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In this Issue:
- News
- Events & Webinars
- Community Resources
- Los Recursos Familial en Español
- Family Resources in English
- Job Opportunities
| | Spotlight On: City of Milwaukee Health Department's 2025 Community Health Assessment | | |
The City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) has released its 2025 Community Health Assessment (CHA), the city's most current, city-specific look at health and well-being. Built using data and lived experience from more than 3,400 Milwaukee residents, the CHA examines how social factors, lived experiences, and built environments shape health outcomes over time.
Five priority health issues emerged through the data and community input, including chronic disease, maternal and child health, mental health, substance use, and violence and injury.
The CHA is designed to be a shared reference point for everyone. City departments, community organizations, healthcare systems, policymakers, funders, and residents can all use the assessment to guide planning, inform policy and legislative decisions, support grant applications, and align work across sectors.
| | Share Your News in the Prevention Journal | | |
Calling all Community Partners: Do you have upcoming events, news to share, or job openings? Email the information to prevention@communityadvocates.net to be featured in upcoming Prevention Journals sent to over 1,000 friends, colleagues, and social service providers each month.
| | Neu-Life Community Development Youth Attend the Vive18 Teen Leadership Conference | | |
In December 2025, four Neu-Life Community Development youth attended the Vive18 Teen Leadership Conference in Phoenix to boost their substance use prevention advocacy skills. At the conference, through a blend of live presentations, interactive activities, group discussions, and social experiences, Neu-Life youth were able to learn age-appropriate and culturally relevant information about substance use, mental health, and the role they play in protecting one another.
The Vive18 conference created a space for students to connect, grow, and learn. The RISE Drug Free MKE coalition helped support the Neu-Life youths' attendance at the conference.
| | Voices of the Front Lines Podcast | |
Step into the fight against overdose deaths with the Voices of the Front Lines podcast. Host Tahira Malik, founder of Samad's House, shared her journey from addiction and incarceration in Milwaukee to founding Samad's House, one of the Midwest's leading women's sober living homes and access to harm reduction resources.
The Voices of the Front Lines showcases unsung heroes—survivors and devoted neighborhood outreach workers by telling their raw, inspiring stories. The podcast reveals the profound impact of life-saving, compassionate harm-reduction services. Through authentic narratives, Voices of the Front Lines fosters empathy and hope. Join the urgent fight against overdose deaths, which disproportionately strike Black communities.
| | Dietary Guidelines for Americans Recommends Limiting Alcoholic Beverages | |
The Dietary Guidelines has been issued by the federal government since 1980, when it recommended Americans limit themselves to one or two standard alcoholic drinks a day. Since then, the official statement has shifted to no more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men.
Now the government's recommendation is simply to "limit" drinking, without specifying safe amounts for men and women. The guidelines no longer warn of risks like cancer and some forms of cardiovascular disease. There is also no mention that people under 21 are among those who should avoid alcohol altogether.
The following is what's included about alcohol consumption from the recently released Dietary Guidelines for Americans:
Limit Alcoholic Beverages
- Consume less alcohol for better overall health.
- People who should completely avoid alcohol include pregnant women, people who are recovering from alcohol use disorder or an unable to control the amount they drink, and people taking medications or with medical conditions that can interact with alcohol.
- For those with a family history of alcoholism, be mindful of alcohol consumption and associated addictive behaviors.
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Strengthening Father Engagement to Improve Child and Family Outcomes
Wednesday, February 4
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Strong families remain a cornerstone of a healthy society and fathers play a crucial role—especially in the areas of child safety, stability, and well-being.
Join the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Walfare (NCSACW) for Strengthening Father Engagement to Improve Child and Family Outcomes. This webinar will: explore the importance of engaging fathers; offer attendees practical strategies to overcome common barriers to engagement in child welfare, SUD treatment, and court services; and demonstrate how these efforts strengthen family support systems and lead to improved outcomes—such as increased reunification, reduced risk of future maltreatment allegations, and shorter stays in foster care.
This webinar is scheduled from 1 to 2 p.m. on February 4.
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Teen Fentanyl Use Prevention
Thursday, February 5
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There is a growing disconnect between teen fentanyl prevention messaging and the lived reality of today's youth. Images often focus on fear-mongering scenarios like shady drug deals or extreme consequences. But the latest research shows that teens struggle to relate to these depictions and end up ignoring these types of messages.
