Eau Claire Mental Health Matters (Phase II)

Project Summary:

Advancing Behavioral Health Initiative Phase II

Reporting four or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is an indicator of future poor mental health outcomes, and this risk factor is present in one in seven of all community members in Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties. Additionally, current data indicate that approximately 30% (3,600) of area middle and high school public school students are at risk for depression as reported on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

With a focus on factors that will protect youth from developing depression, including for youth with exposure to ACEs, this project seeks to decrease the number of middle- and high school-age youth who are at risk for depression by 15% (from 28% to 24%) by:

• Increasing capacity of the youth-serving workforce across sectors to build protective factors and resilience for Eau Claire and Chippewa county youth
• Building staff skills to contribute to a positive school climate and youth social-emotional skills
• Creating policy and change practice to improve youth mental health and resilience through use of a systematic, sustainable approach to data-driven decision-making

This project is part of AHW's Advancing Behavioral Health Initiative, an eight-year, $20 million initiative bringing together 10 community coalitions from across Wisconsin to address pressing mental health needs within their communities. The initiative is designed in three phases, providing a funded planning year, a five-year implementation period, and a two-year sustainable transformation phase. Learn more here.