One western Wisconsin lawmaker is pushing for a regional mental health center as a way to ease some of the pressure on local sheriffs.
State Rep. Gae Magnafici last week wrote an open letter to her fellow lawmakers urging them to support a mental health center for Eau Claire. She says having a regional center for western Wisconsin would free-up beds and resources in county jails by giving local sheriffs a place to send people who are battling mental illness.
Magnafici is quick to point-out that Governor Evers vetoed 15 million-dollars from the state budget that could have gone toward mental health treatment.
