Sheboygan hosts first donor-funded workshop for children on addiction
12/15/23 03:30:pm
Rogers’ Sheboygan teammates are celebrating the success of their first Strength Over Addiction Recovery (SOAR) workshop for children, thanks to funding from a generous donor and support from the Rogers Foundation. Open to kids ages 6 through 15, Rogers’ staff provided a safe space for fun activities, while teaching them about substance use, stigma, and resiliency. Additionally, participants gained coping and resiliency skills, including meditation and mindfulness.
Jaimie Simon, Sheboygan therapist, created the program for children with a team from the Mental Health and Addiction Recovery value stream.
“It’s been an honor to develop a substance use disorder prevention program that is realizing the vision of a generous community partner, and have a fun day with some awesome kiddos,” says Jaimie.
While kids were in their activities, Page Feller, supervisor, Addiction Recovery inpatient care in Oconomowoc, facilitated an educational program specifically designed for caregivers. When asked about what they had learned, participants shared the following:
“Feelings and thoughts are different.”
“I can always go down a negative path. I can also focus on good things that could happen.”
“There are positives if you look for them.”
“To validate the feelings of my granddaughter and really listen.”
“It was incredible to see this project come to life,” says Page. “The whole team put in a lot of time, energy, and passion behind the scenes for the outcome we envisioned.”
An extra special and well-received part of the day was the “Gilly Learns He is Not Alone” story and activity book, created by Page and Dr. Michelle Maloney, System executive clinical director of Mental Health and Addiction Recovery, with help from Jim Hishmeh, Oconomowoc director of inpatient Addiction Services.
Dione Knop, Sheboygan community relations liaison, says the team works hard to meet the needs in the community.
“It was great to see the kids were engaged and happy to be there,” says Dione. “When observing an activity with a bag of rocks, I saw a younger child trying to carry it all by himself. Then I saw all the children move through the exercise of working together to carry it. They learned that it was easier to work together than try to go it alone.”
"We offered the workshop to aid in the reduction of stigma surrounding addiction, while also offering support to those currently affected by addiction in our community,” says September Casteel, Sheboygan director of operations. “The goal is to help break the cycle of addiction by providing children with skills that support resilience and use of healthy coping skills. I’m so humbled to be surrounded by colleagues such as Dr. Michelle Maloney, Page Feller, Jaimie Simon, Dione Knop, and Matthias Schueth (executive vice president, Rogers Foundation) who worked tirelessly on the design of this program, then advocated for it both internally and within the community!”
Sheboygan is hosting another SOAR workshop February 10. Dione welcomes sharing information with parents and patients who might benefit.
Dr. Maloney would like to see other Rogers’ sites host the workshop with the support of a donor. Email Dione.Knop@rogersbh.org with questions.
