Credible Clinicians and Healers Network
The City of Milwaukee Community Wellness and Safety Department approaches violence as a public health issue, which includes prevention, response, and helping people and communities recover from its effects.
It’s okay to not be okay, but to push toward being okay, sometimes people need access to proper resources.
According to the Milwaukee Health Department’s 2025 Community Health Assessment, nearly 1 in 5 Milwaukee adults experience frequent mental distress. 31% of survey respondents reported anxiety, depression, trauma, or another mental health condition.
It was identified in the report that mental health, violence, and injury are priority health concerns for Milwaukee, and that stigma, cost, provider shortages, and long waits are barriers to mental health care. The city created its Credible Clinicians and Healers Network to address these concerns.
Through the Credible Clinicians and Healers Network, the City has partnered with local service providers to provide free community healing services to residents, extending care to people impacted by violence who may not otherwise receive it.
Free Therapy Sessions
Dr. Angelique Lewis is a part of the City’s Credible Clinicians and Healers Network.
Dr. Lewis is a licensed clinical psychologist with 20 years of experience in the behavioral health field. She specializes in working with diverse adult populations dealing with trauma, depression, anxiety, and complex mental health conditions that impact quality of life. She owns Grace Healing and Wellness Center, an outpatient mental health practice in Milwaukee.
Grace Healing and Wellness Center has partnered with the City of Milwaukee for almost three years to provide community members impacted by violence with up to 10 free therapy sessions. Community members must be directly referred by the City to receive free therapy sessions from Dr. Lewis’s private practice.
For many referrals, this is their first time going to therapy, so Dr. Lewis ensures her patients have the space to talk and release their emotions.
“Therapy is private and confidential,” Dr. Lewis said. “You can come and talk about the things you’re dealing with.”
Over the last few years, mental health has become more acceptable to discuss, and therapy has become more accessible to receive, but there’s still a major gap in who receives that access, especially in communities of color.
But once an individual can access therapy, Dr. Lewis said that can create a ripple of positive effects for that individual and those around them.
“It’s really recognizing that healing is a part of violence prevention,” Dr. Lewis said.
SPONSORED ARTICLE
Nyesha Stone founded Carvd N Stone in 2017 to cover positive news while attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Stone has a B.A. in Journalism. She has raised over $30,000 to award grants and scholarships. She has also been featured in ESSENCE and worked with the American Black Film Festival.
- Nyesha Stone
