How WISE works to reduce stigma, offer hope to those struggling with their mental health
10/19/21 03:35:pm
Rogers’ commitment to helping people rise above mental health and addiction goes beyond treatment, to being at the forefront of working to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.
“Stigma reduction is so important,” says Alison Wolf, operation and development manager, Rogers InHealth/WISE. “It’s awesome that Rogers recognizes that and puts so much effort into being part of it.”
Born out of InHealth, WISE was founded in 2012. It’s a coalition of organizations and individuals whose shared goal is to eliminate stigma. Members work to build resilience, inclusion, and hope for mental health communities.
“WISE was created from the desire to find out what the community needs were and to offer evidence-based programs, resources, and trainings through partners who wanted to join us in our efforts,” says Alison. “WISE is staffed by InHealth employees and consists of an executive committee, a coalition planning committee, and quarterly coalition meetings that are free and open to all.
Some of the resources that have been created are:
- WISE Basics – tools including a video and PowerPoint to guide anti-stigma work in communities
- Up to Me – a curriculum for individuals or groups on how to make decisions about whether to share one’s mental health challenges and how to do so effectively
- Safe person/ seven promises decal
- Three Compassion Resilience toolkits for organizations, schools, and families or caregivers
“We also send out a newsletter monthly to more than a thousand individuals and organizations,” says Alison. “We advertise mental health stigma elimination events that our partners are having, and we update about our upcoming coalition meetings and share timely news and links.”
In connection with the coalition focus for this past year, WISE partnered with the non-profit organization, Giving Voice to Depression, to explore the intersection of race and mental health through a four-series podcast. The last one will be released in November; the previous episodes can be found on the Resources page of the Rogers website. WISE will also publish blogs about the topics covered in the series on its website, including the first one here.
To learn more about WISE, visit endstigmatogether.org or download a flyer.
