‘Uplift Wisconsin’ to end service April 5 due to federal cuts

(PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE) – “Uplift Wisconsin” is just one of the latest casualties from a $210 million cut in federal health funds to the state.

The “warmline” operates seven days a week for 10 hours a day and provides peer-led support through certified professionals with lived experiences.

Now, the program will stop service on Saturday, April 5.

Martina Gollin Graves, president and CEO of Mental Health America of Wisconsin, which runs the program, said people are able to talk to peers who could empathize with them in a way a therapist or family member might not be able to.

“There is lots of testimony from the callers who actually utilize the warmline,” Graves explained. “Talking about if they hadn’t called our warmline they wouldn’t have reached out for support to anyone else.”

She pointed out some people called daily and added the program had been crucial in preventing costly emergency room visits and reducing suicide rates across the state. Last year, more than 24,000 people called into the warmline.

The program was initially funded three years ago through pandemic grants the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently axed in an effort to curb what it called taxpayer waste on a crisis it said is over.

Graves countered in these uncertain times, the service has never been more needed.

“It couldn’t have come at a worse time when we are seeing increased rates of anxiety and depression,” Graves argued. “People are struggling, kids and adolescents are struggling in school settings as well as adults in their workplaces.”

The program’s annual funds were set to expire in September but the last six months of funding were abruptly canceled due to federal cuts. Graves noted they will have to furlough 20 people in the next week.

“These cuts are impacting real people,” Graves emphasized. “I’m really worried about the fallout and what that’s going to look like in your community and my community in the upcoming days and weeks.”

Continued funding for the program was earmarked in the recent state budget proposal but the funds are not a sure thing and would not be available until the fall. To bridge the gap, Graves added they have launched a campaign to try and save the warmline, but for now, it will stop service on Saturday.

To learn more about the service, you can visit the Uplift Wisconsin website.

To use the service while it’s active, you can call 534-202-5438.

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This article was originally published at Public News Service.