Updates

Here is testimony delivered to the Milwaukee County Mental Health Board by the Milwaukee Mental Health Task Force on January 23rd, 2020.

The Milwaukee Mental Health Task Force (MHTF) is pleased to announce the recipients of our 2019 awards recognizing outstanding leadership and mental health advocacy. The awards will be presented Tuesday afternoon, November 12th, at the 2019 Karen Avery Forum, “Pathways to Employment: Opportunities, Rights and Resources” at IndependenceFirst, 540 S. 1st street.

The 2019 Milwaukee Mental Health Task Force Award recipients include:

• Karen Avery Award: Mary Neubauer
• Rising Leader Award: Marie Perry
• Outstanding Leadership Award: Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Altenburg, Deputy Public Defender Regional Attorney Manager Paige Styler, Assistant District Attorney Kelly Hedge and SPD Attorney Manager Dawn Rablin

News Release on 2019 Mental Health Task Force Award Recipients (pdf)
Information and registration for the November 12th Forum, Pathways to Employment

The Milwaukee Mental Health Task Force is seeking nominations for the following awards:

Karen Avery Award

• Annually recognizes an individual whose work and values align with the legacy of Karen Avery, who was a respected and beloved leader in the mental health consumer/ survivor movement, and a champion for the rights of people with mental illness and for a strong consumer voice.
• Nominations should explain how the nominee has advanced the rights and independence of people with mental illness or other disabilities.  Nominations may also address any work to support and advance the peer movement and elevate the voices of peers.

Milwaukee Mental Health Task Force Rising Leader Award

• This new award has been established to recognize visionary leadership by an individual who is a rising and/or young leader in the Milwaukee area mental health community.
• Nominations should explain how the nominee has demonstrated outstanding leadership to advance mental health and recovery values in our community.  This may include one or more of the following:  visionary leadership, providing outstanding service, effective advocacy, teaching and mentoring, and/or an ability to inspire others to excel in this work.

Nominating Procedure

Complete the Nomination Form to submit your nomination.

Deadline

All nominations are due by noon on Friday October 18, 2019.

Submit to:

Barbara Beckert at barbara.beckert@drwi.org, or mail to:  Barbara Beckert, c/o DRW, 6737 Washington Suite 3230, Milwaukee, WI 53214

Additional information about the awards and nomination process is available in this announcement.

On July 3rd, Governor Evers signed into law the budget passed by the Wisconsin Legislature, and delivered his veto message. The budget includes some positive investments that will benefit Wisconsinites with mental health and substance use disorder needs, and other disabilities.  In addition, there were some missed opportunities, including the failure to adequately fund special education services, and to expand Medicaid and leverage related funding.

• The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has released their Summary of Partial Vetoes of 2019 Wisconsin Act  Summary of Partial Vetoes of 2019 Wisconsin Act 9.
• The Mental Health Task Force has developed this chart to provide an overview of the budget items that we tracked throughout the process.

The Mental Health Task Force Steering Committee has three openings: for an advocate, a family member and an at-large member. Please consider service on the Steering Committee or nominating someone else to serve.

Service on the Steering Committee is a leadership role and requires some previous participation in the Mental Health Task Force and a commitment to the values and policy priorities advanced by the Task Force.  See details on expectations for serving on the back of the nomination form.

• Submit nominations by end of business May 30th to Barbara Beckert, MHTF Coordinator.
• Email to barbara.beckert@drwi.org or fax 414-773-4647

Here is a link to the nomination form.