CLICK HERE_SPANISH Community Engagement Sessions
We need everyone’s help to design the future of mental well-being in Blaine County, one that reflects the input, needs, and desires of our diverse community. Attend one of six Community Engagement Sessions to refine initial recommendations for action. All are welcome – success requires input from everyone in our community. Free childcare and dinner will be provided at sessions denoted + below.
• January 18 · YMCA · 6-7:30pm in English with Spanish interpretation
• January 24 · The Community Library · 12-1:30pm in English only
• January 25 · Hailey Town Center West · 6-7:30pm in English only+
• February 1 · St. Charles Church · 6:30-8 in Spanish only +
• February 7 · The Community Campus · 1-2:30pm in English only
• February 15 · The Hunger Coalition · 6-7:30pm in Spanish only+
The Mental Well-Being Initiative[i] seeks to grow an integrated mental health and well-being ecosystem that improves the lives of all people in our community. By leveraging and amplifying diverse community efforts, the Initiative will support a shared, integrated, and comprehensive vision for the future. The Initiative seeks to drive lasting, systemic solutions that help meet some of life’s basic needs, prevent a crisis before it happens, and provide connections and mental health care to all who need it.
In the spring of 2023, the St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation and the St. Luke’s Health System convened various stakeholders to map our well-being ecosystem – from prevention and intervention to treatment and recovery – with the goal of identifying strengths that could be amplified and vital gaps that could be filled.
We heard from 50+ stakeholders[ii] throughout the community that mental health and well-being does not occur in a vacuum – it is impacted by many factors, including:
• lack of affordable housing;
• disparities of wealth;
• food insecurity;
• inadequate childcare and full-day preschool options;
• social pressures;
• lack of opportunities for young people to build meaningful social connections outside of school; and
• lack of mental health care providers, including Spanish-speaking providers and crisis support services.
• Many in our community are working to address these challenges. But just as our challenges do not exist in a vacuum, neither can our solutions.
Join the conversation to shape the future vision of mental well-being in Blaine County, one that reflects the input, assets, needs and desires of our diverse community. Together, we will collaborate with our community – leaders in government, schools, non-profits, and businesses; medical and health professionals; and other caring citizens – to bring that vision to reality. Our shared success will create lasting, systemic change that ultimately improves the mental health and well-being of people throughout our community.
