• Never leave children unsupervised around water.
• Talk to your kids about open water and swim safety so they understand the risks of swimming without a responsible adult.
• Choose an adult or adults in charge of watching children when they are swimming or around water. Take turns and avoid distractions.
• Don’t confuse the ability to swim with not being able to drown. Swimming lessons are important, but even kids who know how to swim are at risk.
• Life Jackets Save Lives! Your children should wear life jackets at all times when on boats or near bodies of water. Make sure the life jackets are of the proper size for the wearers. Life jackets should also be worn when swimming for children who need extra support, or in situations where even strong swimmers are at higher risk - high winds & waves, cold, murky, moving water.
• When entering open water when you cannot see the bottom or are not familiar with it, enter feet first and wade slowly. Rocks, uneven surfaces or drop offs can be hard to see. Do not dive when you do not know the depth or if obstructions could be hiding in the water.

A lack of safety equipment is the leading cause of ATV/UTV incidents. When enjoying off-road rides and adventures, wearing a helmet and seat belt, monitoring speed, and using caution on hills and uneven terrain could save your life.

So far this year, six people have died in ATV/UTV crashes. Most crash victims were not wearing seat belts or helmets.

• Never consume alcohol or drugs before or during your ride.
• Wear a seat belt and a Department of Transportation (DOT)-approved helmet.
• In addition to a seat belt and helmet, wear protective clothing such as eye protection, gloves, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt.
• Keep your speed in check for the terrain, visibility conditions and your experience.
• Remember that some terrain in Wisconsin is too steep for ATV/UTVs. Please be careful while traversing hills or uneven terrain.
• Know before you go. Review all ATV/UTV laws here.

While June is Pride month, it is important to acknowledge LGBTQ+ education, awareness and support requires year-round action and allyship. Although we will take the opportunity throughout the month of June to focus on highlighting LGTBQ+ education and awareness, as vital members of our community, we recognize the critical need for action, policies and practices 365 days a year.

LGBTQ+ people continue to show disparities in mental health, even though they are more likely to use mental health services. 

People who identify as LGBTQ+ are:

• Twice as likely as non-LGBTQ+ people to have a mental health condition.
• In 2021, among LGBTQ+ individuals who took an MHA depression screening, 56% report having suicidal thoughts more than half or nearly every day of the previous two weeks (7% increase from 2019 MHA rate).

Trevor Project reports among LGBTQ+ youth: 

• 73% report symptoms of anxiety.
• 58% report symptoms of depression.
• 45% report having seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. 

40% of transgender adults have attempted suicide during their lifetime, compared to less than 5% of general U.S. population (U.S. Transgendered Survey).

To help people better understand gender, Trans Student Educational Resources created “The Gender Unicorn” graphic that explores and defines gender identity, gender expression/presentation sex assigned at birth, physical attraction and emotional attraction.

Gender Identity: One’s internal sense of being male, female, neither of these, both, or another gender(s). Everyone has a gender identity, including you. For transgender people, their sex assigned at birth and their own internal sense of gender identity are not the same. Female, woman, and girl and male, man, and boy are also not necessarily linked to each other but are just six common gender identities.
 
Gender Expression/Presentation: The physical manifestation of one’s gender identity through clothing, hairstyle, voice, body shape, etc. Many transgender people seek to make their gender expression (how they look) match their gender identity (who they are), rather than their sex assigned at birth.
 
Sex Assigned at Birth: The assignment and classification of people as male, female, intersex, or another sex based on a combination of anatomy, hormones, chromosomes. It is important we don’t simply use “sex” because of the vagueness of the definition of sex and its place in transphobia.

• Chromosomes are frequently used to determine sex from prenatal karyotyping (although not as often as genitalia).
• Chromosomes do not always determine genitalia, sex, or gender.

Physically Attracted To: Sexual orientation. It is important to note that sexual and romantic/emotional attraction can be from a variety of factors including but not limited to gender identity, gender expression/presentation, and sex assigned at birth.
 
Emotionally Attracted To: Romantic/emotional orientation. It is important to note that sexual and romantic/emotional attraction can be from a variety of factors including but not limited to gender identity, gender expression/presentation, and sex assigned at birth. There are other types of attraction related to gender such as aesthetical or platonic. These are simply two common forms of attraction.
 
Trans Student Educational Resources, 2015. “The Gender Unicorn.” Link

A person’s name is a proper noun, and we often use pronouns in place of proper nouns, when referring to someone without using their name. The most commonly used pronouns in English, he/she refer to gender.

For LGBTQ+ community members, expressly queer, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and transgender people, he/she pronouns may not fit how they identify. Use of he/she pronouns may cause stress and anxiety. 

A gender neutral or inclusive pronoun does not associate a gender with the individual who is being discussed. Languages which do not include gender neutral pronouns have attempted to create them, in the interest of greater equality.

Having trouble understanding why this would upset someone?  Think about how it feels when someone mispronounces or calls you by the wrong name… Now, think about your pronoun (likely “he” or “she”). Imagine someone referring to you by a pronoun you don’t identify with… imagine them doing it over and over again, even after you’ve corrected them.  According to 2018 University of Texas study, in transgender youth, using correct pronouns and names reduces depression and suicide risks.