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Community Wellness Initiative

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Building Community Wellness

The Community Wellness Initiative is a learning collaborative where researchers, students, practitioners and community partners research workplace mental health and wellness to address Ohio's workforce crises in health, safety and education — sectors that impact the entire community.

High intensity and high impact professions (such as first responders, health practitioners and educators) tend to be under-resourced and overworked. They also experience unique mental health challenges that span all nine dimensions of wellness and require interdisciplinary support. CWI is a collaborative community working to develop research and resources to support these vital professionals.

Student Involvement in Four Labs

First Responder Wellness

The First Responder Wellness Lab focuses on providing continuing education, resources and support to first responders to promote wellness on and off the job.

Explore First Responder Wellness

Resource Mapping

The Resource Mapping Lab provides resources to practitioners and providers through the continuing development of an interactive online guide to social, public and health resources.

Explore Resource Mapping

Whole Family Wellness

The Whole Family Wellness Lab provides resources to educate individuals and families to experience health and wellness.

Explore Whole Family Wellness

Recruitment and Retention

The Recruitment and Retention Lab hosts career fairs to educate school-aged children about possible careers in the mental health field.

Explore Recruitment and Retention
Research Projects

Barriers and Facilitators to Job Retention in Mental Health Professions

The purpose of this thematic analysis is to develop a rich description of the barriers and facilitators to job retention for mental health professions in HRSA-defined high need and high demand regions. At this stage in the research, job retention will be generally defined as an organization's ability to prevent employee turnover and increase the number of people who continue to work for the organization.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Meredith Montgomery, University of Dayton, mmontgomery2@udayton.edu, 937-229-4709.

Effects of Interpersonal Education and Practice IPEP on Mental Health Prof Identity

The purpose of the project is to understand the effects of Interprofessional Education and Practice (IPEP) training on the development of professional identities in individuals studying in a mental health master's program. The results of this study will inform mental health educators' decision on incorporating IPEP in future training programs.
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Become a Community Partner

Interested in getting involved with the Community Wellness Initiative? Please contact Meredith Montgomery at mmontgomery2@udayton.edu to learn more about how we can partner.

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BHWET: The foundation of the Community Wellness Initiative

The Community Wellness Initiative began as the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program — a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and American Rescue Plan-funded collaboration between UD’s mental health graduate programs (clinical mental health counseling, school psychology, school counseling) and community partners from health, public safety and education across 30 counties in Southwest and Central Ohio.

Mission, Vision and Purpose
  • Purpose: We believe workplace mental health is the foundation of community health.
  • Vision: A connected community where the wellbeing of High Intensity/High Impact (HI/HI) professionals is valued and empowers service to others.
  • Mission: CWI empowers HI/HI Professionals to flourish personally and professionally through community-driven research and practice, the development of powerful wellness tools and a supportive Catholic, Marianist framework.

Funding

This started as a four-year, $1.92M program and was funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the American Rescue Plan.

Student Involvement

Students work alongside faculty in a lab structure. Each team of students is focused on developing sustainable solutions to systemic issues. Community partners have been instrumental in identifying areas of focus. Each team develops programming, conducts research and disseminates information across professions and communities.

Student Benefits

How this program benefits our students:

  • Ability to work with leaders in the community.
  • Interprofessional Education (IPE) training.
  • First-hand experience in a variety of community settings.
  • Ability to create change in our communities.

Professional Resource Library

The purpose of the PRL-MH is to increase the proficiency of mental health practitioners across the state of Ohio while also reducing the training burden on mental health supervisors and administrators. This library will be a shared resource for mental health practitioners from all disciplines: counselors, school counselors, school psychologists, clinical psychologists, social workers, peer supporters, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, case managers, and mental health technicians.
Contact Community Wellness Initiative 937-229-3465