Mental health and well-being consistently arose as the most prominent community health priority in Sheboygan County during the FY21 Community Health Needs Assessment process. While local providers work to increase and strengthen the workforce available to address these challenges, improving access to prevention and early intervention services is paramount.
 
For that reason, HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital committed to working with community partners to create environments that support positive mental health.
 
When an opportunity arose to partner with Mental Health America Lakeshore to develop a virtual version of that organization’s Resilient Classroom curriculum, HSHS St. Nicholas welcomed the opportunity to make resiliency training more accessible to local schools. While MHA Lakeshore staff traditionally have presented this training in person to area classrooms, demand has outpaced capacity, leading to the organization to explore the potential for creating a video series for educational establishments. After learning more about the project, the hospital agreed to serve as the sole sponsor with a $10,000 contribution to cover costs.
 
In conjunction with this unique partnership, HSHS will work with Mental Health America Lakeshore to make the virtual resiliency curriculum available for classrooms in other communities in Wisconsin and Illinois as well.