March E-News & Member Meeting Reminder from The Connection

Hello Connection Members & Friends,

Photo of Sarah Bassing-Sutton

Hello Connection Members and Friends,

This time of year always brings a little lift, and it feels especially hopeful right now – we’re gaining about three extra minutes of daylight each day! And before long, we’ll “Spring Ahead” with daylight savings on March 8, 2026, giving us a whole additional hour of evening light. Sometimes it’s the small wins that help us keep putting one foot in front of the other. Thank you, Mother Nature.

We hope you can join us on March 12 for our next Member Meeting! Here's what on the agenda:

Agency Spotlight: Reach Counseling
A look ahead at what’s coming for May Mental Health Awareness Month
Updates on adult suicide prevention through Project Zero, along with access to the latest report
An overview of the Vital Conditions for Health and Well-Being Framework, used in the Tri-County Community Health Assessment, and how mental health fits within it

We’ll wrap up the meeting with opportunities to get involved in systems-level mental health work and other community efforts.

In response to member feedback, we are bringing back the Outreach Learning Community. This group provides an opportunity for outreach specialists, social workers, and intake and discharge staff to learn about the many mental health resources available in our community.

The group existed prior to the pandemic, originally meeting in person and facilitated by Rogers Behavioral Health. If you are interested in joining or would like to learn more, please reach out to Jody Richter at Rogers Behavioral Health.

Sarah Bassing-Sutton, Executive Director
The Connection

Join us for our March 12, 2026
Member Meeting

Members can choose to attend either the 7:30 a.m. in-person meeting or the 11:30 a.m. Zoom session. Both meetings are live and cover the same agenda.

In-Person Meeting:

We meet in person from 7:30 - 8:30 am. in the Community Room at Catalpa Health, 4635 W. College Ave., Appleton.

Virtual Meeting (via Zoom)

Join us on Zoom from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87911372607?pwd=TRSdVAgrbL61nNsRaMrdqT8LOVa08b.1

Meeting ID: 879 1137 2607
Passcode: 2468

Pay or renew your membership online

Thank you to everyone who has already renewed their 2026 membership with The Connection. We’ve recently updated our website to make managing memberships easier and more convenient.

Members can now review and renew their membership online, including the option to pay securely online. For those who prefer a paper option, the membership form can also be completed online, downloaded as a PDF, printed, and mailed with a check.

Visit our membership page to review membership details and choose the option that works best for you.

Catch up on Connected Fox Valley! Check out our latest blog posts that explore how belonging is taking shape in our region. Naming What Was Missing traces how loneliness and social isolation became recognized as health priorities across the Tri-Counties. Mutual Aid: Learning How to Need One Another Again highlights the growing momentum of neighbors helping neighbors - and how supporting one another can restore agency and hope. Read both and join the conversation on strengthening connection across the Tri-County region.

Mutual Aid: 'We Need to Make it OK to Ask for Help'

A dozen community members gathered Feb. 23 in the Community Living Room at Ebb and Flow Connections Cooperative, in Appleton, to explore that question. The conversation grew out of Connected Fox Valley’s broader work, where a consistent theme has surfaced: a deep desire to help one another in ways that feel more direct, more relational, and less transactional.

The gathering marked the first convening of Connected Fox Valley’s Mutual Aid Learning Community, co-facilitated by Karen Iverson-Riggers and Lynn McLaughlin, co-creators of Ebb and Flow. It’s not a task force or formal work group, at least not yet. For now, the goal is to bring together people already engaged in mutual aid, or curious to get involved, to share what already exists and explore what could emerge.

In the Fox Valley, and across the country, mutual aid efforts are growing as neighbors mobilize to support those who are struggling, whether they cannot afford groceries, do not feel safe leaving their homes, or need help meeting other basic needs. ...

CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

Naming What Was Missing: How Social Connection Became a Health Priority in the Tri-Counties

Nearly a decade ago, Winnebago County Public Health began hearing something unexpected from residents.

It didn’t come through a checkbox or a predefined survey category. It surfaced when the county added a simple, open-ended question to its 2016 community health assessment: What else is affecting your health?

The answers kept repeating. People talked about not knowing their neighbors, recalled Stephanie Gyldenvand, who was working as a public health strategist for the county at the time. They talked about feeling unwelcome. About rarely talking face-to-face anymore. About feeling like they didn’t belong.

When the responses were tallied, the theme that emerged – what staff would later call “social place connectedness” – ranked just behind mental health as one of the community’s top health concerns. ...

CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

NAMI Wisconsin Brings Annual Mental Health Conference to Appleton

The NAMI Wisconsin 2026 Annual Conference will be held April 10 -11 at the Hilton Appleton Paper Valley in Appleton, bringing together individuals, families, professionals, and advocates from across the state to learn, connect, and strengthen Wisconsin’s mental health community. The conference will feature two keynote speakers, more than 30 workshops, exhibitors, and networking opportunities focused on mental health awareness, education, and recovery.

Registration is open now, but closes March 15, and space is limited.

Keynote Speakers

This year’s conference will feature keynote presentations from Dr. Dominique Pritchett, PsyD, LCSW, a nationally recognized therapist, speaker, and advocate for emotional wellness, and Tony Thrasher, DO, a psychiatrist and leader in innovative mental health care. Together, their presentations will highlight lived experience, advocacy, and new approaches to strengthening mental health support and recovery.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER!

Addressing Family & Support Systems of Transgender Individuals for Helping Professionals

Join us on April 14 and May 12 for a two-part training, Addressing Family & Support Systems of Transgender Individuals for Helping Professionals. This learning series explores how helping professionals can effectively support families and loved ones as they navigate a transgender family member’s journey. Participants will deepen their understanding of common family experiences, examine the role of personal values and community context, and learn practical approaches to providing inclusive, family-centered support. This training is free for Connection members, but advance registration is required. Visit our CEU training page for details and registration.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Have Something to Share?

Have a mental health–related event, training, or announcement to share with our network? We’d love to hear about it. Please email Sarah Bassing-Sutton at sarah@newmentalhealthconnection.org for consideration in an upcoming newsletter.

N.E.W. MENTAL HEALTH CONNECTION

P.O. Box 374
Appleton, WI 54912
United States

sarah@newmentalhealthconnection.org ~ 920.454.7731

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