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Agencies join together to kick off May Mental Health Awareness Month

May 5, 2017
The N.E.W. Mental Health Connection

The Northeast Wisconsin Mental Health Connection and its members will host the 5th annual Mental Health Awareness Month kick-off event in Appleton on Thursday, May 11.

The Connection is excited to unveil its new mental health and substance abuse service navigation website – www.MyConnectionNEW.org – at the event. The event will feature a tour of the new website, a one-stop resource for residents of Calumet, Outagamie and Winnebago Counties to connect to mental health providers, services and supports. Our community will welcome Kathy Sterbenc, Vice President of Trilogy Integrated Resources, to conduct the tour. Trilogy, the creator of the Network of Care Web sites, is a company dedicated to improving information and communication in the health and social service fields at the community level.

The public event is planned for 7:30 – 9 a.m., Thursday, May 11 at Fox Valley Technical College, 1825 N. Bluemound Drive, Appleton. The event will be held in Room C190 ABC near Entrance 15.

“This website is a great example of what we can do when we tackle systems issues – like access to mental health care – together,” said Beth Clay, executive director of The Connection. “Our community won’t sit back and wait for solutions to flow from state or national government. We are interested in solving the urgent, local, real-life struggles of our community members. Knowing what services are available for mental health and substance abuse services is one major step towards alleviating the access to care struggle.”

The website, which was created through the collaboration of The Connection member agencies, in partnership with United Way Fox Cities 2-1-1, and funded by the Basic Needs Giving Partnership of the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, also features a searchable library of mental health information, web links to local, state and national resources, and access to anonymous mental health screening tools.

The kickoff program will also feature short presentations from community leaders and mental health supporters as we proclaim our community’s commitment to raise awareness about mental illness, promote mental health for all, and stand up against stigma.

This is the fifth year that The Connection and member agencies have joined efforts to coordinate the event, with a goal of improving the community’s mental health literacy, breaking down stigma, and creating a supportive and caring community for families and individuals affected by mental illness.

About N.E.W. Mental Health Connection

The Northeast Wisconsin Mental Health Connection is a nonprofit membership organization that exists to improve the mental health system of care in Northeast Wisconsin. Using a framework of collective impact, The Connection works to bring cross-sector organizations together to focus on a common agenda that results in long-lasting change.