The Wisconsin Department of Health Services received a grant for $876,000 from the Center for Disease Control. This funding is part of a larger five-year plan to address rising suicide rates in the state.

The funding comes as a response to a notable uptick in cases of suicide in the state of Wisconsin. According to data collected by the CDC, 866 deaths in Wisconsin were a result of suicide in 2020.

According to a press release from the Wisconsin DHS, suicide in the state has increased by 32% over the last 20 years, leading DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake to declare the timing of the funding critical. 

According to the Impact and Response report from Prevent Suicide Wisconsin, one’s gender, relationship status or their relationship with substances such as alcohol can all play a role in suicide.

The mental health crisis in Wisconsin is disproportionately represented in minority groups such as those in the LGBTQ+ community and certain ethnic groups, according to the Impact and Response report.

The Impact and Response report examined the role race and ethnicity may play in mental health and crisis care access to gain insight on the people and populations who experience negative mental health effects. Their findings suggest distributional issues that may contribute to minority groups experiencing a more significant uptick in crisis care intervention.

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In the 2021 DHS report on the difference in crisis services across race and ethnicity, it was found that people of color in Wisconsin were more likely to receive crisis services than white people. This report also found populations of color utilized crisis services more than white groups.

While Wisconsin residents who identify as African American make up approximately 6.3% of Wisconsin’s population, they account for almost 15% of the people who use its crisis services, according to the report.

Wisconsin State Assembly Representative Dave Considine, D-Baraboo, said the distributional issues associated with mental healthcare and crisis care are heavily based on a lack of funding on a state and federal level.

Access to mental health services is linked to ethnicity and economic class, Considine said.

“Disparities certainly exist in mental health based on race,” Considine said. “Highly urbanized areas may have a lot of health care providers, but not a lot of those providers take people with no insurance. In urban areas, minorities who may be in poverty have a hard time having access to mental health resources.”

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Another finding from the DHS’s report indicates minority groups may be more reliant on crisis services than others because they lack the access to the intermediate care some other groups in society have.

The DHS’s report found, across multiple different ethnic groups, minorities in the state had significantly lower access to intermediate mental health resources and community-based organizations. These community-based organizations mainly operate to prevent individuals suffering with mental health issues from needing crisis intervention care.

“Community-based resources help like crazy. Boys and girls clubs in South Central Wisconsin provide an invaluable service for kids,” Considine said. “These resources may not provide in-depth mental health services, but the stability they provide for children who may not have that in the home is crucial, and those things need funding.”

Considine said the state assembly plans to increase state funding for telehealth programs in order to address these growing trends.

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Next congressional session, Considine hopes to accept more federal funds and use them to fund the counties which need it the most in order to increase access for those who lack the resources for high quality intermediate mental health care.

For students in Black, Indigenous and other communities of color who attend UW, finding mental health resources may serve as a challenge, according to UW Alumnus and founder of The Perspectives Project Anusha Ray Dey. A large student body coupled with the state trends found by the DHS can lead to the campus resources being overburdened, she said.

Ray Dey was motivated to start The Perspectives Project in order to address the struggle for people of color to find adequate mental health resources on campus.

“I saw that the options for mental health resources and resources that were sensitive to people of color were slim,” Ray Dey said. “UHS was overloaded, and I could not even find a counselor who was a person of color.”

The Perspectives Project hosted seminars and support groups focusing on mental health for the BIPOC community on campus. While no longer involved with the program directly, Ray Dey hopes the club will continue to grow and serve other students in the future.

“I would love for our resources to grow on campus,” Ray Dey said. “More seminars, more support groups and getting other student groups informed about the minority experience in Madison.”