Advocacy opportunities

Patients who have completed treatment at Rogers often want to explore ways to get involved in advocacy, anti-stigma activities, or share stories that may help others who could benefit from treatment. Submit your contact information below, and a member of the Rogers team may reach out to you to discuss how you want to get involved.

Please know that none of your personal information will be shared without your consent. If you decide to go forward in participating in an event or activity that involves more than simply sharing your statement below, you will be asked to sign additional disclosure forms. Rogers’ policy is to provide guidance and other safeguards to ensure that such participation is beneficial to our past patients as well as potential patients and the community at large. See the strategic decision-making section below. Participants must be age 18 or older. To respect the recovery process, Rogers does not engage patients in advocacy until at least six months following treatment. If you express interest, we will connect with you after that point.

I am interested in exploring the following advocacy opportunities: (Check all that apply.)

I would like to share my resilience and recovery story in a testimonial on Rogers’ website, social media, blog, or enewsletter.

I will independently share my Rogers experience in a Google or Facebook review.

I am open to considering opportunities to participate in mental health advocacy weeks or other requests that Rogers receives.

I would like to share my/our experience with receiving financial assistance (Patient Care Grant/Angel Fund) from Rogers’ Foundation, using Ronald McDonald House Charities offerings, participating in Spiritual Care programming, or working with a dog as part of a Canine Assisted Intervention in treatment:

To the Rogers team

I want to share my resilience and recovery story with Rogers’ internal team to help them understand the impact of their work.

I can participate in marketing research or surveys to help Rogers most effectively and efficiently reach those in need of treatment.

To patients and families

I would like to share aspects of my recovery journey with other patients to give them hope for healing. This could vary from visiting a program to writing a letter to be shared with patients.

I want to support patients and programs by participating in Rogers Foundation initiatives, such as organizing my own fundraising and awareness event, holding a holiday or coping skills drive, or attending a special event.

I’m a parent whose child went through Rogers treatment in the last three years and I would be willing to talk with other parents who request another parent’s perspective while considering treatment.

Tell us what is motivating you to be an advocate for mental health awareness. Required

Advocate's Name:

Advocate's Email: Required

Confirm your email address: Required

Advocate's Phone:

Advocate's backup phone number:

Advocate's preferred method of contact: --None--Phone Email

Please check all the boxes below that apply to you: I am a former patient. I am 18 years old or older. I am parent of a former patient who is 18 or older. I am the spouse of a former patient. I have been out of Rogers treatment for at least 6 months.

Your treatment at Rogers

If a parent of a former patient, please indicate your child’s full name:

Child's date of birth, if applicable:

Treatment Program (write-in): Required

Level of Care: Required--None--Inpatient Residential Partial Intensive Outpatient

Location: Required--None--Oconomowoc West Allis BrownDeer Kenosha Madison Tampa Skokie Appleton Nashville Minneapolis Philadelphia San Francisco East Bay Hinsdale Miami St. Paul San Diego Sheboygan Los Angeles Atlanta Seattle Denver

Address:

City:

State: --None--Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington, DC West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Postal Code:

Country:

Typing your name below serves as your electronic signature and signifies your consent to use the content you provided. Required

Note that you can request at any point that content be removed from our website or social media channels by notifying Rogers via email at Media@rogersbh.org or mailing Marketing at Rogers Behavioral Health, 34700 Valley Road, Oconomowoc, WI 53066.

Making a strategic decision: should I talk about my mental illness and recovery?

Talking about your mental illness should, first and foremost, support your healing and recovery. While many reach a point in their recovery when they have a strong desire to stop keeping their mental illness a secret and/or assist others by sharing what they have learned, it is always important to consider any consequences of sharing your story. For some, the benefits outweigh the potential risks and they decide to talk about their mental illness with their family, their friends, at their workplace and/or other settings. Some choose to participate in opportunities to tell their story publicly to further the mission of reducing stigma.

Before you talk about your mental illness and experiences of recovery, consider the potential short-term benefits and risks and the long-term benefits and risks of sharing your personal information. Sometimes people overestimate the negative reactions of others and discover that people are more supportive than expected and even begin to share their own experiences. Some people underestimate the risks and are surprised when someone they know says something negative about the choice to talk or even puts them down for having a mental illness. It is difficult to predict how others will react and how you will feel about your decision in the future. Hearing your story could both negatively and positively impact friendships, job opportunities and other relationships. Careful consideration needs to be given to this decision.

The setting for the conversation, the people you choose to talk with and what you choose to share are all parts of the decision. Some people find it very freeing to stop hiding that aspect of who they are. They choose to talk about it openly and have decided not to let the risks stop them from getting the benefits. Others carefully walk a path of disclosure, one person and setting at a time. It is up to you. A workbook to help you make disclosure decisions can be found here.