HeadsUp Fox Cities

Thank you to the GORDON FLESCH CHARITABLE FOUNDATION INC for your support of HeadsUp Fox Cities! We were honored to join you on the field at the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers stadium to receive this generous gift.

When children are removed, they lose more than their parents—they lose their entire world. This upheaval is too much for anyone, especially a child. We must rethink how we support these transitions. Alia’s approach prioritizes stability and connection, minimizing the disruption in a child's life. But we can’t make progress without more decision makers coming along and without funding philosophies changing. That’s where advocacy comes in. Every single one of us is an advocate who can help create UnSystems that respect and nurture familial bonds. Every like, share, comment helps. Every conversation and every signed petition. Thank you for being part of our movement! #FosterCare #Belonging #SystemChange

The Basic Needs Giving Partnership supported by the #USVO U.S. Venture Open has been a large part of the HeadsUp Fox Cities story. Yesterday, they hosted their 39th annual event. Last year's grant was part of our opportunity to move from concept to direct service. Recently, we've grappled with the reality that the need in our community outweighs our capacity. We're grateful for the trust our partners and community have put in our service. And, this further highlights the vital work the U.S. Venture Open and the Basic Needs Giving Partnership are doing to impact poverty. Learn more about how last year's grant helped HeadsUp to bring service to this community here:

Meet Alex, our new Life Skills Coordinator! We are thrilled to welcome Alex to our team as our new Life Skills Coordinator. In this role, Alex will be providing essential services and support to young adults, drawing on her background in providing trauma-informed care. Alex brings valuable experience, advocacy, and knowledge working with individuals with disabilities as well as survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Her background is grounded in a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (UWO), which has equipped her with the skills and insights needed to excel in her new position. We are excited to see the positive change Alex will bring to our team and the individuals we serve. Welcome aboard, Alex!

The engagement of people with lived experience in decision-making processes is often limited and consultative, lacking ongoing connections or significant incorporation of their feedback. For this engagement to be meaningful, these individuals need to be valued as experts and included in all stages of policy development, ensuring their voices directly impact the decisions affecting their lives.

At HeadsUp, we actively seek opportunities to help create a long-term support network for each participant we serve who will accept and celebrate their authentic selves. We all want to have somewhere that we belong.

Sonya Massey deserved to live. We mourn her loss and extend our condolences to her family and all those affected by such violence, pain, and injustice. Black women should be able to call the police for help without fear of being murdered. Too often, systems designed to help cause irreparable or even fatal harm, particularly to Black and Brown individuals. We can, and must, do better. It's time to come together and advocate for systemic change.

We love the optimism in this footnote: "Ending youth homelessness is possible. We can target additional and coordinated investments toward what works. We can focus on prevention. Our strategies can be informed by the perspectives of youth. By working in concert, policymakers, public and private funders, service providers and communities can help young people enter adulthood with the stability, relationships and opportunities they want and need to be able to thrive by 25." https://lnkd.in/evd2848e

Collaboration is essential for the comprehensive support we offer to transitional age youth. Are you interested in discovering other organizations that offer holistic, collaborative, wrap-around services? Reach out and explore what HeadsUp and our community partners are doing to reshape the service culture.

The words of William Ellery Channing hold immense power for the fight for racial justice. In child welfare, UnSystems built on equity and compassion can empower families, not perpetuate disparities. But how do we get from "love of power" to "power of love" in practice? It starts with dismantling racist structures and implicit biases within the system. It means listening to the experiences of families of color and centering their needs. Let's work together to build UnSystems rooted in love and justice. Here's what you can do: Educate yourself on racial bias in child welfare. Advocate for policies that dismantle systemic racism. Amplify the voices of families of color. Together, we can create a more just UnSystem for all children and families. #RacialJustice #ChildWelfare #Equity