Speakers

In 2008, a passionate group of Chariho Middle School students set forth to create a group of like minded peers to address substance misuse and mental health – we began our journey as the Chariho Youth Task Force.  In 2018, the Chariho Youth Task Force merged forces with the Chariho Tri-Town Task Force on Substance Abuse Prevention and we formalized as a 501©3 nonprofit. During our first decade we worked to change the culture around tobacco use within Charlestown, Hopkinton, and Richmond and on a state level, we honored victims of drunk driving to strive toward a zero fatality Rhode Island, we educated our community of the effects of substance use and work to influence safer medication storage in homes, we are leading a regional movement toward a focus on positive mental health and coping strategies, we launched the Every Body is Beautiful campaign and published a children’s book to change the culture around body positivity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, due to increased need we doubled down on expanding our impact. We launched a mental health resource initiative that connected 45,000 Washington and Kent County residents to crisis-based, local, and preventative resources. We built out our team and hired a Community Health Worker who worked to connect the most vulnerable residents of all ages around to resources to assist with food insecurity, housing, and healthcare.

In October 2023, after fifteen years of growing to meet the needs of our community we officially rebranded our organization as the Wellbeing Collaborative and have set out to connect people and nurture wellbeing in Charlestown, Hopkinton, Richmond and Westerly, Rhode Island.

For more information, please reach out to Tim Babcock

Email: tbabcock@uri.edu

Phone: 401-578-8756