Addressing Mental Health
The goal is to have an activity scheduled most days of the week in every part of Douglas County. From painting and yoga to birdwatching or a fire by the shore, #BetterTogether is just one way a collaborative mental health team is addressing the county’s mental health.
Coming Together in Innovative Ways
This work started in January 2022, when Miller-Dwan Foundation and the University of Wisconsin-Superior came together to identify innovative ways to address the current mental health crisis experienced not only by our residents but by many of the professionals who are charged directly or indirectly with the physical and mental well-being of others (teachers, therapists, etc.). Also participating are the Douglas County schools, Essentia Health St. Mary’s Hospital, the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation and NAMI.
Just a Start
Other activities, to name a few, include suicide prevention trainings called Gatekeeper Trainings, intentionally created conversation areas, mental health urgent care, school/student strategies and provider retention efforts. As one provider said, “We need to treat our region’s mental health crisis as if it’s a tumor. We need to do everything we can to try to heal it. We need to give it all we’ve got.”
LIVEWELL Northern Wisconsin is just a start. Conversations continue to determine how best to address mental health in Douglas Country on a larger, game-changing level.
