2026 Mental Health Improvement Fund Investment Areas
July 9, 2026
Achieving and maintaining good mental health is important during all stages of life, from conception through childhood, into adulthood and through older adults.
Good mental health is essential at every stage of life, from childhood to adulthood and old age. The well-being of a community depends deeply on the mental wellness of its people. Yet, far too many individuals face barriers to accessing the mental health care they need.
The Mental Health Improvement Fund (formerly the Health Improvement Fund) supports organizations that provide mental and behavioral health services for low-income, underserved adult and youth populations in Milwaukee County. The goal is to increase access to mental health care, improve mental health outcomes, and promote health equity.
In 2026-27, we are investing in programs dedicated to providing support for mental health and substance use programs and services that focus on early identification and intervention, outpatient diagnostics and treatment, crisis intervention, and care coordination for people of all ages.
Meet the 2026-27 organizations selected for investments:
Advocate Aurora Walker’s Point Community Clinic
Aligned Work: Advocate Aurora Walker’s Point Community Clinic’s Behavioral Health Programming will expand access to behavioral health care and strengthen early identification and intervention efforts for emerging behavioral health concerns. Grant funds will support the salary and benefits of Health Center Support Specialists (certified CHWs) who manage and deliver the program.
Ascension Wisconsin Foundation
Aligned Work: Ascension St. Ben's Clinic provides mental health services through an integrated care model for Milwaukee's homeless and vulnerable populations. Funding will support their mental health screening and referral program via increased clinical screening, community outreach, social worker intake and referral partnerships.
Benedict Center
Aligned Work: Benedict Center’s Women's Harm Reduction Program will provide licensed outpatient substance use and mental health counseling to justice impacted women in Milwaukee.
Bread of Healing Clinic, Inc.
Aligned Work: Bread of Healing Clinic, Inc. provides uninsured adults in Milwaukee with access to mental health care. They offer free, trauma-informed mental health counseling, comprehensive screenings, medication access, and care coordination.
Community Advocates, Inc.
Aligned Work: Community Advocates’ Escucha Tus Emociones program is a community-based mental health initiative rooted in culture and focused on prevention/early intervention, healing, and emotional support for the Latinx community in response to longstanding barriers to mental health access and the increased stress, fear, and emotional distress intensified by the anti-immigrant climate.
Courage+
Aligned Work: The Crisis Stabilizer Program is the only licensed group home in Wisconsin that employs on-call Crisis Stabilizers for residents when needed. These services also extend to youth in their Transitional Living program, C2 Apartments.
Cudahy Health Department
Aligned Work: The Cudahy Health Department’s CredibleMind program is a free digital mental health screening and resource navigation platform, across the South Shore communities of Cudahy, South Milwaukee, St. Francis, and Oak Creek.
Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center
Aligned Work: The Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center provides psychometric testing for children and youth and is expanding opportunities for underserved youth in the AI/AN communities to be screened, diagnosed, and treated for the disparate rates of mental illnesses that they experience.
House of Love Youth Homes
Aligned Work: House of Love Youth Homes’ Thrive Beyond Placement is a trauma-informed mental wellness and community integration initiative serving female-identifying youth ages 12–21 residing in and transitioning from House of Love Youth Homes (HOL I and HOL II).
IMPACT, Inc.
Aligned Work: IMPACT 211 maintains a mental health and substance use disorder resources directory. Staff are dedicated to verifying provider information, update eligibility and capacity details, remove outdated entries, and add new treatment services as they become available.
Jewish Family Services, Inc.
Aligned Work: Jewish Family Services’ (JFS) Outpatient Mental Health Clinic is State licensed to provide psychotherapy and counseling services for children, families, adults, and seniors.
Lassid Ministries dba Convergence Resource Center
Aligned Work: Lassid Ministries dba Convergence Resource Center’s integrated, comprehensive, and survivor-led case Management provides individualized care coordination, as well as the mental health programming. They offer individual and group therapy sessions, psychiatric referrals, and trademarked programs including Ending the Game and Through The Eyes of a Parent.
Meta House, Inc.
Aligned Work: Meta House, Inc. provides access to substance use and co-occurring mental health treatment for low-income, underserved women and families in Milwaukee County.
Milwaukee Women's Center, Inc., The
Aligned Work: The Milwaukee Women’s Center, Inc.’s Family Intervention Program (FIP), a culturally competent, trauma-informed outpatient initiative serving low-income, uninsured families in Milwaukee County who are impacted by substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health needs.
Outreach Community Health Centers, Inc.
Aligned Work: Outreach Community Health Centers provide behavioral treatment in an outpatient setting as well as comprehensive clinical case management to support the whole person.
Pathfinders
Aligned Work: Pathfinders’ on-site Drop-In Center provides low-barrier crisis mental health interventions for homeless youth and serves as a vital access point for youth who face major barriers to accessing traditional systems of care.
Penfield Children's Center, Inc.
Aligned Work: Penfield Children’s Center, Inc.’s Behavior Clinic serves children ages six and younger, many of whom have been exposed to trauma, chronic stress, or family instability.
Progressive Community Health Centers
Aligned Work: Progressive Community Health Centers’ Behavioral Health Navigation and referral optimization efforts improve care coordination and access to mental health services for low-income residents of Milwaukee.
Serenity Inns
Aligned Work: Serenity Inns; Drop-In Clinic at Olga Neighborhood Wellness Services is a low-barrier, relationship-based access point for mental health and substance use support in Milwaukee.
Sherman Phoenix Foundation
Aligned Work: Sherman Phoenix Foundation’s Youth Trap Therapy workshops support mental health of teens and families in our community. These monthly events blend culturally relevant music, free healthy food, and age-appropriate psychoeducation in a warm and engaging environment for youth to connect and learn ways to improve their mental and behavioral health.
Sixteenth Street Community Health Center, Inc.
Aligned Work: Sixteenth Street Community Health Center, Inc. provides a comprehensive behavioral health intake and triage system that serves all mental health and substance use patients.
United Community Center, Inc.
Aligned Work: The United Community Center, Inc.’s residential-level substance use disorder and mental health treatment programs serve men on Milwaukee's South Side. They serve men through an integrated, evidence-based model addressing substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions.
WellPoint Care Network
Aligned Work: WellPoint Care Network is expanding access to community-based screening and early intervention.
Investments are made to organizations through the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership (Ascension Wisconsin, Aurora Health Care, Children’s Wisconsin, and Froedtert Health) and United Way.
Learn more about The Milwaukee Health Care Partnership here.
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