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Mental Health

56 Percent of Milwaukee’s Suicides Involved a Firearm. Here’s What That Number Means.

By Marcus Hart · September 23, 2026 · 2 min read

Milwaukee County put out a number this year that deserves more attention than it got. In 2025, 56 percent of the county’s 143 suicides involved a firearm. So far in 2026, that share is up to 75 percent.

Dr. James Bigham, who studies this locally, puts the reason in plain terms: a firearm is about 90 percent effective at completing a suicide attempt. Pills and most other methods leave room for survival, people live, and get help afterward. A gun in the moment of crisis rarely gives anyone that second chance.

What the number actually calls for

This isn’t a call to take anyone’s guns. It’s a call to think about firearm storage the same way you’d think about keeping a stove off when you leave the house. If someone in your home is going through it, depression, a divorce, a recent job loss, a new diagnosis, getting the firearm out of the house temporarily can be the difference that matters.

That doesn’t have to mean giving it up permanently or handing it to a stranger. Lock it at a friend’s house, a relative’s, or ask a local gun shop, some will hold a firearm for a person in crisis for a while, no questions asked beyond a name. Made in advance, that single decision is often the difference between a crisis passing and a crisis ending a life.

The number to actually save

Milwaukee County runs its own 24-hour crisis line, separate from the national 988 line. 988 works and is fine to use, but the county’s own line connects callers directly to a local crisis team that knows Milwaukee’s specific resources.

Milwaukee County Crisis Line: 414-257-7222. Save it under your own name in your contacts, not as a note you’ll lose track of. If you’re worried about someone this week, that’s the number to call before things get worse, not after.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the Milwaukee County Crisis Line (414-257-7222) is available 24 hours a day. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is also available by call or text, any hour.

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