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- UW Madison reached out to UW Extension Sheboygan office to request we participate in presenting a stop for their statewide tour celebrating their 175th anniversary. With the direction of our new AED Jayna Hintz, and with input from UW Madison, my colleagues Amanda Miller, Janeth Orozco and I collaborated to create a Farmers’ Market-centered event supporting bilingual families at the Farmers’ Market. I organized a family resource fair for that day through my community partnership, Sheboygan Outreach Collective. Janeth and Amanda planned for two farmers’ market tours in English and Spanish to acquaint families to the market. Community participation numbers are not available at this time. Fifteen community partner organizations offered to participate in the resource fair. The event is intended to help families better access the market as an economical and healthy food source; to better access community resources available in Sheboygan; and to bring visibility to Extension’s positive impact in Sheboygan.
- Youth are reporting concerns about their mental health at epidemic and unprecedented levels. Lisa Sanderson conducted a youth health and belonging survey of approximately 133 Sheboygan area youth in Fall 2022. Mental health concerns led the students’ reported worries at around 30%. Schools and communities are stretched in their capacity to respond to youth needs in this area. Lisa sought area partners in mental health to support in their efforts to build youth and adult capacity to respond to this crisis and identified Mental Health America as a partner. Increasing positive culture in school communities and helping youth to destigmatize and normalize informed discussions of mental health topics are goals of the Mental Health America Student Mental Health Ambassadors program. Mental Health America staff are engaged in establishing this group at area high schools. Lisa Sanderson will partner with those staff and school counseling staff to build youth capacity to be Youth Mental Health Ambassadors. This program focuses on supporting youth-facilitated discussions of youth mental health topics and youth ideas for mental health advocacy. A group of South High youth and the school social worker met with us to discuss establishing this program. Youth will take training at the end of the summer. Other Sheboygan area schools have been identified as potential partners by Mental Health America.
