Family & Children’s Center’s RISE Program marks one year of impacting lives of children, families

A lot can change in a year. For clients of Family & Children’s Center’s (FCC) RISE (Resilience, Independence, Support, Engagement) Program, 2025 was a year of growth and development.

In late 2025, FCC marked one year of the RISE Program. Currently, the program supports seven students, and staff are already seeing an impact in Winona.

“When kids regularly attend RISE, we see an average of 7% increase in school attendance from the first month of [the youth] starting RISE to their most recent month of RISE,” said Karlee Langenfeld, Mental Health Practitioner with Family & Children’s Center. “One student has received the student of the month award since attending RISE regularly.”

The RISE Program offers a personalized focus for each client, based on their mental health needs, providing skill-based services to at-risk youth in Winona. This initiative gives them the opportunity to learn, grow, socialize, and participate in activities that enrich their lives, improve school attendance, and discourage them from engaging in unhealthy and unlawful activities.

Staff will also assist youth in replacing unhealthy activities with healthy alternatives, such as painting, hiking, or playing sports or music. Discovering new hobbies in a group setting not only provides a constructive outlet for energy and emotion but also creates a sense of community. New friendships lead to higher levels of self-esteem, which can help the youth overcome the anxieties that keep them from school.

“A former participant’s caregiver reported that out of all other programs that the student had been to, the student had felt the most comfortable and had the most fun at RISE,” said Langenfeld.

The program also assists families of clients by supporting them through large family changes. It  provides referrals to community resources that allows them to access personal and household needs.  Since launching the program, RISE Program staff has helped a family with food support by providing the funds needed for groceries. They have also assisted a family in getting their electricity back on and provided access to a generator before providing energy bill assistance.

To be eligible for the program, potential clients must be identified as at-risk of or at truancy level attendance, at-risk of engaging in illegal activities or have caregivers identified as needing additional support to care for at-risk youth.

Referrals are welcome from the Winona Area Public School, Winona County Health and Human Services, Winona County Probation and Parole, Winona County Court Services, Winona Health, Emplify Health (formerly known as Gundersen Health System), and any other community entity of related interest.

The RISE Program is funded by the Community Crime Intervention and Prevention Grant from the Office of Justice Programs. It is open weekdays from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. at FCC’s 601 Franklin Street offices in Winona.

For more information about the RISE Program, please contact Craig Putz at cputz@fccnetwork.org or (507) 453-9563 ext. 3137 or visit fcconline.org.