Exploring Services Using Maps & Creating Program Proposals

Scenario

You live in a rural Minnesota county - you are caretaker for a relative and need to schedule an appointment for them with a mental health professional.

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You have never worked with a mental health professional before and unsure the best way to schedule an appointment.

• In your groups, decide which type of mental health service you are looking for. It can be anything!

Step 1: Pick Your County

For your project, focus on rural Minnesota counties - select any county from the list that has a population less than 20,000

• US Census defines "rural" as areas with a population less than 50,000

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List of Counties: Minnesota Counties by Population

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Write down which county you pick on the white board!

Step 2: Create a List

• Make a copy of the Google Sheet Blank Template and share it with your team members (delete info on the first line)

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• Do some quick searches! Can you find at least 3 locations for your county that match what you need?

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• Information for the map: Name of the place, County, Address, Thoughts about the place
• Copy/paste the whole address in the Address column
• Include any thoughts about the place - services, details of note that might be helpful
• Does it say if it has a cost or accepts some type of insurance?

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Step 3: Download your list

When your list is done, download a copy as a CSV!

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File > Download > CSV

Step 4: Add it to the map!

Go to the Minnesota Counties Map

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Click Add Layer

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In Import, select your Google Sheet

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Step 4: Add it to the map!

Select Address, click Continue

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Select Name, click Finish

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Points should appear on the map!

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Click on the 3 dots and rename it from Untitled Layer to the name of your county.

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Any thoughts about this process and what you were able to find?

How can we use this method to understand the experiences of the public accessing services?

By looking at this map - what conclusions can we draw about hospital access in rural counties?

How does adding a 20 minute drive-time to the map impact our view of access?

Add drive time for 30 and 60 Minutes – do we see any differences?

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Map Link (https://arcg.is/zCf9G)

Program/Project Proposal Template

Template

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Feel free to make a copy of the template to your own Google Drive and fill in with any information that you want!

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You do not have to use this - feel free to change wording or add anything that is relevant to your idea. Or use something else! The template is only meant as a option to get started if needed.

Proposal Guidelines

• Vision Statement
• What is your intent for this program and what do you hope to accomplish? Should address the needs of a group or specific idea.

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This program does A to address the needs of Group B.

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• Time Frame
• It’s not necessarily important that you are 100% correct in time estimates. The planning and implementation steps are more important!

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Proposal Guidelines

• Outcomes
• Defined goals of your program
• This should support the intent of your vision statement – how will you accomplish your intent?

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• Stakeholders & Resources
• Who are you serving in the community?
• What do you need to make the program a reality?

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• How should we evaluate the project?
• Will you use a type of defined analysis? Surveys, interviews, etc.
• Establish some type of tool to track the progress of your clients

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Helpful Online Resources

• Need brainstorming ideas for how to create a community service program?
• Prepscholar.com Blog: Community Service Projects
• Youth.Gov: Starting a Mentoring Program
• mentoring.org: Start a Program

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• Facts about specific counties or states in the United States: Data USA (datausa.io)
• Mapping Community Health and Access to Healthcare

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• What is an example of a current, community service program?
• Meals on Wheels America

Be creative!

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The Wild Walk Program: �Bayfield County, WI

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Providing access to mental health services for young adults in Bayfield County, Wisconsin

Bayfield, WI Example Map

Bayfield County, WI Google Sheet

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Example Vision Statement

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The Wild Walk Program combines creativity with the exploration of nature using Wilderness Therapy as a method of supporting positive emotional health experiences, developing self-management skills, and encouraging interpersonal communication. This is intended as an after-school or community program for adolescents or young adults (age 12 - 17).

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Source: Wilderness Therapy Programs

Bayfield County, Wisconsin Statistics

• Bayfield County, WI - Population (2018 Estimate): 15,042
• 11.8% has a prevalence of food insecurity (2018).
• 23.2% has a prevalence of excessive drinking (2018).

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• Wisconsin Stats
• 10.4% are adults who have not seen a doctor in the past 12 months due to financial reasons (2016).
• 4.24% has an occurrence of a serious mental illness (2016).
• 8.74% of adolescents and young adults (Age 12+) have a substance abuse disorder (2016).

Example Program Outcomes

• Create no-cost support for adolescents and young adults that are at-risk or have a history of drug and alcohol abuse, or have a history of mental illness.
• Individuals in the program can be referred by a school official or faculty member, counselor, therapist or doctor.
• Participation is also allowed with written permission from a parent or guardian.

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• Partner with school faculty, local therapy groups, and community centers to create collaborative group projects.
• The core of all activities are built around Wilderness Therapy and the exploration of the local physical environment.
• All projects are intended for group collaboration and each group will be assigned an advisor from participating faculty or community members.
• All groups will be supervised by a faculty or community member and all projects are limited to the property of the participating school or community center. Any project work taking place off the property will require permission from a parent or guardian.

Time Frame

A 1-year timeline will be needed to establish this program.

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Example Resources

• Space
• Community centers
• Organizations that offer therapy services that specialize in mental illness in youth and young adults
• Local middle and high schools

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• Personnel
• Program directors or coordinators, marketing and website development, counselors
• Volunteers

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• Is there a key resource that is required for your program?
• For example, a program like Meals on Wheels may require individuals with a car for transportation.

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Example Stakeholders

• Stakeholders are ALL the participants in the program.
• School faculty
• Therapists
• Parents and children
• Anyone else involved in the program or the establishment of the program

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Evaluation

• Create feedback surveys and collect responses from participants.
• How do you track how effective your services or program is for the population?
• Surveys, feedback, suggestions

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