For over a century, St. Charles Youth and Family Services has provided residential treatment, foster care and other community-based programs to local children and families.
But in recent years, leaders at St. Charles noticed a lack of mental health treatment had become a barrier to the success of nearly every service they offered.
That realization led to the launch of the STC Wellness Center in February.
The Wellness Center, an arm of St. Charles Youth and Family Services, 151 S. 84th St., provides therapy, psychiatric medication management and telebehavioral health services for both existing St. Charles clients and the wider community.
“We saw a need,” said David Guetzkow, the behavioral health director and a therapist for the center. “Access to (mental health) treatment was a setback for many people and the wait times were ridiculous to get in for an appointment.”
He said young people leaving St. Charles’ residential treatment program struggled finding follow-up mental health care, which often meant navigating months-long wait lists. Those enrolled in the county’s Comprehensive Community Services program, which partners with St.Charles, had the same struggle.
“This center exists for members of the community that also need these services,” said Michael Umhoefer, St. Charles president and CEO.
STC Wellness Center
Umhoefer said demand for mental health services surged following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Mental health needs have risen. Mental health and substance use has risen dramatically since the pandemic,” Umhoefer said. “There’s a real need in the community.”
Rather than continue sending clients elsewhere, St. Charles decided to bring services in house.
The organization previously operated a community mental health clinic years ago through its Family Development Center. STC Wellness Center is a return to that mission with a broader focus on accessibility and continuity of care.
The clinic serves clients of all ages.
Treatment options include cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), trauma-focused therapies and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing . An advanced practice nurse prescriber provides medication management for clients who need it.
“There is no pill that fixes it all,” Guetzkow said.
But, he explained, medications can help someone who feels like they need them to curb symptoms and focus on getting better.
One-stop shop
Clients at the STC Wellness Center can receive therapy, medication management and care coordination in one location.
And through St. Charles’ partnership with Milwaukee County’s Comprehensive Community Services program, individuals can also access housing support, food resources, transportation assistance and other community services.
“It’s a one-stop shop,” Guetzkow said. “They can come here, see their care coordinator, follow up for their meds and possibly see their therapist all in the same day.”
“Access” is the word staff members return to repeatedly when describing the clinic’s mission.
Guetzkow said being on a bus line makes the clinic accessible but acknowledges the trip can still be a hassle if someone lives a long bus ride away.
“If someone lives on 6th and Oklahoma or 80th and Brown Deer, they’re an hour and a half bus ride to get here,” Guetzkow said. “Being able to come and knock out more than one bird with one stone is beneficial.”
The STC Wellness Center also helps patients avoid the trip by offering telebehavioral health appointments and access points at Owen’s Place North, 4610 W. Fond du Lac Ave., and Owen’s Place South, 504 W. National Ave., where clients can use computers to connect with providers.
Owen’s Place is a community resource center for youths and young adults ages 16 to 24.
Hannah Limpert, a therapist at STC Wellness, said clients have responded positively to the flexibility.
“We are able to meet them where they’re at,” she said.
She believes the clinic fills an important gap within the larger network of services available on the St. Charles campus.
The clinic also helps staffers at St. Charles streamline their days.
Jasmine Altamirano, Comprehensive Community Services care coordinator for STC Wellness Center, said she believes the clinic helps challenge outdated perceptions of the organization.
“A lot of people think that St. Charles is just for boys,” Altamirano said. “We are expanding to be a bigger program.”
Addressing barriers
Guetzkow and Umhoefer said the biggest challenge for many clients is taking the first steps.
“There is no shame in getting help,” Umhoefer said. “In our fast-paced moving world with all the things that go on, I think a lot of people throughout their life at any one point could use somebody to talk to or somebody to help them get through a difficult time.”
Guetzkow agrees.
“Mental health is health,” he said. “It isn’t separate from your health care.”
He encourages people who are unsure about therapy to give themselves time.
“The hardest appointment to get someone to is not the first one, it’s the second and third one,” he said. “Dedicate and honor yourself enough to give it three sessions to realize whether therapy is for you.”
The clinic’s motto is “Hope Starts Here.”
Clients complete hope and emotional well-being assessments when they begin treatment and again throughout their care. The goal is not simply symptom reduction but helping people move from surviving to thriving.
“When people get access to services, their hope goes up,” Guetzkow said.
Leaders of the center want to expand its reach.
“We want people to know that STC Wellness Center is here,” Umhoefer said. “We’re here for them.”
To learn more or sign up for services, you can go to the STC Wellness Center website.