Connected Fox Valley: Building a Community Roadmap to Belonging

By Wendy Harris
Project Coordinator @ The Connection
Jan. 20, 2026

Connection is something most of us don’t think much about when it’s working.

It shows up in small, ordinary ways. A familiar face at the coffee shop. A neighbor who checks in after a snowstorm. A place where you feel welcome, seen, and safe enough to be yourself. These everyday connections shape our sense of belonging, our health, and our ability to weather hard seasons.

But when connection is missing, we feel it deeply.

Across Northeast Wisconsin, the importance of social connection has become increasingly clear. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the profound impact that isolation can have on our mental, emotional, and physical health. Since then, public health leaders at the local, county, and state levels have named social connection and belonging as critical priorities for improving overall community well-being.

Connected Fox Valley was launched in response to that call. It is a regional initiative led by the Northeast Wisconsin Mental Health Connection to better understand, strengthen, and improve social connection across Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago counties. At its core, Connected Fox Valley is about creating a shared community roadmap. One that helps us see where connection is already thriving, where gaps exist, and where new opportunities can take root.

The need for this work is not abstract.

Across the Fox Valley, people are talking openly about loneliness, isolation, and disconnection. We hear it from older adults living alone, young people navigating a digital world that can feel isolating, newcomers trying to find their place, caregivers stretched thin, and individuals who feel unseen or excluded from community life. Research confirms what many already know from lived experience: social isolation and loneliness are not just emotional challenges. They are public health concerns with real impacts on mental and physical well-being.

Over the past year, Connected Fox Valley has focused on listening and learning. Through interviews, community conversations, and partnerships across the tri-county region, we have been working to understand how connection and disconnection show up in everyday life. What we have heard is both encouraging and challenging. Many strong efforts already exist, but they are often fragmented, under-resourced, or invisible beyond their immediate circles. We have also learned that social connection is deeply shaped by systems and environments, not just individual choice.

This work is not about launching a shiny new program or offering one-size-fits-all solutions. It is about making the invisible visible. It is about lifting up what is already working, naming what is getting in the way, and identifying ways to strengthen connection that are equitable, sustainable, and grounded in real community experience.

That is where this storytelling series comes in.

Rather than releasing a single report and calling the work “done,” Connected Fox Valley will unfold through a slow, intentional storytelling approach. Over the coming months, we will share short, accessible stories that bring the research to life. These stories will highlight local voices, places, and experiences that show what connection looks like on the ground across our region.

Some stories will spotlight assets. A community space that fosters belonging. A program that helps people rebuild social ties. A neighborhood effort that quietly reduces isolation.

Others will surface barriers. Transportation challenges. Lack of inclusive spaces. Time poverty, stigma, or systems that unintentionally exclude certain groups.

And some stories will explore opportunities. Ideas sparked by lived experience. Small changes that could make a big difference. Connections waiting to be strengthened if the right conditions are in place.

Together, these stories will help move us beyond abstract concepts and statistics toward a shared understanding of what connection means here, in the Fox Valley. They will help ground future action in real experiences, not assumptions.

This series is also an invitation.

If you see yourself in these stories, or notice what is missing, we want to hear from you. Social connection is not created by any one organization or sector. It is built collectively, through relationships, trust, and shared responsibility.

We also invite you to explore ConnectedFoxValley.org to learn more about this work. The website includes background on the initiative, emerging recommended strategies, and the Connected Fox Valley Strategy Hub, a growing, searchable inventory of programs, ideas, and approaches that support social connection across the region. It is also where we will share updates on how this work is moving forward.

These stories are not meant to offer quick fixes. They are meant to create space for understanding, dialogue, and possibility. By slowing down and listening closely, we believe our community can move toward more coordinated, compassionate, and effective ways of strengthening connection for everyone.

Wendy Harris, Project Coordinator for Connected Fox Valley, can be reached at wendy@newmentalhealthconnection.org