Community Health & Education

 
 

The community we live in is part of who we are, shaping us by providing opportunities to learn, grow, play, work, and live a healthy life. Together, we can actively build a healthy community by promoting protective factors, strengthening supports, and creating positive conditions that give everyone a chance to thrive. Our public health staff works with local partners, recognizing that building community health requires careful planning, information-sharing, and many skilled contributors.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

We promote positive mental health by offering technical assistance to community organizations and partners regarding mental health awareness, suicide prevention, local policies and procedures. We value community input and are always looking for ways to collaborate. Additionally, our team holds credentials in the following trainings: 

Please note, we work on planning and strategizing at a community level, which means we do not work with individual mental health needs or have the capacity to support crisis response. Additional services are provided through our Adult Mental Health Unit.  

 

Substance Use Prevention

We offer technical assistance on topics including teen substance use, prevention methods, harm reduction, recovery, and more. Contact us to explore partnerships, training offerings, and community engagement opportunities with your organization.  

Please note, these positions do not offer assessments or act as a referral service. Please visit our Adult Services page on Substance Use and Recovery to learn more about services available through St. Louis County. The St. Louis County Treatment Coordination Team can be reached at 218-725-5260. If you need immediate help, call 9-1-1. 

Coalition Work 

We participate in various collaborative efforts surrounding substance use prevention and education:   

Chemical Awareness Prevention and Education (CAPE) Coalition   

Community Solutions for Substance Use and Recovery (CSSUR)  

Harm Reduction 

We support various aspects of harm reduction including the distribution of fentanyl testing supplies, proper medication disposal, testing for infectious diseases, overdose reversal education and training, and offering support and resources to those who have been affected by substance use disorders. Our department works closely with numerous local harm reduction programs, including Harm Reduction Sisters, Recovery Alliance Duluth, and Rural Aids Action Network.  

Opioid Remediation Funds 

Read more about the Opioid Remediation Settlement or contact Jana Blomberg

 

School Supports

Quality education is an essential building block of healthy community, and we are fortunate to have relationships with many excellent schools and education professionals at regional and district levels. We collaborate on efforts such as:  

We have access to data from the Minnesota Student Survey and Youth Risk Behavior Survey that helps us map out effective strategies for supporting the health of students. We are always looking for new ways to engage with student populations and are committed to promoting positive well-being for all schools, students, and staff. Please reach out to our School Liaison, Raymond Jobe, to connect about additional resources and supports that we can offer local schools.  

Contact

If you need immediate help, call 911.

National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

Call or text: 988

Press 1 for Veteran Crisis Line, 2 for Spanish, 3 for LGBTQ+

MN Crisis Text Line
Text "MN" to 741741

St. Louis County Mobile Crisis Unit

Public Health Mainlines

Duluth: 218-725-5210

Ely: 218-365-8200

Hibbing: 218-312-8300

Virginia: 218-471-7600

Mental Health Educator, Amy Brownell 218-471-7689 brownella@stlouiscountymn.gov

Mental Health Educator, Casey Mickelson, 218-726-2025 mickelsonc@stlouiscountymn.gov

Substance Use Prevention Educator, Maggie Myers, 218-471-7385 myersm@stlouiscountymn.gov

School Liaison, Raymond Jobe, 218-725-5144 jober@stlouiscountymn.gov

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