Great Lakes ROTA-RC Reporter

Newsletter Archive

2025

Spring has sprung and with it the Great Lakes community dives deeper into fresh new topics in substance use and mental health recovery. Missed these great events? Then make sure to check out the ROTA-R website to catch up on these great learning sessions!

Its here! The regional needs assessment conducted by the Great Lakes ROTA-RC is now accessible to all partners via the website! Check out what we learned and share your comments, questions and feedback with the technical center.

Join us this month for a presentation from Adams County, WI regarding their efforts to utilize opioid settlement dollars to improve outcomes in their community. Here from presenter, Sheila Michels on how starting at the point of lived experience has helped shape policy and practice for this community.

The new year is a perfect time to focus on care, and we're excited to share the You First! Wellness Toolkit from University of Minnesota Extension, developed specifically to support self-care for those in helping professions. You First! Wellness: A Toolkit for Those Who Care for Others Wellness is essential for those who serve others daily. The "You First! Wellness Kit" was developed by University of Minnesota Extension with funding from the Great Lakes ROTA-RC and SAMHSA. The toolkit offers resources to help public health professionals, peer recovery specialists, social workers, and others in helping professions prioritize self-care. The comprehensive toolkit includes downloadable resources, videos, and tools for creating your own wellness plan. Learn more about the kit, get a the link and hear about a new year full of great new resources in this month's issue!
2024
December

Holidays and Farming: Navigating Family Gatherings and Farm Life
From UW-Madison Farm Management, Division of Extension
Do you look forward to and dread the holiday season at the same time? The holiday season can be even trickier when you are a part of a family farm. Farmers are often juggling the end of crop harvest, year-end financial decisions and changing weather as we step into the full swing of the holiday season. Read the full article in this month's newsletter.

White Bison Wellbriety. White Bison is a Native American-operated nonprofit dedicated to creating and sustaining the grassroots Wellbriety Movement. For over 30 years, White Bison has provided culturally based healing to the next seven generations of Indigenous People, along with youth prevention and healing from unresolved grief and traumatic loss due to intergenerational trauma. Learn more about White Bison in this month's newsletter.

This month, as we place an awareness on recovery, the region revisits some of the great efforts taken over the past two years of the project to place recovery at the center of discussion. We thank all of our content specialists and participants for showing up to create a robust recovery community! Join us as  stroll again through these great sessions and please feel free to share them with friends and colleagues you feel would benefit.

This month, as we place an awareness on recovery, the region revisits some of the great efforts taken over the past two years of the project to place recovery at the center of discussion. We thank all of our content specialists and participants for showing up to create a robust recovery community! Join us as  stroll again through these great sessions and please feel free to share them with friends and colleagues you feel would benefit.

Meet the Great Lakes Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Regional Center (ROTA-RC) regional partners, learn about the 5 themes that ROTA-RC addresses, and discover highlighted education programs, supports, and resources offered by Cooperative Extensions across the Midwest region.

The Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) is a mental health treatment provided during the first 30-45 days after a child has experienced a traumatic event or has shared about a past trauma. This form of treatment typically takes five to eight therapy sessions for children ages 7 to 18 years old and has been proven to reduce trauma reactions in children, in addition to reducing or interrupting the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Check out this month's issue of the Great Lakes ROTA-RC Reporter to learn more.

Anti-Stigma Campaign in Northern Wisconsin
For the past few years, communities have recognized stigma as a major issue needing attention. Stigma affects the quality of care for those with substance use disorders, encourages discrimination, and fosters negative self-perceptions. Check out this month's newsletter to learn how four, local, community coalitions came together with UW-Madison, Division of Extension to address opioid stigma in their area.

Check out this month's, "Great Lakes Neighborhood" feature from The Ohio State University Extension campus. They are part of the growing state Extension Cooperatives extending reach to the community by incorporating modern, evidence-based approaches to total body wellness. These approaches prioritize the participant’s role in their own healing journey, focusing on both prevention and recovery-based outcomes. Hear more from colleague, Ken Stewart, Family and Consumer Educator.

Check out this month's, "Great Lakes Neighborhood" feature from The Ohio State University Extension campus. They are part of the growing state Extension Cooperatives extending reach to the community by incorporating modern, evidence-based approaches to total body wellness. These approaches prioritize the participant’s role in their own healing journey, focusing on both prevention and recovery-based outcomes. Hear more from colleague, Ken Stewart, Family and Consumer Educator.

This month's feature is Illinois. Check out highlights from this Great Lakes ROTA-RC partner and read this month's "Ask the Expert" article from Mark Sanders, Project Manager Illinois, Great Lakes ATTC.
2023