Mental health is no longer a quiet conversation — it's becoming a community movement. At Northern Hills Elementary School in Onalaska, Emily Perry is turning that movement into action with a week of activities aimed at supporting kids’ mental well-being. In both her current role as a resilient learner interventionist and her previous role as a mental health coordinator, Emily has witnessed an increasing need for youth mental health support.
That’s why she partnered with staff at Northern Hills to raise mental health awareness and make an impact on kids in our area by hosting a week of fun activities during Mental Health Awareness Month.
At Northern Hills, conversations about mental health happen quite often.
“The way you talk about mental health to high schoolers is very different than to elementary schoolers,” says Emily, “but we do have regular conversations at school about mental health and checking in on each other.”
She saw Mental Health Awareness Month, which happens each year in May, as a way to continue that conversation.
“May is such a busy time, and I always feel like because of that, Mental Health Awareness Month doesn’t always get celebrated as much as it should,” says Emily, which is why she decided to do a week of awareness events during the month instead.
When planning the events, Emily talked with a coworker who attended Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals’ Miracle Gala event, where she learned about a fundraising effort for the Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program at Emplify Health by Gundersen. This new program will allow teens to receive mental health treatment during the day, while returning home to their families each night, a schedule that she knows benefits adults in the area.
Emily thought it was a perfect match for a fundraising element for her week-long event, so she got approval from the school board and planned a coin drive competition for the Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program.
From that moment, everything fell into place. Emily remembers that “within a minute of me sending out the email to get board approval, our communications person emailed me and needed all the info. He was very excited.”
That excitement followed Emily throughout the entire process.
“The kids were jacked. They thought it was amazing!”
“Nobody questioned any aspect [of my plan],” she said, even when she “volun-told” four of her coworkers to participate. Her hope was that a competition would start between the students; the teacher collecting the most money would be covered in ice cream, sprinkles, whipped cream and cherries by a few lucky students.
Because of how often mental health was already discussed at school, the students quickly got involved, planning their clothing for the dress-up days and comparing the weight of the four buckets to see who would get the most money.
“The kids were jacked. They thought it was amazing,” Emily says.
She credits the willingness of her coworkers and the amazing spirit of the students and families for such an impactful event.
“I was thinking if we got a hundred dollars, I would be really happy. We're just going to do it and see what happens,” Emily says.
At the end of the week, the coin drive had raised $500! As a result of that generosity, all four of the participating teachers received the “sundae treatment,” to the delight of the kids.
“Obviously they were all cheering and going wild in the crowd. It helped that we had kids involved in the sundae making,” Emily says.
Students who had been commended for safe and expected behavior were chosen to cover the teachers in the classic sundae toppings as the rest of the students looked on.
It was a day of high energy and celebration, as well as a time of learning and reflection. That’s something Emily hopes the students and staff take away from the week.
Mental health is no longer a quiet conversation — it's becoming a community movement. At Northern Hills Elementary School in Onalaska, Emily Perry is turning that movement into action with a week of activities aimed at supporting kids’ mental well-being. In both her current role as a resilient learner interventionist and her previous role as a mental health coordinator, Emily has witnessed an increasing need for youth mental health support.
That’s why she partnered with staff at Northern Hills to raise mental health awareness and make an impact on kids in our area by hosting a week of fun activities during Mental Health Awareness Month.
At Northern Hills, conversations about mental health happen quite often.
“The way you talk about mental health to high schoolers is very different than to elementary schoolers,” says Emily, “but we do have regular conversations at school about mental health and checking in on each other.”
She saw Mental Health Awareness Month, which happens each year in May, as a way to continue that conversation.
“May is such a busy time, and I always feel like because of that, Mental Health Awareness Month doesn’t always get celebrated as much as it should,” says Emily, which is why she decided to do a week of awareness events during the month instead.
When planning the events, Emily talked with a coworker who attended Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals’ Miracle Gala event, where she learned about a fundraising effort for the Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program at Emplify Health by Gundersen. This new program will allow teens to receive mental health treatment during the day, while returning home to their families each night, a schedule that she knows benefits adults in the area.
Emily thought it was a perfect match for a fundraising element for her week-long event, so she got approval from the school board and planned a coin drive competition for the Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program.
From that moment, everything fell into place. Emily remembers that “within a minute of me sending out the email to get board approval, our communications person emailed me and needed all the info. He was very excited.”
That excitement followed Emily throughout the entire process.
“Nobody questioned any aspect [of my plan],” she said, even when she “volun-told” four of her coworkers to participate. Her hope was that a competition would start between the students; the teacher collecting the most money would be covered in ice cream, sprinkles, whipped cream and cherries by a few lucky students.
Because of how often mental health was already discussed at school, the students quickly got involved, planning their clothing for the dress-up days and comparing the weight of the four buckets to see who would get the most money.
“The kids were jacked. They thought it was amazing,” Emily says.
She credits the willingness of her coworkers and the amazing spirit of the students and families for such an impactful event.
“I was thinking if we got a hundred dollars, I would be really happy. We're just going to do it and see what happens,” Emily says.
At the end of the week, the coin drive had raised $500! As a result of that generosity, all four of the participating teachers received the “sundae treatment,” to the delight of the kids.
“Obviously they were all cheering and going wild in the crowd. It helped that we had kids involved in the sundae making,” Emily says.
Students who had been commended for safe and expected behavior were chosen to cover the teachers in the classic sundae toppings as the rest of the students looked on.
It was a day of high energy and celebration, as well as a time of learning and reflection. That’s something Emily hopes the students and staff take away from the week.
“The whole purpose of Mental Health Awareness Week, in my mind, is that it’s okay to talk about mental health and that it’s the same as physical health,” she says. “When you talk about mental health and it’s open, on the table, it doesn't have to be this extraordinary conversation.”
It can even be a week of dress-up themes and a fundraiser. A fundraiser that Emily hopes shows her students that “little things can make a big difference.”
If you’re interested in supporting the Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program, click here.