Prairie du Chien woman advocates for rural mental health
As if the stigma of talking about mental health and finding proper help was a barrier for those affected, throw in living in rural America and hope can all but disappear. The pandemic certainly can not be helping the issue either.
Prairie du Chien,Wisconsin resident, Allie Klein is on a mission to address the lack of mental health care and resources in the Driftless area. Allie’s mission began about four years ago. “I'm just trying to support locals, because we know people in this area don't have the resources available to them like those living in large cities do. Then, when 2020 happened with COVID, it really hit me hard, as well as everybody else in my group of friends. We thought, it's definitely having to be hitting somebody else harder too, so it's the time to help.”
Allie said that over recent years, she had lost a lot of friends to suicide. She recalled losing her friend Dan just a year before taking action. One day she and some of her friends were sitting around her place which was previously Dan’s place, discussing things that they needed to take care of for their own mental health. “We were just sitting in where he used to live. We were all sitting there and just like talking about what we needed to do, and it just came to us. I feel like maybe his spirit was there, we all had goosebumps as we were talking about it. Like we knew that we were supposed to do something. I mean, it was a moment”, said Allie.
Allie said that she and her friends wanted to focus on resources that were needed within the community to, as she put it, “help each other”, noting that she and her friends believe the community has not learned how to rely on each other for support. “We can hold cancer benefits, we can do all these other kinds benefits, but nobody talks about mental health around here. We need to really step it up and talk about mental health and suicide, like bring it to light, because it's really something that you don't talk about.”
At that point Allie decided it was time to start an organization to help and formed a 501(c)(3) called The Driftless Foundation. The foundation’s aim is to connect rural Driftless people with resources that can assess their mental health needs and provide continued support.
When asked how the public has responded, Allie said, “It's been interesting. It's been different responses. We've triggered people. We've had people open up about what has happened to them. We've also had people shut down and not want anything to do with it. So, there's all different responses that we've gotten. We're just kind of learning how to finesse our way around it, and talk to the people that get triggered on how to help them further along their life in success of dealing with suicide and mental health issues.”
Allie feels the people that aren't really talking about it need to talk. She acknowledges and stresses that putting people at ease and chipping away at the stigma that, all too often, is associated with such a sensitive and what can be seen as a shameful one is critical. She hopes to make the topic of suicide and mental health more of an “okay thing” and more of a “conversation piece”. “People that are that are afraid of it, we still talk to them about it, because they'll eventually come around. Planting a seed to let people know that it's okay and that they're not alone. Even if they feel alone, they hear somebody else talking about it. Maybe they'll be like, ‘Okay, I'm not alone and I have other people that I can go to that aren't in my current support system’.”
Allie knows that rural support systems can be expanded saying, “As we have looked into the community further, we are finding a lot of people are just focused on their friends and their family. There are a lot of other people that struggle. I think that we can all help if we can come together as a community.”
The Driftless Foundation holds an annual Fisheree at the Crooked Oar Bar and Marina in Prairie du Chien, with the most recent being held a couple weeks ago. Allie shared that a good chunk of their fundraising comes from the fisheree.
“We decided we needed to do something to bring awareness and raise funds hand in hand. We have a lot of natural resources around here, like fishing, so we decided to use our natural resources and introduce people that wouldn't normally know about the natural resources and the options that we have and maybe connect them with other people,” said Allie.
Having local business support Allie says is crucial. Crooked Oar Bar and Marina owners Paul DeVos and his fiancé were approached a couple of years ago to pitch the idea of holding the Driftless Foundation Fisheree fundraiser at their establishment on the back waters of the Mississippi River. “So, Allie came to us with the idea of let's try a fisheree for raising funds for their foundation and it worked. I have to say it was just an absolutely great year last year for the event. It’s a really good cause. It's a good deal. They're making everybody aware of what's happened, what's going on with mental health issues in the Driftless. DeVos and his fiancé are no strangers to helping the community. They frequently host fundraisers for individuals and causes. “I just hope everybody comes out and sees what they're doing, you know, have some fun. That's what it's all about. You know, talking and keep people happy. And that's what we are doing,” said DeVos.
Also benefiting from the funds raised by the foundation, is Driftless Warriors, a part of Allie’s foundation. Driftless Warriors seeks to recognize the countless combat veterans that suffer from not only physical wounds, but psychological and emotional wounds either directly or indirectly connected to their service.
“So, last year we looked at doing the Wounded Warrior Project. What we basically found out is, the funds were not going to go to where we wanted them to go. Where we need the funds to go is here in the Driftless for our veterans and our military service members receive the help that they need. So, last year at our 1st Annual Driftless Area Ice Fisheree, we held a separate raffle for the veterans and we found that the raffle took in about 22% of the total amount raised by the event,” Allie shared.
To Allie, the number 22 was fitting. On average, 22 veterans take their own lives each day. “We want to make sure that people know we're donating back that 22%, bringing into light and kind of talking to people letting them know that our veterans are struggling on a whole other level when coming back into civilian life. We need to come together and support them.”
Troy McKee, a longtime friend of Allie’s who served in the United States Army as a scout sniper in Iraq, is one of a few veterans that support and help with the Driftless Warriors. McKee feels that key to helping combat veterans, is getting them to open up and realize they are not alone in their struggles. “I look at it this way, even if Driftless Warriors raises just $5, that is $5 that will go to help veterans. It is a good thing that Allie is doing and I plan to get even more involved as time goes on.”
Allie does not go it alone in the foundation. As President she is supported by her friend Vice-President Maria Baker, Treasurer and also friend, Brittany Marley, and Secretary Amanda Fahey (Allie’s sister).
While registering people during the fisheree, Marley spoke on the foundation saying, “Allie is an amazing person. And when she was pitching doing the foundation, I was like, absolutely. I went to college to specialize in mental health. I work for Brentwood, and I am the Program Supervisor for the Children's Shelter, they're in Waverly, Iowa. Throughout my life, I've done a lot of different things with mental health and Allie being one of my best friends, was mentioning it to me and it's like, ‘yes, I need to be involved with that.’ We need to help local people be connected with the organizations and the monies that we have in place for them without them actually knowing that it's there. So, if we can bridge that gap between the local people and the organizations that we have, then we can better help the people that have addictions or mental health needs in our local communities. It's a wonderful foundation. If you ever need any sort of mental health help, feel free to connect with us and we will do our best to help get you situated and to get you connected with the local organizations that can help you.”
Allie acknowledged the Foundation is growing well and they have a peer support program in place. She said they are looking to expand the Driftless Warriors program more this year getting more veterans and military service members involved so a peer support program specific to their needs is available. “Connecting people really is the end goal of it all and to continue to raise money for our organization.”
For more information on The Driftless Foundation, follow them on Facebook or visit them at www.thedriftlessfoundation.org.
The Driftless Foundation would like to thank Cyndi Scheetz, the Crooked Bar and Marina, A full list of businesses that made this event possible are in the photo gallery.
