Office of Governor Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 9, 2025
Contact: [email protected] 
 
Gov. Evers Shares Video Message Recognizing Suicide Prevention Month, Encourages Wisconsinites to Take Care of Themselves and Each Other
 
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today shared a video message recognizing Suicide Prevention Month, reminding Wisconsinites of the resources available to those in crisis and encouraging folks to take care of themselves and each other. Gov. Evers, who has long championed efforts to bolster critical mental health resources in the state, including declaring 2023 the Year of Mental Health, proclaimed September 7-13, 2025, as “Suicide Prevention Week,” as well as the entire month of September as “Suicide Prevention Month,” in accordance with national and global commemorations. A copy of the governor’s Suicide Prevention Week and Suicide Prevention Month proclamation is available here.

If you or someone you know is in imminent danger or experiencing a medical emergency, call 911. If you are having thoughts of suicide or hurting yourself, call your county’s crisis line. 

Additionally, anyone in need of support can call, text, or chat the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at all hours of the day or night to talk with a trained counselor. This service is free and confidential. Additional mental health resources are available on the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ website at Mental Health: Healthy Living. 

 Wisconsinites can reach out to the governor’s office if they are in need of support, shelter, safety, or other critical services, or they can call or text 2-1-1 to get connected to local services in their community, including mental health support, help if they are experiencing domestic violence, assistance with energy and utility bills, or help finding a local food pantry. 211 Wisconsin is a free and confidential service that spans all 72 counties with regionally based teams that understand the unique needs of each county. Help is available by phone, text, chat, and online guided searches to find the critical services an individual may need.

Families can find helpful resources and mental health tools for kids on the Office of Children’s Mental Health website here, including Feelings Thermometers to help kids navigate and explain their emotions, a guide for families on how to access children’s mental health services, a guide for how to handle a mental health crisis, as well as phone numbers for support lines for kids, parents, and caregivers, including support lines specifically for LGBTQ youth, kids of color, and more.

The governor’s video message is available here, and a transcript of the message is available below.

Gov. Evers World Suicide Prevention Month Video Message Thumbnail

Hey there, folks. Governor Tony Evers here.  
 
September is Suicide Prevention Month here in Wisconsin and across the nation.  
 
So, I wanted to take this opportunity to check in, share resources, and have an honest conversation about suicide prevention.  
 
Folks, the heartache of losing someone to suicide has become far too common. It’s a story far too many Wisconsinites share, and Kathy and I share that story, too.  
 
But if you talk to someone whose loved one died by suicide, many will tell you the loss was not a foregone conclusion.   
  
That maybe—just maybe—if the person they love had just made it through one more dark night, things might have ended up differently. 
 
So, if you or a loved one is struggling, please know that you are not alone, you don’t have to carry this burden alone, and that help is available.  
 
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and available 24/7 for anybody that needs it.  
 
You can call or text 9-8-8 or visit 988Lifeline.org to get connected to a trained counselor who can help.  
 
And take a moment today or this month to check in with the people you care about. Reach out to your friends, loved ones, and neighbors with a call or a visit.  
 
A little kindness and care go a long way, and I promise you’ll feel better, too.  
 
Together, we can raise awareness, reduce the stigma that so often prevents people from getting the help they need, and build a safer, healthier state for everybody.  
 
Wisconsin, let’s take good care of ourselves and each other, this month and every month. Take care, folks.

BACKGROUND ON EVERS ADMINISTRATION’S EFFORTS TO BOLSTER MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES AND SUPPORT IN 2025-27 BUDGET

Building on efforts of his administration to date to address the ongoing mental health crisis, earlier this year, Gov. Evers signed the 2025-27 bipartisan Biennial Budget, which included:

  • $30 million to continue providing comprehensive school-based mental health services statewide, modeled on the governor’s successful “Get Kids Ahead” initiative;   
  • $7 million to support continued crisis intervention through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline;  
  • $7 million to support 24/7 virtual telehealth mental health services to nearly all students across University of Wisconsin System campuses;   
  • $15.8 million for the state mental health institutes to address a projected deficit in the civil patient treatment program; 
  • $10 million to fund grants to Rogers Behavioral Health for the development of an integrated mental health campus in the Chippewa Valley to offer services to adults, adolescents, and children;$50,000 to increase the grant amount for Camp American Legion, the healing retreat for Wisconsin’s veterans and their families; and 
  • $200,000 for mental health assistance to farmers and farm families, ensuring farmers and farm family members can receive counseling services from a participating mental health provider at no cost. 
More information about the bipartisan budget signed by Gov. Evers is available here. 

Prior to the final biennial budget, Gov. Evers’s proposed 2025-27 Executive Budget included several additional investments to support mental health access and suicide prevention efforts. Unfortunately, the state’s Republican-controlled state budget committee, the Joint Committee on Finance, voted to remove a majority of the governor’s proposed investments, including investments in several programs aimed at offering mental health trainings to schools, parents and guardians, and students, bolstering mental health literacy and stigma reduction in schools, and hiring more pupil service professionals such as school counselors, psychologists, social workers, and school nurses.

The governor’s executive budget also proposed more than $1 million to expand the Veterans Outreach and Recovery Program, which provides outreach mental health services and support to veterans who may have a mental health condition or substance use disorder, $2.7 million for peer-run respite centers, including the peer-run respite center for veterans, to ensure the centers have a reliable, ongoing funding source, and $5 million for three grant programs to support mental health services statewide, including community-based services, emergency crisis services, and support for healthcare providers providing services to veterans. Ultimately, Republican lawmakers rejected Gov. Evers’ requests.

Finally, in addition to investing in schools and veterans’ mental health services, Gov. Evers’ 2025-27 Executive Budget also proposed a comprehensive plan to address crime, keep kids, veterans, families, and communities safe, and enact commonsense measures to prevent gun violence, a prevalent factor in incidence of suicide in Wisconsin, all of which was removed by Republicans in the Legislature.
 
An online version of this release is available here.
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