WI Will Receive $5.7 Million For Milwaukee Mental Health Center

WISCONSIN — Gov. Tony Evers announced Tuesday that $5.7 million will go to build a new mental health center in Milwaukee.

Some $5.7 million will go to a Mental Health Emergency Center set to open in 2022, with $4.5 million of that coming from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the governor's office said.

The rest of the money will come from federal mental health block grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the office said.

The center will be managed by Milwaukee County and the county's four health systems: Advocate Aurora Health, Ascension Wisconsin, Children’s Wisconsin and Froedtert Health, County Executive David Crowley said at a news briefing.

The new center will be at 1525 N. 12th St., next to the Milwaukee County Heath and Human Services building, CBS 58 reported.

The new center will offer 24-hour crisis services to both children and adults, Crowley said. The center will also offer inpatient, residential, outpatient and peer support services, the governor's office said.

It will also serve as a training center for psychiatric medical residents and provide job opportunities during construction and after completion, making it an economic driver, the office said.

“We are committed to ensuring that Wisconsin workers, families, and communities are not only bouncing back from this pandemic financially, but that we are addressing the increased need for mental and behavioral healthcare and building healthy communities well into the future,” Evers said.

The facility will help strengthen Wisconsin's mental health care infrastructure by expanding treatment and options, he added.