MADISON, Wis. — Journey Mental Health Center leaders say the nonprofit can no longer absorb a funding gap for mental health services it provides to Dane County residents.
The center receives about 35,000 calls each year from county residents in need of assistance, according to the organization. During a recent visit by News 3 Now, a team was dispatched to an urgent call.
Sarah Valencia, the center’s president and CEO, said the services are essential to the community but are at risk without additional funding.
Over the past four years, Journey Mental Health Center has spent $1.8 million to cover the difference between Dane County’s mental health funding allocation and the total cost of providing the services, Valencia said.
The organization said it can no longer afford to continue subsidizing the programs.
“We want to keep doing these services, but we can’t keep subsidizing the programs,” Valencia said. “I will not be able to sign a contract that has a structural deficit in it.”
Journey Mental Health Center has discussed the funding gap with county officials, but no resolution has been reached, according to Valencia.
“The bottom line is these are state-mandated programs,” Valencia said. “The county has essentially been funding them through a nonprofit’s fundraising and reserve, and we can’t anymore. And we need them to pay for the services they’re receiving.”
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