Addressing substance use and improving access to substance use treatment in St. Croix County are priorities for Justice Services Director Phil Galli.
“If we could just help even a couple individuals, what that does for us, and most importantly, what that does for our residents, is huge,” Galli said.
Researching these community challenges and identifying possible solutions were a focus of St. Croix County’s partnership with UniverCity Year – a multi-year program of UniverCity Alliance that is based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. St. Croix County’s Community Justice Collaborating Council (CJCC) applied to UniverCity for the years 2022-25 to focus on increasing access to residential substance use treatment and researching opportunities for creating a sober living facility for women.
Through this partnership, St. Croix County completed five projects with county staff, community residents, three UW–Madison instructors, and 17 students in three courses. These projects identified best practices in transitional housing and for creating a sober living facility for women, reviewed incarceration healthcare obligations and policies, and analyzed wraparound substance use treatment for the county’s treatment court participants.
Crediting his background in higher education, Galli said he recognized the value of getting an outside opinion from partners at UW–Madison and described the experience as enriching.
“There’s willingness for people to come to the table and have those discussions and be open-minded and really think outside the box,” said Galli on the impact of the UniverCity partnership. “In looking at this and working on these projects, folks are now willing to come back to the table and entertain ideas (about sober living housing facilities).”
Since the projects were completed, St. Croix County is hopeful that a new partnership with a Minnesota-based alcohol and drug recovery center will begin in 2025. Another partnership with a treatment provider is also under consideration.
“These partnerships will provide that lifeline and another resource that we otherwise wouldn’t have – and we haven’t had – in our community for several years,” Galli said. “The work that we have done with UniverCity allowed us to break down that barrier of the state line that was really insurmountable prior to this work.”
UniverCity’s model of connecting higher education institutions and communities is centered on two-way learning: Campus partners are learning from local experts while community partners learn from academic experts.
“Together, UW–Madison and Wisconsin communities can create solutions that benefit residents across the state while also providing high-impact learning experiences for students,” UniverCity Alliance Managing Director Gavin Luter said.
As a part of that two-way learning, psychology students visited St. Croix County over two days to observe a drug treatment court session, interview people with lived experience, and tour a sober living house. Their on-site experiences informed their report, which included 14 recommendations for creating successful sober living housing for women.
“The visit enriched the connection to the county and the issue,” said Dr. Patti Coffey, who taught the course.
Coffey reflected on how welcoming and motivated the county staff and community members were during the students’ visit. She emphasized the importance of bringing community-based projects into her classroom.
“Students are able to be of use in the community,” Coffey said. “Students know and can gather academic and non-academic resources, while also learning the importance of listening and learning from those with lived experiences.”
Dillon Rickaby, who was a senior when he took the class, said the partnership affected his view of the criminal justice system and those affected by it.
“This project and class opened my eyes to the challenges that individuals reintegrating from prison face and how difficult the process is,” Rickaby said. “I think there is a lot that we as a society could do to make the transition easier.”
This work directly aligns with UW–Madison’s ethos of the Wisconsin Idea, which is that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom.
“The Wisconsin Idea in action is inspiring to students and really an obligation we have to help students learn how to do community work and to recognize they can give back in many different ways,” Coffey said. “As a university, I think it is our obligation to Wisconsin.”
Department of Psychology Communications Manager Mary Anderson contributed to this story. This story was first published in the April 2025 edition of the Wisconsin Counties Association Magazine. Read it online here. View a pdf here.
Is your community interested in partnering with UniverCity Alliance? Email UniverCity at UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu.
–Abigail Becker