MILWAUKEE — Save this number: 414-257-7222. That’s Milwaukee County’s Mobile Crisis line, available 24 hours a day, and it’s getting busier every year.
The team is fielding more than 20,000 calls annually, providing both phone support and in-person response, and is actively recruiting six additional clinician positions to keep pace with demand.
“We Go Into the Community”
“We actually go into the community and work with people who are experiencing any level of a mental health crisis, and we provide on the spot assistance,” said Andrea Gage, a behavioral health clinician with the team.
That in-person, on-the-spot model is producing a measurable result: county officials report fewer adults being admitted for inpatient psychiatric services and fewer emergency detentions since the Mobile Crisis approach expanded.
Growing to Meet Demand
“One of our goals is just to be available more to the community, to be able to have more team members available to go out and meet with people,” said Hannah Lang, Crisis Service Coordinator.
The six new clinician hires are meant to close the gap between how many calls are coming in and how many team members are available to respond in person.
Why This Matters
A crisis line only works if people know it exists before they need it. Milwaukee County’s Mobile Crisis team meets people where they are — literally — instead of requiring a trip to an emergency room during one of the hardest moments of someone’s life. That’s worth knowing before you need it, not after.
Milwaukee County Mobile Crisis: 414-257-7222, available 24/7. Urban News Journal is Milwaukee’s independent, Black-owned, veteran-owned news outlet. Subscribe to our free newsletter at urbannewsjournal.com.