Officials Calling for Overhaul of State's Mental Health System

Tuesday, January 10th, 2023 -- 11:01 AM

(By Erin McGroarty | Wisconsin Watch) When Chrissy Barnard faced a mental health crisis and most needed care, law enforcement handcuffed her, placed her in the back of a patrol car and drove her five hours to Wisconsin’s only state-run mental health facility for the general public.

According to Erin McGroarty with Wisconsin Watch, Barnard remembers the patrol car’s cold seats. She would eventually have her shoes confiscated, presumably so she couldn’t hang herself with the laces.

The 330 miles between Barnard’s hometown of Superior, Wisconsin and Winnebago Mental Health Institute near Oshkosh made it difficult for her loved ones to comfort her in person.

Barnard, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder, stayed there for months and saw her family just three times, she says.

About 15 years later, after getting the help she needed, Barnard is now a peer support specialist with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, Wisconsin. She’s among many calling on lawmakers to overhaul an emergency mental health system that she says poorly served her and many others.

Mental health crisis services in Wisconsin operate on a county-by-county basis, yielding wide disparities in care. With few exceptions, counties lean heavily on law enforcement to detain people during mental health emergencies, in which a person is considered a threat to themselves or others, and transport patients to receive care.

The nearest treatment facility might be hundreds of miles away for some rural residents. Aside from the Winnebago County institute, the state runs only one other mental health facility: Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, which primarily serves people involved in the criminal justice system. She has company in pushing for change, including other advocates, mental health practitioners and law enforcement officials.

Citing examples in neighboring states, the coalition calls for Wisconsin to build new regional mental health facilities, add care options outside of lengthy hospital stays and fund teams of mental health experts to respond during emergencies, lifting such burdens from law enforcement.

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