Menomonee Falls-based retailer Kohl’s is donating $3 million to Children’s Wisconsin to support the opening of three additional mental health walk-in clinic locations in Wisconsin.
The new clinics will offer similar services to those provided at the Craig Yabuki Mental Health Walk-In Clinic on the Children’s Wisconsin campus at the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center in Wauwatosa.
Children’s Wisconsin plans to open one location each year over the next three years. Locations of the new clinics have not yet been selected, but will be spread throughout Wisconsin.
“The mental health issues impacting today’s youth are of the utmost importance, and we applaud the work Children’s Wisconsin has been doing to prioritize and develop tangible solutions to support mental wellness for all children,” said Christie Raymond, Kohl’s chief marketing officer. “Through our continued partnership, Kohl’s is proud to play a role in increasing access to critical mental health services and creating pathways to greater health and well-being for kids across Wisconsin.”
“Wisconsin kids are telling us what kids all over the country have been telling us — this is a crisis,” said Amy Herbst, vice president of mental and behavioral health at Children’s Wisconsin. “We are so grateful that Kohl’s recognizes the urgency in addressing this need and continues to support these efforts. We know that more Wisconsin kids will begin a path to better health and healing because of their gift.”
The walk-in clinics will provide immediate mental health support to kids 5-18 years old and are staffed with licensed therapists and social workers. The clinics will offer a therapy session, safety evaluation and support in connecting families to long-term resources either through Children’s Wisconsin or in the community.
Opened in March 2022, the Craig Yabuki Mental Health Walk-In Clinic in Wauwatosa is the only mental health walk-in clinic in the state and has supported more than 1,000 kids. Around 50% of the kids were from Milwaukee County, but families traveled from as far away as Manitowoc and Chicago to receive immediate care, highlighting the need for more resources statewide.
The additional walk-in clinics continue the commitment of Children’s Wisconsin to ensure that every child’s mental health is as important as caring for their physical health. In 2019, Children’s Wisconsin made a 5-year, $150 million commitment to address the mental health crisis facing Wisconsin kids by detecting needs sooner, improving access to care and raising awareness of mental health. Kohl’s was among the first to support efforts by the health system, committing $5 million in 2019 to expand school-based mental health services, introduce mental health screening tools and support an awareness campaign on mental health needs.
