GREEN BAY, WI (WFRV) – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin was with Governor Tony Evers Monday in Green Bay to tout their work to improve mental health.

The pair toured the city’s 988 Crisis Call Center and then led a discussion on the new three-digit suicide prevention line.

Senator Baldwin authored legislation that implemented the call center and secured $3.4 million dollars to pay for additional resources and workers.

“You need to make sure the resources are there and human beings who have the compassion to do this kind of work,” the Democratic Senator from Wisconsin said. “These calls can’t go unanswered. They can’t ring and ring and ring.”

Senator Baldwin said the number is easy to use even for those in the middle of a crisis compared with the old, and longer ten-digit number.

The new text message option has also shown great promise in addressing the caller’s needs sooner.

The Senator called it her “Delivering for Wisconsin Tour.”

She and the governor shared their commitment to expanding access to mental health resources in Wisconsin.

Senator Baldwin was a major factor in securing the extra money in this year’s federal budget for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to support Wisconsins implementation of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

She also included $100,000 in the budget for Brown County to support mental health outreach and access behavioral health services by adding additional staff.

In January, Governor Evers` declared 2023 the “Year of Mental Health.”