaces with participants. With the support of Julie Schelk, Resident Services Coordinator, they worked together to encourage seniors to learn and enjoy the nearby farmer’s market.

Food security has taken on a new prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic through major disruptions to access to healthy foods and family economic conditions. Extension and the Milwaukee Farmers Market Coalition tackled both, more than doubling the amount of federal food assistance used in Milwaukee-area markets.

Fond du Lac County Nutrition Educator Melanie Phillips’ unique approach to implementing HOM in her community built on teamwork and connections, from students supporting one another to taste a new food, to educators and administrators collaborating as they explored seasonal, local Wisconsin produce.

Recovery Friendly Workplaces enhance employee well-being and contribute to overall organizational success, demonstrating the value of investing in recovery-friendly initiatives.

Mental Health First Aid is an essential course designed to teach participants how to recognize, understand, and respond to mental health and substance use challenges. It equips individuals with practical skills rooted in evidence-based practices. 

Learning to Breathe continues to empower young learners with essential skills that foster resilience and mental well-being, equipping them for a healthier and more mindful future.

In Wisconsin, Growing Together has partnered with local communities to establish impactful projects like the Superior Community Gardens in Douglas County.

Discover how a team in Adams County, Wisconsin succeeded in getting self-defense classes added into their school’s physical education curriculum!

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