The Milwaukee County Mental Health Association was formed in 1949 as the Milwaukee County Mental Health Committee. Its formation was the result of a meeting of twenty-seven laymen, professionals, and state and county health administrators in May 1948, who felt that an organization should be created on the Milwaukee County level to work with the already existing Wisconsin Association for Mental Health. It was officially incorporated in 1950 as the Milwaukee County Society for Mental Health, and it affiliated with the Wisconsin Association for Mental Health in 1951. The name was changed to the Milwaukee County Mental Health Association in 1958.
The Association had its office at 110 East Wisconsin Avenue until 1957, when it moved to the YMCA Building at 610 North Jackson Street. The Association employed a staff consisting of a professional secretary and various part-time volunteers from 1952 until 1956, when Mrs. Mary Holand joined the staff as executive director.
The Milwaukee County Mental Health Association is financed by contributions to the Greater Milwaukee United Fund, of which it is a member “Red Feather Service”, by Membership dues, and by unsolicited gifts. The Association conducts an annual Mental Health Week, holds lectures and panel discussions, prepares educational materials, and assists the state and county mental hospitals in various ways. These activities are implemented by the committees of the Association, whose number and size vary from year to year.
