Written by David DeGrood, Public Health Epidemiologist with Outagamie County Public Health & Human Services

In the heart of downtown Kaukauna, a splash of bold color and heartfelt expression has done more than brighten a wall – it has generated conversation around a topic on the minds of many: Mental Health. But many residents may not know how the lively mural on the side of The Pub came to be.

A Community Call to Action

When the Outagamie County Public Health Division (OCPH) was generating its most recent Community Health Improvement Plan, residents were asked to identify their top public health issue. Overwhelmingly, the community reported wanting to see more work done to address the mental health crisis. “The prevalence of conditions like anxiety, depression, and social isolation was already rising before the pandemic,” says OCPH epidemiologist David DeGrood, “but the events of 2020 put them on display for everyone to see.”

Chris Wardlow talking with Sarah Bassing-Sutton of the NEW Mental Health Connection

While local mental health providers have been working to address their waitlists and meet diverse clients’ needs, Public Health acknowledged it needed a different approach. Community members know that mental health is an overwhelming issue, but it can still feel taboo to address mental health with our family, friends, or peers. “It all comes down to stigma. People don’t have a model for discussing mental health with others, and it can feel scary to have that conversation. You have to address stigma,” says Chris Wardlow, who has worked in substance use prevention and mental health in the Fox Valley for more than 20 years.

Luckily, our community had a great place to start. According to NEW Mental Health Connection’s “Mind Your Wellness” survey, 70% of tri-county residents who need help for mental health issues reach out to a friend or family member. There is a strong base for help-seeking behavior among our close social relationships. However, these conversations are not always fruitful. For example, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey administered biannually to local high school students, only 25% of high schoolers “most of the time or always get emotional support when needed.”

What became clear is that, while many in our community may seek help when they are struggling, their friends and family may not know the best way to help them. They need better tools to navigate these conversations.

A Community-Built Support Website

Once Public Health had decided to equip our community with mental health resources to foster conversations among our social connections, it was essential to have the right team at the table. Community leaders from such organizations as NAMI Fox Valley, Catalpa Health, Diverse & Resilient, People of Progression, and the Fox Valley Data Exchange joined Public Health

Members of the workgroup standing in front of the mural.

to discuss how best to provide the right tools to the community. This collaboration was especially important because local data had identified disproportionately worse mental health outcomes in the LGBTQ+ population, the Black population, and among men. “It’s easy to see a problem and want to fix it,” says Amanda Hildeman, OCPH Communications Specialist. “But making sure the populations you’re serving are at the decision-making table is crucial if you want to have any real impact.”

Across several months, this workgroup worked to compile culturally respectful resources to assist residents with mental health conversations. They partnered with the NEW Mental Health Connection to create a webpage for these resources. And they piloted their messaging with community residents at places like NAMI Fox Valley. When it came time to name this resource, a representative from People of Progression came up with the perfect name: Support Others, Support Yourself. “We wanted to make sure the name first emphasized helping others, because the population of Outagamie County is quick to step up and help our neighbors,” says Hildeman. But the inclusion of “Support Yourself” also shows how discussions surrounding mental health can make life better for everyone in the community.

Supportotherssupportyourself.com was finally up and running. The next issue to tackle: How would residents know about this resource?

A Community Centerpiece

The Support Others, Support Yourself workgroup wanted to distribute flyers at local events like Fox Valley Pride or the summer farmer’s markets. They wanted to distribute table tents at local coffee shops and businesses. But without a cohesive campaign strategy, these materials risked falling flat. Then, the group decided they needed a symbol around which to base the campaign. “That’s when this whole thing came together,” says Wardlow. “When Amanda proposed that we have a community mural, and that all of our materials contain images of that mural, it finally felt like a well-rounded community initiative.”

Kaukauna-based artist Neo Medina was selected to design the mural and came up with an image that fit the campaign well. A human being emitting a warm glow, surrounded by serene green nature. And in this human’s hands, a ball of light. “From being in depths where you’re protecting what little bit of light you have left to being able to share your light with others, we are all on different parts of our journey,” wrote Medina about his mural. Medina’s journey and his experiences navigating mental health as a man gave him credibility to provide a reflection of the community back to itself. The image of the ball of light became the symbol of the support we provide to others and give ourselves.

Outagamie County Public Health received a $10,000 grant from the Community Vision Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region to fund the painting of the mural. In the meantime, Public Health soft-launched the Support Others, Support Yourself initiative at Fox Valley Pride 2024. DeGrood delivered a speech to the crowd at Gibson Music Hall highlighting the historical resiliency of the LGBTQ+ community. Public Health distributed fans, and DeGrood co-designed with leaders of Diverse & Resilient, which included an image of the ball of light from Medina’s mural concept art. The speech and fans were well received, with community member Libby Jacobs of Appleton remarking, “These are resources our community really needs. I want my son to grow up in a community where everyone will look out for his mental health. And Pride was such a great place to hand out fans – they really fit the vibe of the event.”

Finally, in November of 2024, Medina completed painting the mural on the side of The Pub in Kaukauna. It towers at an impressive 18 feet by 20 feet, right along the City of Kaukauna’s Alley Activation Project connecting 2^nd Street to 3^rd Street. As Kaukauna continues to encourage more foot traffic and social connection in its downtown, this alley will be the perfect place for friends to gather and take pictures with the mural. And to the mural’s left is a large aluminum installation with a QR code leading to supportotherssupportyourself.com. Anyone who takes pictures with the art will have a quick link to resources to help them navigate conversations about mental health.

A Community Impact

The community has already benefited from the Support Others, Support Yourself webpage and mural. Website metrics show that it has become the third most visited page on the NEW Mental Health Connection’s website, behind the main landing page and the Strong Minds 4 Men page. Local organizations like NAMI are directing their clients to the page. And Public Health is getting anecdotal stories about how people feel more comfortable talking about mental health after using the website. “After Pride, we got a slight bump in traffic to the website,” says Hildeman, “but it was really Neo’s mural that made this venture so successful.”

The mural was so well received by Kaukauna residents that Outagamie County Public Health has received more grant funding to paint a smaller version in Grand Chute. The workgroup will continue reviewing the website’s content and inviting feedback from the community in the future. Public Health is determined to make this a sustainable project to continue breaking down stigma around mental health.

“We knew what the problem was, we had the right people at the table, and we found the perfect artist to represent the community,” says DeGrood. “Thanks to the Community Foundation’s generous grant award, we could turn these assets into a win for all Outagamie County residents.”

For the foreseeable future, the murals in Kaukauna and Grand Chute will serve as a reminder that we all have a light to share with others.