County Opens Two Mental Health Crisis Houses

1141 N. 46th St. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

The latest piece of a slow-rolling redesign of Milwaukee County’s mental health system was announced Thursday.

The county’s Division of Behavioral Health Services (BHS) announced it opened two crisis stabilization houses in Milwaukee; in the middle of the city and on the far north side.

The facilities are the latest addition to a constellation of clinics and facilities in a newly decentralized mental health system.

The stabilization houses will provide short-term housing for people experiencing a mental or behavioral health crisis, with stays ranging from 60 to 90 days, according to a statement from County Executive David Crowley‘s office. The two new facilities are at 1141 N. 46th St. and 5544 N. 57th St.

“The newly renovated Crisis Stabilization Houses will increase access to intervention resources and supportive services for those experiencing mental health challenges in Milwaukee County, so we can create better health outcomes, strengthen neighborhoods, and save lives,” Crowley said in a statement Thursday.

In 2022, the county closed the Mental Health Complex in Wauwatosa. At the same time, it finished developing a new Mental Health Emergency Center at 1525 N. 12th St. This was a major pivot point in a long-running attempt to reform the county’s mental health care system, from a centralized, institutional approach to one relying more on community-based, outpatient care at clinics around the county. The Mental Health Emergency Center and the privately-run Granite Hills Hospital in West Allis anchor the new system of dispersed mental health services.

“The provision of mental health services has undergone dramatic changes in recent years in order to ease reliance on emergency and inpatient care while enhancing the range of community-based mental health services,” said BHS Administrator Mike Lappen. “[Crisis Stabilization Houses] are an important part of those continuing changes.”

The new stabilization houses are operated by Quest Behavioral Healthcare, which runs group homes throughout southeastern Wisconsin.