Mental health services, interventions, and treatments are increasingly in demand across Wisconsin and the United States. Rural areas face significant challenges due to limited access to high-quality mental health resources. The situation is especially concerning for Wisconsin's youth, with nearly 20% of high school students reporting serious thoughts of suicide. What’s more, significant disparities in mental health outcomes affect various groups, including BIPOC communities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those with lower incomes. These pressing issues highlight the critical need for targeted, community-based mental health initiatives throughout the state.
In recognition of World Mental Health Day this month, we're highlighting innovative projects addressing mental health challenges in Wisconsin. These initiatives, recipients of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment's (AHW) 2024 Seed Grants and Momentum Grants, are taking action to improve mental health outcomes and reduce disparities in our communities.
AHW’s 2024 Seed Grants provided up to $50,000 for projects that would lay the groundwork for future, larger endeavors to address a health need or fill a gap in knowledge or practice affecting the health of people and communities in the state.
Mental health-focused recipients of AHW’s 2024 Seed Grant funding include:
Led by the Medical College of Wisconsin’s (MCW’s) Matthew Jandrisevits, PhD (Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine), this project is a community partnership between Amani United—a neighborhood organization in Milwaukee working toward a healthy and sustainable community for its residents—and MCW. The initiative aims to facilitate mental health discussions through community forums in the Amani neighborhood, which is predominantly Black and has widespread poverty and significant health challenges.
The project will address barriers to mental health care in urban communities, including limited access to services and lack of cultural alignment between patients and providers. The project team hopes to improve overall community wellness by promoting awareness and reducing stigma.
Targeting Wisconsin’s mental health disparities, this project—led by the National Alliance on Mental Illness Wisconsin and MCW’s Michelle R. Broaddus, PhD (Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine)—will create county and multi-county coalitions to improve access to coordinated and culturally informed mental health care.
The research team also plans to conduct an environmental scan in at least 45 Wisconsin counties, develop educational sessions on coalition implementation, and identify reforms that can be replicated without major systemic changes.
In response to rising adolescent mental health challenges post-COVID-19, SSM Health Treffert Center and MCW's Matthew Jandrisevits, PhD (Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine), are launching "Taking Controlz." This innovative project aims to provide free, quality, evidence-based mental health content on TikTok, countering the often inaccurate advice circulating on the platform.
Taking Controlz will leverage TikTok content strategies to direct traffic toward evidence-based mental health resources and promote safe social media habits. Hosted by board-certified child psychiatrists, the channel will create content aligned with trending topics while encouraging critical thinking about content consumption, aiming to improve youth mental health outcomes in Wisconsin.
With their project’s 2024 AHW Seed Grant funding, Herzing University and MCW’s Christopher J. Simenz, PhD (MCW Institute for Health and Equity), are partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee to provide educational resources to caregivers. The partnership builds on existing youth programming to foster healthier relationships and outcomes.
This initiative addresses the critical need for improved youth mental health support in Wisconsin, where less than 25% of our youth population feel comfortable discussing mental health with adult family members.
Led by Workforce Resource, Inc. and MCW's Leslie Ruffalo, PhD, MS (Family Medicine), this project addresses the critical mental health needs of independent living youth in Rock County. The initiative comes at a crucial time, as Rock County has experienced a decline in health outcomes since the COVID-19 pandemic, ranking among the least healthy counties in Wisconsin.
With their AHW Seed funding, the Nutrition Collaborative of Rock County (NCRC) will work to increase equitable access to healthy food for all county residents. The project will engage in community events, conduct focus groups, and host an innovation event to plan sustainable initiatives addressing food insecurity, while also supporting NCRC leadership development to strengthen the collaborative's impact on Rock County's health landscape.
AHW’s 2024 Momentum Grants offered funding of up to $250,000 for community health projects, health-focused research, and health workforce development initiatives designed to address pressing health challenges in Wisconsin.
Mental health-focused projects that received 2024 AHW Momentum Grant Funding include:
With their Momentum grant, Great Rivers United Way and MCW’s Leslie Ruffalo, PhD, MS (Family Medicine), are examining the long-term effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in western Wisconsin's rural communities.
Collaborating with community health workers, the researchers will implement trauma-informed care and resilience-building strategies to mitigate the impact ACEs have on chronic diseases, mental health disorders, and substance abuse.
