A Marathon County eNewsletter
While National Mental Health Awareness Month may have origins dating back to the late 1800s, its mission today remains unchanged. Learn about the mental health challenges facing today’s youth, and what steps our community is taking to address them. (Click title to read full article…)
In recognition of Foster Care Awareness Month, we’d like to honor the foster families who provide care for many children in Marathon County and highlight the need for additional foster families. Whether its serving as a foster parent, respite provider, or community volunteer, learn about ways you can help support children and families in Marathon County. (Click title to read article…)
A family’s need for child support services often comes with a pivotal moment in their life such as a separation, divorce, or unplanned pregnancy. Learn how Marathon County’s Department of Social Services is improving outcomes for families through the ELEVATE program. (Click title to read article…)
Marathon County has been awarded a $1 million Community Development Block Grant in partnership with North Central Community Action Program (NCCAP) and MCDEVCO (Marathon County Development Corporation).
The purposes of the grant are to provide relief due to hardships from the pandemic to support low- to moderate-income individuals with mortgage and rental assistance and small businesses severely affected by COVID-19. This grant is available to rural areas only; therefore, the grant excludes the City of Wausau from eligibility. (Click the title for details…)
You may be surprised to learn that violence in relationships can start at a young age… But it’s estimated that 1 in 3 teens experience abuse in their dating relationships.
We need to be talking with our young people about respect in relationships and what healthy dating means. That’s just what The Women’s Community does in area schools.
Take time to discuss healthy dating during February: Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month. (Click the title to read more.)
The Marathon County Housing Task Force was created by Police Chief Ben Bliven partly due to concerns various members of the public had with a City of Wausau loitering ordinance.
Local leaders from City Government, non-profit agencies, and others have come together as part of the new Housing Task Force (now under the direction of United Way of Marathon County) to strategize solutions for our homeless population.
Learn the priority objectives the Housing Task Force will be taking action on to reduce homelessness in Marathon County. (Click the title for details . . .)
Working in Judicare’s Civil Unit, Harris represents victims of domestic and child abuse, low-income clients facing homelessness, and clients facing employment discrimination.
Elected to the Marathon County Board of Supervisors in April 2020, Harris now represents the Downtown Wausau area and plans to advocate for measures that address poverty and homelessness, as well as transportation.
Learn about Supervisor Harris’s recent bold move to ensure local fair elections, his push for a pilot program to restart bus service from Wausau to Rib Mountain, and more. (Click the title for details…)
Trauma Informed Care practices acknowledge the effects of trauma, strive to prevent traumatizing (or re-traumatizing) people, and promote healing within a safe environment. Nine Marathon County departments that tend to work with people impacted by trauma the most (or have staff who are regularly impacted by trauma) were assessed to determine the extent that Trauma Informed Care practices were being implemented by the people, physical spaces, and policies and procedures of Marathon County Government. (Click the title for details…)
There are a variety of ways to get involved in foster care that fit your interests, skills, and availability. For example, with 3 children of their own, Teal and Jenny Fyksen generously opened up their hearts and their home to provide 10 hours per week of respite care to 3- and 4-year-old siblings in an attempt to help a family avoid foster care placement for their children. Read their story as part of a dedicated team working together to help a family in need, and what happened when the aftereffects of coronavirus struck.
You can also donate supplies that will get matched to foster families or volunteer at several area churches who provide foster parents with meals, transportation to appointments, child care, or mentoring. Read on for heart-warming local stories and for various ways you can assist with foster care in Marathon County. (Click the title for details…)
As Jane E. Graham Jennings reflects on her work at The Women’s Community over the past 20 years, she remembers the pain of loss, and the glory of survival.
She chronicles the buildings, people, and milestones of this non-profit organization, now slated to be de-funded by the County over the next 4 years due to budget cuts. (Click the title to read more…)
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