Connect Washoe County (CWC) Shows Success Before End of First Year of Three-Year Strategy
The partnership includes Renown Health, The Children’s Cabinet, Washoe County School District, and Nevada’s Office of Suicide Prevention
RENO, Nev. (March 30, 2022)– Since the creation of Connect Washoe County (CWC), the collaboration has made great strides on its goal for year one to strengthen community linkages, by creating an accessible directory for families in Washoe County that is hosted by The Washoe County Children’s Mental Health Consortium (WCCMHC). CWC was created back in August of 2021 with a focus on youth mental health and suicide prevention to better support youth and families through community collaboration.
A recent report released by Suicide Awareness Voices of Education that ranks states on the prevalence of suicide death shows Nevada improved from 7th to 12th. According to Nevada’s Office of Suicide Prevention, while the country has seen an increase in suicides over the past few years, Nevada has consistently held steady or decreased its numbers. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for people aged 8 to 17 and 18 to 24 years old.
“Youth suicide is preventable when the caring adults around youth are connected, engaged, and listening to the voices of young people,” said Jacquelyn Kleinedler, Director of Behavioral Health Programs for The Children’s Cabinet. “The latest data is a promising indicator for us to keep up our efforts. Protecting our youth requires us to continue comprehensive and collaborative teamwork across all partners in Washoe County.”
Now, families can access the Resource Directory to efficiently find youth behavioral health and wellness resources in Washoe County. CWC leadership believes having all the resources in one place makes it easier for families to access the care they need. Many providers in Washoe County are invested in working with children, families, and suicide prevention and the Resource Directory is an opportunity to share this investment and strengthen the community network. Hence, CWC and WCCMHC encourage these providers to create a listing and become part of the network of support for families. To do so, access the Provider Support page and walk through the steps on how to create a listing and free account for your organization.
Connect Washoe County is working closely with the Washoe County Children’s Mental Health Consortium in its efforts to address youth mental health needs. The Consortium hosts a monthly public meeting with agendas that include action items, community presentations, and data presentations.
On December 7, 2021, the United States Surgeon General issued an Advisory on the Youth Mental Health Crisis across the country due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Advisory characterizes the impact of the pandemic and other factors on youth mental health in our country as “devastating” and issued recommendations that mirrored the ongoing goals of both the WCCMHC and CWC. Those goals include recognizing mental health is an essential part of overall health and ensuring that every child has access to mental health care.
Connect Washoe County remains committed to taking action on the following goals:
- Year One: Create and strengthen linkages in the community. For those interested in joining this collaboration, please visit the Provider Support page.
- Year Two: Identify strategies to fill service and support gaps.
- Year Three: Assure sustainability and economic viability.
For more information about WCCMHC and CWC and their efforts to address the needs of youth and families in our community, access the 2021 Annual Report here.
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About The Children’s Cabinet
Established in Reno 1985, The Children’s Cabinet exists to keep children safe and families together by offering services and resources that address unmet needs. The organization represents a unique and effective collaboration between the private sector and public agencies in Nevada. The Children’s Cabinet helps more than 11,000 families annually with a wide range of services: basic needs, child care resources, education, and work experience programs, crisis intervention, and family counseling. As a non-profit agency, The Children’s Cabinet relies on community support to provide programs and services at no charge to children and their families.
About Renown Health
Renown Health is the region’s largest, locally owned and governed, not-for-profit integrated healthcare network serving Nevada, Lake Tahoe and northeast California. With a diverse workforce of more than 7,000 employees, Renown has fostered a longstanding culture of excellence, determination and innovation. The organization comprises a trauma center, two acute care hospitals, a children’s hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, a medical group and urgent care network, and the region’s largest, locally owned not-for-profit insurance company, Hometown Health. Renown’s institute model addresses social determinants of health and includes: Child Health, Behavioral Health & Addiction, Healthy Aging and Health Innovation. Clinical institutes include: Cancer, Heart and Vascular Heath, Neurosciences and Robotic Surgery. Renown is currently enrolling participants in the world’s largest community-based genetic population health study, the Healthy Nevada Project®. For more information, visit renown.org.
About Washoe County School District
As a courageous, innovative leader in public education, the Washoe County School District includes the Reno/Sparks metropolitan area, Incline Village, Gerlach, and Wadsworth, Nevada. Its mission is to create an educational system where all students achieve academic success, develop personal and civic responsibility, and achieve college- and career readiness for the 21st century. In fulfilling its mission, the District provides each of its 62,000 students with a superior education in a safe and challenging environment and is committed to graduate every child career- and college ready.
About the Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention:
The mission of the Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention is to reduce the rates of suicide and suicidal acts in Nevada through statewide collaborative efforts to develop, implement and evaluate a state strategy which advances the goals and objectives of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. The Office has developed the Nevada Suicide Prevention Plan with the goal of providing a catalyst for collaborative action, improved understanding and increased wellness in communities across Nevada. This plan is based on the strong belief everyone has a role to play in suicide prevention, and those individuals and groups which address the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of individuals and communities must work together if we are to be effective. For more information go to suicideprevention.nv.gov, if you are in crisis call 800-273-8255 or text CARE to 839863.
