The Lake of the Woods Prevention Coalition has been part of this community since 2011. We started with a simple idea: that prevention works best when a whole community shows up together.

Over the years we’ve grown, adapted, and deepened our work. We’ve moved from early coalition-building to implementing the Communities That Care (CTC) framework — an evidence-based approach that uses local data to guide our prevention efforts and match them with strategies that are proven to work.

Where we’ve been: LWPC was established in 2011 through funding from the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Over the following years we built our coalition, launched STUDs, hosted community events, and developed programs rooted in the needs of Lake of the Woods County.

Where we are now: Today LWPC is funded by the Minnesota Department of Health and operates under the CTC framework. Our work spans youth programming, community events, coalition building, and community education — all focused on the health and well-being of people of all ages in Lake of the Woods County.

Where we’re going: We’re using data from our community to guide the next chapter — identifying local risk factors and matching them with evidence-based strategies that make a real difference.