Contact Information:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (701) 318-2046
Imagine Thriving was started by the Goetz Mental Wellness Initiative in May of 2013 after working with local school staff, health providers and community members to identify barriers to wellness faced by students in our community. The identified barriers include:
*The stigma associated with mental illness
*Lack of awarene
ss/understanding of the mental health care needs of students
*Students and their parents/guardians don’t know “where to turn to” for help.
*Financial burden of mental health care. CREATING SOLUTIONS:
The three-pronged comprehensive programming to remove barriers to care:
1. Imagine Thriving is creating a movement to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness through greater awareness, understanding and education. The initiative provides community education about the signs and symptoms of mental illness, and the steps individuals can take to increase their mental wellbeing. Vital to this initiative is Imagine Thriving Student Board, a group of dedicated, hard-working students from Fargo, West Fargo and Moorhead high schools and colleges, to give presentations on mental health to other students, businesses and community organizations.
2. We provide school districts with funding to employee Student Wellness Facilitators (social workers or similar) who build schools capacity to support students and their families by providing support and resources to students, parents/guardians, educators and the community. SWF’s are specially trained and designated school mental health personnel who connect students and their parents/guardians to the appropriate mental healthcare provider and help ensure that struggling students have a strong network of care and support.
3. The Access to Care Fund helps to relieve financial burdens associated with the treatment of mental illness. Expenses such as transportation to appointments, co-pays and prescriptions create a financial strain for families and can result in a child going without care.
