From struggle to strength: Sheboygan community relations liaison Tyra Gutschow and her mom share their story
Painful experiences can turn into powerful platforms.
Recently, Tyra Gutschow, Sheboygan and Manitowoc community relations liaison, and her mom participated in their first mental-health outreach event together, sharing their lived experiences while discussing access to treatment in their community.
“Living in a small town presents unique challenges when it comes to mental health,” Tyra explains. “Limited resources, roadblocks, and moments of lost hope can make the journey feel overwhelming. But as the saying goes, it truly takes a village.”
For Tyra, who struggled with an eating disorder at age 13, that village was her family and pediatrician. Now, Tyra and her mom are committed to being that support for others, especially when it comes to eating disorders.
Tyra is on the Healthiest Manitowoc County Access Navigation Team, whose mission is to provide community awareness around existing resources to increase access, reduce stigma, and advocate for systems change.
“Whether it’s mental health, housing, food, or another area of concern, people from different sectors of the community meet to share their expertise and create solutions,” she shares.
When Tyra was invited to participate on a panel about navigating mental health, she saw it as an opportunity to bring her mom’s perspective into the conversation.
“When kids are struggling, it’s the parents, caretakers, or legal guardians who are doing all the hard work of trying to find them help,” she says. “It’s important to bring to light their challenges of navigating the mental health system for their child.”
Tyra’s mom agreed.
“We’ve been trying to figure out ways to bring awareness to eating disorders together and just haven’t had the platform to do it,” Tyra says. “My mom has a lot of connections in the community and people reach out to her they have a child struggling with an eating disorder.”
While Tyra shared her perspective as someone who suffered from an eating disorder, her mom, a social worker for Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties, spoke from her viewpoint of what it was like navigating the mental health system as a parent, even with professional knowledge. The response from the audience was powerful.
“It was so cool to see healthcare providers come up and give great feedback about having my mom there and hearing the parent perspective,” Tyra says. “Many people said things like, ‘I’ve heard parents say it’s a struggle. I never realized what that struggle meant.’ It’s not just about being accepted or denied into a facility, but the wear and tear on parents’ mental health. Both my mom and dad felt like they were bad parents because I had an eating disorder.”
Inspiring change
The response to the event is sparking something bigger.
“We’re aiming to expand groups in 2026, to include support for families of individuals struggling with eating disorders; providing education, resources, and assistance to parents and loved ones,” says Keegan Rhynas, Sheboygan Director of Operations.
Currently, Rogers in Sheboygan offers multiple support groups, including Nicotine Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, SMART Recovery, and Women Within.
Tyra says that’s another step in her mission of supporting people in the eating disorder community.
“Being on the panel was such an honor, and I would do it again if that means that someone got help from it,” she says. “Every day, I connect individuals to life-changing treatment, and I am deeply grateful for this opportunity.”
