CLINTONVILLE, WI (WTAQ) – Area hospitals and schools are now teaming up to help students with a number of issues.
The Sources of Strength program looks to address issues such as suicide and bullying, as well as drug use and abuse through a peer-led campaign where students develop leadership on the topics.
Clintonville High School is testing it out with the help of ThedaCare.
“Kids wrote on little hearts things they’re grateful for,” explains Clintonville High School assistant principal Kim Bakeberg.
Anything from people to products was fair game for the students to choose, as the exercise was linked to the program.
“I think it’s important we focus on strengths, we focus on messages of hope and help instead of the doom and gloom, sad shock trauma,” says Bakeberg.
Tracey Ratzburg with ThedaCare Medical Regional Center says the program is intended to be proactive.
“It’s also an upstream model, which means that we’re hoping to get to the kids before there’s a need to or an intervention,” explains Ratzburg.
One of the major focuses in the program is shifted towards the growing opioid problem in the state.
Opioid-related deaths have now surpassed vehicle deaths in Wisconsin, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
In 2017, there were nearly 1,200 drug overdose deaths in Wisconsin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For comparison, there were 853 overdose deaths in 2014.
The CDC says 47,600 drug overdose deaths across the country involved opioids in 2017.
To help combat that trend, ThedaCare is providing local trainers to schools.
“There is a cost in it to bring national trainers in, it will be $5,000, but by ThedaCare bringing local trainers, we will decrease that cost by about 75% to the schools,” says Ratzburg.
Also, half of the remaining cost is then covered by ThedaCare.
“And it’s peer-led, so students are leading campaigns and really developing leadership around those topics,” she says.
ThedaCare is looking to hopefully expand the Sources of Strength model with school districts in rural counties in its service area.
