988 Helpline is just a call, chat or text away (UNDATED)
Help for people experiencing mental health and substance use concerns. is just a call, chat or text away. Caroline Crehan-Neuman (CREE-han new-man) with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services says the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential support with trained counselors, who can help people work through a myriad of issues that they may be facing. Crehan-Neuman says the assistance available has proven to be helpful, with less than half a percent of all contacts to the 988 center in Wisconsin requiring any type of additional intervention. In Wisconsin, calls, texts, and chats are answered by the 988 Wisconsin Lifeline, a service of Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin contracted with the Department of Health Services.
Goose season gets underway Tuesday (UNDATED)
Wisconsin goose hunters head back into the field. The state’s statewide early Canada goose season opens Tuesday and runs through September 15. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, hunters may harvest up to five Canada geese per day during the early season. The regular goose season opens September 16th in the Northern and Southern Goose Zones. Hunters are reminded to carry their licenses, permits, HIP registration and required stamps while afield.
Employment service wait times may be decreasing for those with disabilities (UNDATED)
Employment service wait times may be decreasing for Wisconsinites with disabilities. A new round of federal funding could help clear a long waitlist. Democratic Governor Tony Evers says funding from the US Department of Education will allow the Department of Workforce Development’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to serve all eligible participants through at least 2027 without restarting a waitlist. The program helps people with disabilities prepare for and find work. About 7600 people were on the waitlist earlier this year after demand outpaced available funding. State officials say the new federal money will help remove barriers to employment, with a goal of eliminating the waitlist entirely by June of next year.