Rise Together

05/29/2026

As Mental Health Awareness Month comes to a close, we’re reminded that awareness is only the beginning.

Read our latest blog on why belonging, trusted relationships, and community continue to be some of the most powerful protective factors we can build.

05/27/2026

Lucky 13 🪩

For 13 years, RISE TOGETHER has shown up for Wisconsin communities through some of their hardest conversations.

Not from a distance. Not through awareness posts. In schools. In recovery spaces. In packed auditoriums. In small towns. In moments where people were hurting, grieving, isolated, struggling, or ready to give up.

This community helped build something real.

Over the last 13 years, together we’ve reached over 500,000 young people, families, educators, and community members through storytelling, prevention, recovery advocacy, and connection-driven programming across the state.

And on September 12th, we celebrate that.

Not just an organization.
A movement people helped create.
The students who found hope.
The parents still fighting.
The educators who stayed.
The people we lost.

The lives still being changed because someone chose to speak up instead of stay silent.

RISE TOGETHER Day isn’t just a party.

It’s a reminder of what can happen when community actually shows up for each other.

Gibson Community Music Hall — Appleton, WI
September 12, 2026

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RISE TOGETHER Day: Lucky 13 🍀

05/27/2026

Over the years, more than 500,000 youth have been reached through RISE programming, school partnerships, trainings, and community initiatives.

Our peer-reviewed research by Penn State College of Medicine found that after participating in a RISE storytelling experience, 51.2% of students reported being less likely to use drugs or alcohol, with even stronger outcomes among middle school students. The research also showed measurable increases in help-seeking, peer support, and emotional awareness.

But beyond the data, the real impact has always been found in the moments that can’t fully be measured:
The student who finally opens up.
The conversations that continue after the event ends.
The trusted adults learning how to create safer spaces for young people to be honest about what they’re carrying.

This work has never been about one person or one presentation.

It’s about continuing to build relationships, partnerships, and sustainable systems that strengthen connections before crisis.

Grateful for every student, educator, partner, supporter, and community that continues to believe in the mission and the reminder that stories still have the power to save lives. 🤍

Our published research with Penn State College of Medicine:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12337543/

05/26/2026

“I left the room a different person.”

That was part of a review someone left after a workshop our team facilitated at the NAMI Wisconsin conference recently.

Not because we had all the answers.
Not because we gave some perfect presentation.
But because we created space for honesty, reflection, conversation, and connection.

That’s the kind of work we care about building at RISE TOGETHER. Spaces where people feel safe enough to tell the truth. Spaces where stories become connection.
And where connection has the power to create real change.

NAMI Wisconsin

05/25/2026

Your story isn’t over my friend ; 🖤

Say their names.

Today, we remember Amy Bleuel, and the light she left behind.

But today is also for every name we still carry. Every life that mattered. Every story that deserves to be remembered.

Comment the name of someone you want remembered today.

We’ll start:

Amy Bleuel ;

05/20/2026

Young people don’t need another lecture.
They need connection. They need belonging. They need spaces where they feel safe enough to speak honestly and trusted adults prepared to listen when they do.

That’s why we built the RISE Framework.

A prevention approach rooted in storytelling, peer leadership, trusted relationships, and sustainable connection spaces that move communities beyond awareness and into action.

Because prevention isn’t just about what we tell young people. It’s about what we help them feel.

Seen. Heard. Supported. Connected.

Stories Save Lives. 💚

Read more: https://weallrisetogether.org/2026/05/13/young-people-dont-need-another-lecture/

05/11/2026

Hangout at Community Living Room

05/11/2026

The biggest takeaway from thousands of students?

They connected most with:

real stories
honesty
vulnerability
relatable people
Not scare tactics.

Not perfect speeches.
Real people.
That’s what breaks stigma.

Young people don’t need adults pretending to have it all figured out.

They need safe people willing to tell the truth.

05/10/2026

This one hit hard.

Nearly 40% of students who reported substance use said it started by age 13.

Some even earlier.

That means these conversations cannot wait until “someday.”

Young people are already navigating:

pressure
stress
identity
loneliness
trauma
social comparison
mental health struggles

We don’t protect kids by avoiding hard conversations.

We protect them by having them earlier.