The Wisconsin Council of Churches and MCW’s Katherine Quinn, PhD (Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine), are exploring the intersection of food insecurity and mental health with their 2024 AHW Momentum Grant funding. Focusing on Black churches in southeast Wisconsin, this project will organize mutual aid initiatives to enhance food security, mental health, and community connectedness.
The Milwaukee County War Memorial Center and MCW's Bertrand Berger, PhD (Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine), are tackling the critical issue of veteran suicide with their 2024 AHW Momentum Grant funding. With suicide rates increasing by nearly one-third from 1999 to 2020, this project aims to reduce suicide prevalence among U.S. military veterans through sustained public education campaigns.
The initiative will focus on promoting secure firearm storage and suicide prevention strategies across Wisconsin. By developing new public awareness messaging, providing year-round education programs, and forming a coalition to sustain these efforts, the project partners hope to increase public awareness and behavior change regarding firearm safety. If successful, this comprehensive approach could lead to a significant decrease in suicide rates among veterans and the broader Wisconsin population.
The Chequamegon Accountable: the Community for Health (CAtCH) project will investigate mental health crises in rural areas where resources and support are limited. Led by NorthLakes Community Clinic and MCW's Michelle Broaddus, PhD (Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine), the research team will aim to reduce trauma and improve outcomes in behavioral health crises by creating participant-centered plans that first responders can use to de-escalate situations.
By expanding these plans to serve youth, aging, and disabled populations and working with local agencies and community partners, the project will address significant mental health disparities in Ashland and Bayfield Counties. This initiative will enhance the health and safety of these communities by reducing emergency detentions and improving access to appropriate care and support.
Lawrence University and MCW's Corina Norrbom, MD (Medical School Regional Campuses), are addressing the growing public health issue of secondary traumatic stress (STS) among community health workers (CHWs) serving minoritized communities in central Wisconsin.
This project aims to empower CHWs with a toolkit of culturally responsive, evidence-based, low-cost mental health promotion approaches. The initiative will develop and implement workshops, create advocacy tools to highlight STS and burnout among CHWs, and provide resources for CHWs and their employers to support mental health in the workplace.
By focusing on the mental health of this critical workforce, which serves over 26,000 Hmong and Hispanic individuals in central Wisconsin alone, the project aims to enhance community advocacy efforts and promote better health outcomes across diverse, minoritized populations in the state.
Rock River Community Clinic and MCW's David Songco, PsyD (Family Medicine), are addressing the critical shortage of behavioral health services in rural Jefferson and Dodge counties. The Rock River Health Care Network (HealthWorks) aims to improve health equity by increasing access to behavioral health services for low-income residents in these areas.
By developing a coordinated, financially sustainable behavioral health delivery system, enhancing services at the Rock River Community Clinic, and initiating an internship program, HealthWorks will leverage existing resources to address these challenges. This project will significantly improve mental health outcomes for Medicaid and low-income residents, ensuring a network of behavioral health services in the region.
Suicide prevention efforts in Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago Counties will undergo improvements through this project led by NEW Mental Health Connection and MCW’s Sara Kohlbeck, PhD, MPH (Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine). The project partners hope to enhance mental health and suicide prevention in the three counties through expanded death reviews, improved data collection, and community-led initiatives.
By focusing on health equity and local involvement, the project will build sustainable strategies to reduce suicide rates and improve mental health outcomes.
With their 2024 AHW Momentum Grant funding, a team led by Kenosha Community Health Center and MCW's Joni Williams, MD, MPH (Medicine), is investigating methods to coordinate medical, dental, and behavioral health care to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities among vulnerable populations in Wisconsin.
This project aims to fully integrate these services at Pillar Health, operated by Kenosha Community Health Center, Inc., to enhance care access and quality. By implementing a fully integrated care team model with common governance, budgets, and incentives, the project seeks to improve patient outcomes such as increased rates of routine medical and dental check-ups and closure of care gaps.
These projects represent a significant investment in Wisconsin's mental health landscape. By addressing diverse needs across urban and rural areas, targeting various age groups, and focusing on underserved populations, these AHW-funded initiatives are making meaningful strides in improving mental health outcomes throughout our state.