New mental health clinic, Milwaukee County expands access
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee County opened its third mental health services Access Clinic Friday, June 2.
The county clinic at Issac Coggs Heritage Health Center is just one part of a larger move toward putting help where the community needs it most.
The three clinics, Access Clinic North now joining Access Clinics East and South, are just some of the places where people can get help.
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"We’re calling on the community to share this information with your friends, neighbors and family members," said Michele Le Bourgeois, COO of Milwaukee Health Services, Inc.
The clinics serve those who are uninsured or underinsured, ages 18 and older – helping people even if they can't pay for services. The county partnered with Milwaukee Health Services, Inc. for the new ACCESS Clinic North location.
Milwaukee County Access Clinic
"This is the third Milwaukee County ACCESS Clinic to open in two years," said County Executive David Crowley.
The county is working to destigmatize mental health and substance disorders, connecting people with the help they need before it becomes a crisis.
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"We have strategically placed them across the city, so at some point, somebody can gain access to those services," said Dr. Ken Cole, Milwaukee County Behavioral Health outpatient treatment director.
Gun violence and reckless driving are just a few examples of physical trauma, but there is trauma that happens in silence, like PTSD.
The latest clinic joins the growing number of partnerships and clinics for mental health care in the county – not including crisis teams, in-patient help and crisis hotlines.
Community mental health services in Milwaukee County
It puts help close to those who need it, decentralizing the county's mental health care as the roughly one-million-square-foot complex in Wauwatosa comes down.
"I think the main reason is to make it easier to get people help. Full stop," Cole said.
Cole said, even with serving more people, there is a need for those who don't come forward. What is different about the model is that people are being served more quickly before it reaches a crisis level of care.