The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) announced today the launch of the new Kansas Prevention Collaborative (KPC) website. The KPC was created in an effort to integrate and innovate behavioral health prevention efforts. With this in mind, the KPC website is designed to serve as a communication hub for coalitions across the state. It will allow coalition members to exchange resources and information and will also lead the conversation about prevention in the state of Kansas.
Sarah Fischer, the Director of Prevention and Promotion Services at KDADS, is eager to see the website used by communities. “I am excited that we are able to introduce another tool that will help create stronger behavioral health prevention connections across Kansas communities; the ability to share success stories, resources, news, and events more broadly will help us to empower prevention partners, create synergy, integrate efforts, and create a more unified voice for behavioral health prevention initiatives in our state.”
The partners that comprise the KPC include KDADS, DCCCA, Greenbush, KU Work Group, WSU’s Community Engagement Institute (CEI), NAMI Kansas, and Keys for Networking. Together, these partners are committed to expanding prevention efforts to be more inclusive of mental health promotion, suicide prevention, and problem gambling education and awareness. They are also working to increase the availability of resources to adequately fund local level prevention and promotion strategic plans. The KPC website is a big part of ensuring that coalitions have access to the tools necessary to do sustainable work within their communities.
WSU’s Training and Technology Team worked closely with the KPC in order to design a website whose functionality serves the unique need of Kansas coalitions. Chad Childs, the CEI’s Prevention Initiative Systems Project Coordinator, highlights the contributions of all the agencies involved in bringing this website to life. “There is a lot of work that goes into the creation of a website, especially one true to the vision of KDADS and the intentional focus of the Kansas Prevention Collaborative. We want it to be a space that is engaging, beneficial, and designed to grow as we discover how people use it. Both the members of the KPC and community prevention coalitions across the state have been tremendous partners sharing the work. We’re just getting started and are excited to see how it evolves.”
“We are thrilled to be working with T3 regarding the recently launched KPC website,” says Scott Wituk, Executive Director of the Community Engagement Institute. “T3’s staff were extremely responsive to the needs of the project. I look forward to future opportunities to partner with them.”
Amy Jones, Project Manager with T3, echoes Wituk’s enthusiasm: “T3 was excited to work with the Community Engagement Institute on this project. Our role was to provide a robust and comprehensive website to maximize communication, provide outreach opportunities, and bring Kansans together in the prevention effort. We look forward to assisting the CEI team on future prevention projects.”
“The Kansas Prevention Collaborative website and related activities of the Prevention Initiative at our Community Engagement Institute and our experts at T3 are great examples of Wichita State University’s innovative and diligent use of technology to accelerate the discovery, creation, and transfer of new knowledge,” says President John Bardo of Wichita State University. “This is another way WSU is striving to improve the quality of life for all Kansans.”
The Kansas Prevention Collaborative invites you to visit the website and offer your support to the coalitions in your community working to promote good physical and mental health. Subscribe to our mailing list to stay informed of events, and follow us on Facebook for the latest on prevention and promotion efforts in Kansas.