Join Rescue Agency to dive deep into the real social contexts, emotional drivers, and specific scenarios where teens are most vulnerable to experimenting with drugs. Learn how the data is translated into a first-of-its-kind messaging strategy that increases risk perception by showing fentanyl risk within real and relatable situations for teens, motivating them to say "no" to that first pill.
This webinar is scheduled for February 5 at 1 p.m.
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Engagement in the Black Community Summit
Thursday, February 5 and Friday, February 6
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The NAADAC is hosting the sixth annual Engagement in the Black Community: A Virtual Summit. Join prominent industry professionals and discuss critical issues in the Black community relevant to treatment and recovery.
Open to all professionals, this summit seeks to foster diversity, openness, and inclusion within the recovery community, and highlight some of the unique needs and traits of this identified group.
The summit is scheduled for Thursday, February 5 and Friday, February 6.
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Selecting Effective, Evidence-based Strategies for Substance Misuse Prevention
Friday, February 6
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Every community is unique, and so are its substance misuse prevention needs. But how do you identify which substance misuse prevention programs, practices, and strategies will work for your community?
In this interactive workshop, hosted by the Prevention Technology Transfer Center Network (PTTC), participants will learn practical skills to identify, evaluate, and select evidence-based substance misuse prevention interventions that align with your specific community context.
This webinar is scheduled from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on February 6.
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Executive Functioning Skills for Students
Tuesday, February 10
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Community Alliance, Greendale Schools and the Greendale Public Health Department are teaming up to discuss the executive functioning skills we all need for success. The conversation will be loosely tied to the book "Executive Functioning Skills for Teens" by Amber Preston, but reading the book is not a prerequisite for attending. Expect conversation, skill-building, and a workbook to make the content relevant to your child's needs.
The event is for parents and is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Greendale Hose Tower, 5699 Parking St., Greendale.
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Verbal De-Escalation Techniques
Tuesday, February 17
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During this virtual workshop, you will learn how to increase safety by utilizing verbal de-escalation techniques. Participants will explore foundational information on how to reduce the level of conflict through self-knowledge, understand how past experiences influence current behavior, and practice de-escalation.
Community Advocates Public Policy Institute is hosting this webinar on Tuesday, February 17 from 9 - 10:30 a.m.
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SafeTALK Suicide Prevention Training
Tuesday, February 17
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Join Milwaukee Public Schools for safeTALK — a suicide prevention training. This training is open to participants ages 15 and up.
Those who complete the training will receive safeTALK certification, demonstrating their knowledge and ability to be a suicide-aware helper and support others who may be in need.
The training is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on February 17 at Bradley Tech High School, 700 S. 4th St., Milwaukee.
For questions, please contact Darryl Hall at halldl@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.
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QPR Question Persuade Refer Suicide Prevention Training
Wednesday, February 18
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We can all save lives.
The QPR mission is to reduce suicidal behaviors and save lives by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. The signs of crisis are all around us. We believe that quality education empowers all people, regardless of their background, to make a positive difference in the life of someone they know.
This interactive introduction to suicide awareness and prevention is scheduled from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 18. The training is hosted by Community Advocates Public Policy Institute and is free and open to all.
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ECOM Workshop: Autism and Disability Services
Wednesday, February 18
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The Empowerment Coalition of Milwaukee (ECOM) is a monthly gathering that aims to bring social service professionals and advocates together. It is a networking, educational, and professional development opportunity, featuring multiple presentations from experts in the field.
This month’s topic is Autism and Disability Services. Learn about respite care, special needs services, the evaluation of autism, and disability programs available.
ECOM will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon on February 18 and will be held at Community Advocates, 728 N. James Lovell St., Milwaukee.
Fee is $5 for light refreshments and materials and can be paid via credit card. Registration is not refundable. Kindly make sure to RSVP by Friday, February 13.
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"Main Character Energy": Respect Isn't Clingy
Wednesday, February 18
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When does attention turn into control? Having main character energy doesn’t mean losing your freedom, your voice, or your boundaries.
Join love is respect for a youth-centered webinar featuring members of the love is respect National Youth Council as they keep it real about dating, boundaries, and red flags. Love shouldn’t feel suffocating, and we want to break down unhealthy relationship behaviors and talk about what respect looks like.
