June 30, 2021 5:20p
(WGTD)---A Kenosha County Board supervisor is spearheading a drive to get a badly-needed inpatient mental health facility built in the Kenosha/Racine area.
Andy Berg’s effort comes as a mentally ill inmate in the Racine County Jail recently died after pounding his head against the concrete walls of his cell.
Berg has been working with an unnamed mental health provider who currently operates an outpatient facility in Kenosha. "The conversation has gotten to the point of hey we're ready to come--we want to come--but we need to see some stakeholdership in the community financially. And that number is looking at around $15 million," Berg said.
Berg says he’s trying to arrange a meeting between the company and the Kenosha and Racine county executives.
Berg’s interest in improving mental health facilities stems in part from his employment as a state prison guard and his own family’s experiences in tackling mental health problems.
Jails and prisons are flooded with people with mental health issues.
Local officials would be real leaders in working to solve the mental health crisis if they would be open to the idea of funding such a clinic, he said.
Berg said money could come from the federal COVID relief dollars that local governments are receiving. He envisions both counties working together.
So far, there's been no comment from either the Kenosha or Racine county executives.
As a Kenosha County Supervisor, Berg sits on the board's Human Services Committee.
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