We talk to Tammy Makhlouf, LPC, the manager of the Craig Yabuki Mental Health Walk-In Clinic, about the clinic’s first year and the success they have seen in helping nearly 1000 children with their mental health.
Then LuAnn Bird joins to talk about her fight to get the Hales Corners Public Library to be ADA compliant and tells us about her new podcast Bird on a Wire.
Check out this episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!
Tammy Makhlouf, LPC, – Manager of the Craig Yabuki Mental Health Walk-In Clinic, joins us to talk about the success of the clinic’s first year.
The Craig Yabuki Mental Health Walk-In Clinic is located on the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin campus. It is the first of its kind in the state to offer immediate care for children and teenagers aged 5 to 18 who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Social Workers and licensed mental health therapists provide care through talking and listening, without needles, shots, X-rays, or prescriptions. The clinic is open seven days a week, from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., excluding some major holidays.
In the past year, the clinic has provided crisis care for 917 children and teens, accounting for 972 total visits, with trauma, stressors, anxiety, and school-related issues being the main reasons for the visits. Children should be seen at the clinic if they experience new or worsening symptoms of anxiety, stress, panic attacks, trouble focusing, loss of appetite or feelings of isolation, mood disorders, hyperactivity or attention issues, lack of interest in family or social activities, bullying, difficulty sleeping, or school avoidance.
The clinic is named after Craig Yabuki, who died by suicide in 2017. It is staffed by mental health professionals who evaluate safety concerns, provide brief interventions, coordinate care with the child’s existing care team, and offer referrals to helpful resources. The Yabuki Family Foundation donated $20 million to Children’s Wisconsin to help provide mental and behavioral health care, including hiring mental health providers for all of Children’s Wisconsin primary care offices and urgent care clinics.
Advocates for disabled voters in Wisconsin claim local election leaders are not following federal law. During early voting in the race for the state Supreme Court, disabled voters were told they cannot have another person return their absentee ballot for them. The controversy has arisen because Wisconsin Republicans successfully sued last year to ban absentee ballot drop boxes. The state Supreme Court ruled only voters can return their ballot in person or place it in the mail. Federal law allows disabled voters to get assistance in returning their ballot, according to a federal court ruling in August.
LuAnn Bird returns to the show to talk about her new battle to try to get the Hales Corners Public Library ADA compliant.
We also talk about her new podcast, “Bird on a Wire”, sponsored by Civic Media. Listen to the first two episodes on Apple Podcasts.
