Join the Milwaukee Mental Health Task Force and County Executive David Crowley to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month and share a message about the need to invest in mental health in the state budget. Our speakers will address the benefits of proposed mental health and substance use disorder initiatives including community-based services, peer delivered services, and mental health services for people with hearing loss.
Investing in mental health is the right thing for people and the right thing for the budget. Limited access to community-based mental health care has resulted in people with mental illness being placed in costly out of home and institutional settings or confined in jails or prisons. Increasing access to treatment and services will promote recovery and resilience and reduce overutilization of emergency, hospital, and justice system resources.
- View the video of Support Mental Health in the State Budget event on our Facebook page.
- Read the event coverage in Wisconsin Health News here.
Join Us on May 8th to Support Mental Health
Space is limited and registration is required. Register below.
When: Monday, May 8, 2023, at 11 AM
Where: Independence First, 540 S. 1st St.
Speakers
- Milwaukee County Executive, David Crowley
- Kathy Acevedo, Independence First Chief Operating Officer
- Mary Neubauer, Milwaukee Mental Health Task Force co-chair
- Maria Gonzalez-Edwards, Meta House Board member
- Katy Schmidt Hagmeyer, LCSW, Deaf Mental Health Advocate and Therapist in private practice with Deaf Inspire, LLC
- Maria Perez, PhD, Licensed psychologist, Vice president of Behavioral Health Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, Milwaukee County Mental Health Board Chairwoman
- Call to Action: Montreal Cain, MERA Cares Executive Director, Mental Health Task Force Steering Committee
Facilitated by Barbara Beckert, Disability Rights Wisconsin, Director of External Advocacy
Cosponsors
- Community Advocates
- Disability Rights Wisconsin
- Grand Avenue Club
- Independence First
- Jewish Family Services, Inc.
- Mental Health America of Wisconsin
- Meta House, Inc.
- NAMI Southeast Wisconsin
- People First Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Community Services
- Our Space
- AMRI Counseling Services, LLC / AMRI Counseling & Family Services, Inc.
- Wellpoint Care Network
State Budget Resources
- Milwaukee Mental Health Task Force Public Comments on the State Budget April 2023 (PDF)
- Full Funding for Community Support Programs Letter to Joint Finance (PDF)
- Funding for Room and Board for Medicaid members seeking residential substance use disorder treatment (PDF)
- Speak Out for Mental Health in the State Budget – May 2023 (PDF)
- Mental Health Professional Shortage Area in Wisconsin, by County, 2022
- CRISIS: Lack of Accessible Mental Health Services for People with Hearing Loss (PDF)
- Proposed Budget: Improving Mental Health and Crisis Services, Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Reasonable Accommodations
ASL interpreters will be available. To request other accommodations, please email barbara.beckert@drwi.org as soon as possible.
Environmental Chemical Sensitivities
For the safety and comfort of those with chemical and environmental sensitivities, IndependenceFirst requests that when attending agency-sponsored events, please refrain from using any perfumed products such as scented soaps, deodorants, perfumes, colognes and heavily scented fabric softeners. To maintain a smoke-free environment, please also refrain from smoking in paths of travel and doorways.