This webinar is schedule for 1 p.m. on February 18.
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Adult Mental Health First Aid
Tuesday, February 24
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Adult Mental Health First Aid Training provides adults with the tools to assist other adults who may be developing a mental health problem or experiencing a crisis. It teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders.
This training delivered by Community Advocates Public Policy Institute gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial support to someone who may need help connecting to appropriate care.
This training will be held via Zoom from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on February 24. Please register by Friday, February 20.
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Alverno College Mental Health Summit
Saturday, March 7
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Alverno College is presenting this year's Mental Health Summit, titled "Connected Care: Transforming Mental Health Through Technology."
In response to the multi-faceted needs of our community, the planning committee has chosen the theme to explore and advance innovative ways that technology can transform mental health care across schools, communities and healthcare systems, with a focus on improving access, equity and outcomes for diverse populations.
The Alverno College Mental Health Summit is an event that brings together mental health practioners, community leaders and students to explore a relevant topic in the field of mental health. The Summit will be offered in person at Alverno College, 3400 S. 43rd St., Milwaukee. A limited virtual track will also be offered.
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Hey, there,
-- do you have:
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Job openings?
- Upcoming events?
- News to share?
- Suggestions?
Forward the information to Prevention@CommunityAdvocates.net.
Thank you for your service to Milwaukee!
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Black Lives / Black Lungs
The Black Lives / Black Lungs series explores the origins and impact of America's First Great Enterprise, the Tobacco Industry, and how it shaped the Black experience in America. Lincoln Mondy is the filmmaker behind Black Lives / Black Lungs (2017) and The Journey of a Stolen Leaf (2023). Click here to watch the series.
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Cannabis Tip Sheets Series
The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) created a four-part tip sheet series for child welfare, SUD treatment, court, and health care professionals to provide an overview of cannabis use, and its effects during the prenatal period, in the home environment, and on adolscent development. Click here to check out the series.
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Caring for Your Mind and Money
In collaboration, Mental Health America (MHA) and Citizens, MHA's founding financial services partner, are addressing the relationship between finances and mental health. Struggling financially can poorly impact mental health and increase stress, anxiety, worry, and depression. At the same time, struggling with mental health or living with a mental health condition may impact financial stability. Click here to learn more.
| | Los Recursos Familial en Español | | |
Mujeres y La Salud Mental
La ansiedad, la depresión y los trastornos concurrentes pueden afectar a hombres y mujeres de manera diferente. Recientemente, los investigadores están comprendiendo los diferentes factores biológicos y psicosociales que pueden afectar el tratamiento de salud mental de los hombres y mujeres. Haz clic aquí para obtener más información sobre las mujeres y la salud mental.
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5 pasos que usted puede tomar para ayudar a una persona que tiene pensamientos suicidas
El suicidio es complicado y trágico, pero puede evitarse. Saber cuáles son las señales de advertencia del suicidio y dónde obtener ayuda puede servir para salvar vidas. A continuación, le indicamos 5 pasos que puede tomar para ayudar a alguien que podría tener pensamientos suicidas. Haz clic aquí para obtener más información.
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Ver No es mi hijo
Creado por la Sociedad para la Prevención del Suicidio Adolescente, "Not My Kid: What Every Parent Should Know" es una experiencia de aprendizaje en línea que presenta videos de padres de diversos orígenes culturales que formulan una variedad de preguntas comunes sobre el suicidio juvenil a profesionales de la salud mental. Haz clic aquí para empezar.
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12 Things Parents Can Do to Prevent Addiction
The Addiction Policy Forum's Opioid Prevention Campaign has created a toolkit that translates the science of prevention into simple strategies parents and caregivers can incorporate into busy lives—to do what we can to protect our kids from developing an addiction later in life. Click here to view the toolkit.
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Not My Kid
Created by the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide, Not My Kid: What Every Parent Should Know is an online learning experience that features videos of parents from culturally diverse backgrounds asking mental health professionals a variety of common questions about youth suicide. Click here to get started.
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Positive Options for Women Entering Recovery
Are you worried about your drinking or other drug use? You aren’t alone. The Positive Options for Women Entering Recovery (POWER) is here to help. The Milwaukee Women’s Center’s POWER provides day treatment for women struggling with alcohol and other drug issues. Click here to learn more or call 414-270-4600 to get help.
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