By Kellen Olshefski
Correspondent
Following the success of its most recent event, the Elkhorn Resilience Coalition is looking to continue improving and building upon its “In Conversations” series with its next event – “Overcoming Addiction,” which is scheduled for March 17.
Featuring the Walworth County Drug and Alcohol Coalition, Elkhorn Area School District Community Resilience Outreach Coordinator Senta Holmes said the upcoming event is an exciting opportunity. She explained that the coalition plans to take the presentation following the event and distribute it to area schools so it can be used as a drug awareness educational tool.
“It’s really a turning point in using these ‘In Conversations’ in different avenues to make sure that these conversations carry out even further,” Holmes said.
Speakers at the upcoming event about overcoming addiction will include a wide variety of panelists, including retired Big Foot High School Principal Mike Hinske, deputies from the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office, an individual who has been sober for about five years now and an FBI agent who lost their child to a drug overdose.
According to Holmes, the Walworth County Drug and Alcohol Coalition will be handing out various free items to in-person attendees, such as sweatshirts and water bottles, with items possibly available as a type of prize to online viewers as well.
Holmes said the events have proven to be helpful for individuals, and in some cases has led to someone making a connection or taking a step to get more involved in an issue heard about at an “In Conversations” event.
For example, Holmes said, an attendee at the suicide awareness topic connected with one of the therapists who served on the panel to set up an appointment for a family member. And at the most recent event, she said, an individual spoke to one of the panelists about further training opportunities when it comes to recognizing human trafficking in the real world.
“I know that people are reaching out, extending far beyond what’s happening during that 90 minutes, and that’s what we really want to do,” she said.
Holmes noted that following the suicide awareness event she had people reach out to her about possibly creating support groups in the community as a way to help others navigate the side effects of suicide.
“Things are progressing forward with all of these conversations,” she said.
According to Holmes, she’s been stopped several times in public by people who have their own story to share, including some who are looking for additional information or resources, which she’s more than happy to pass along.
“I’m glad that people can stop me and share their story with me; I think that’s phenomenal and that they know that it’s here,” she said. “The next step is to build upon that to gain momentum with more people.”
In looking to further improve future events, Holmes said the goal is to try and get more attendees to engage, helping to further the discussion in a way that’s productive and can help others on a greater scale.
Holmes said she understands that engaging in the conversation can be intimidating for some individuals, but she again noted that the purpose of these events is really to provide a safe place for people to openly engage and have a discussion about these tough topics.
“You know somebody else is probably thinking that same thing. People are scared to speak up for certain reasons, and if that one person asks that question, I’ll bet you at least five other people were thinking it,” she said.
“By being engaging, you eliminate that wonder and you’re starting that conversation to diminish all the bad stigma of talking about mental illness, suicide, being an alcoholic or overcoming these addictions,” Holmes added. “It’s forming those connections, it’s meeting people and it’s building bridges… breaking down those stigmas.”
Holmes likened it to a recent experience in teaching her youngest son to drive a manual vehicle, when she took him to an empty parking lot and let him take the reins.
“Of course, he killed it a couple of times or he was jerky, but I said, that’s what you want to do. You’re in a safe place right now where you don’t have to follow rules. This is comfortable. You’re not going to be scolded about this,” she said.
Holmes said that’s what she wants to bring to the greater community.
“This is a safe environment where we can talk about stuff to understand, to seek understanding: not judgment, not stigmas,” she said. “I think a lot of our community members feel the same way, but they don’t know where that safe space is, and that’s what we want to bring to them.”
For those attending the “In Conversations” events virtually, Holmes said they’ve made some improvements to the online format including not providing panelists with Chromebooks to keep it more personal and also sharing Powerpoint presentations via the online format.
“I’m hoping people will be more engaging, even with each other, on these Google Meet calls,” she said.
Upcoming seminars
The “In Conversations” events are held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month at Elkhorn Area High School.
The events are open for in-person attendance – with a limit of 75 attendees and doors opening at 5:30 p.m. – as well as virtually. Both options request online advance registration at elkhorn.k12.wi.us/community/more/resilience.
As for further upcoming events, Homes said the topics will get a little bit lighter moving into the summer months, focusing on items such as mindfulness, what people can do to help out in the community and more.
“I just don’t want it to always be doom and gloom, because even when we talk about these hard topics, it’s so important to make it known that there’s resilience out of this and everyone can carry that and this is how,” Holmes said.
