Sheboygan's Open Door Drop-In Center, which serves about 25 adults with mental illness a day, will close by the end of November. The county's 2027 health budget drops it and cuts crisis co-response hours with police.
Sheboygan's Open Door Drop-In Center, a weekday gathering place for adults living with mental illness or homelessness, will close by the end of November after Sheboygan County Health and Human Services dropped it from the department's 2027 budget.1 The center serves about 25 people a day with peer support, counseling and structured programs, NBC 26 reported.1 The county puts the number at 26 members daily.2
Vista Care runs the program, which it calls the Open Door Wellness & Recovery Center, out of 817 N. 8th St., where the entrance sits off the walkway to City Parking Lot #14.3 It's open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and offers recovery meetings, yoga, gratitude groups, games and arts and crafts.3
HHS Director Matt Strittmater told NBC 26 the county couldn't cover a 2027 shortfall of roughly $2 million, even after adding $1.1 million in property tax levy to his department.1 He said there's "no dedicated funding stream from the state of Wisconsin or the federal government" for a safe place that offers that kind of support.1 Roberto Brossard, who has been coming to Open Door since 1997, told the station the center helped him through suicidal thoughts. Paul, a homeless man who goes by "Road Runner," asked of the regulars: "Where are they gonna go?"1
The department's proposed 2027 budget, revised Aug. 11, raises its levy support by $1,133,693 to $16,228,539 and its total spending by $2,636,514 to $60,154,412.4 In its line-item notes, the budget ties a $154,954 change in the account that pays for recreation and alternate activities to "not budgeting to continue the Open Door Drop-in Center in 2027."4 The department lists "reduced state and federal funding" and higher costs for mandated out-of-home care placements for adults and children among its main changes from 2026, along with "service reductions due to overall financial constraints."4
Open Door isn't the only service going. Funding for the City of Sheboygan's mobile crisis co-response program, which puts mental health professionals alongside police, falls from $470,112 to $225,112, eating into the 84 hours a week that staff currently provide, according to the county's summary reported by B93.2 The department also eliminated funding for its Student Engagement Team program, and all of the changes are to be in place by Jan. 1, 2027.2 The budget does keep the co-response program running at a reduced level, using opioid settlement money so it doesn't draw on the tax levy.4 Overall department staffing rises slightly in the plan, from 266.35 to 270.35 full-time-equivalent positions.4
The county Finance Committee approved the HHS budget as presented on Aug. 26, on a motion by Supervisor Wegner seconded by Supervisor Goehring.5 The full County Board's calendar lists a budget review meeting Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. and a regular meeting Nov. 3.6
Open Door has come close to closing before. In early 2023, Vista Care asked the county for about $268,200 to keep it running, and the two sides settled on about $158,400 with reduced services, the Sheboygan Press reported.7 Strittmater said then that he hoped the next state budget "will bring enhanced mental health funding to help counties."7 That December, the County Board put $175,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act money toward the center to keep it open through 2024, WHBL reported, noting the center had served the area for nearly 25 years.8 That pandemic money is gone now. The 2027 budget book records a $613,090 drop in American Rescue Plan Act funds, which ended in 2026.4
The state money didn't come. In May 2025, Republicans on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee stripped more than 30 behavioral health programs from Gov. Tony Evers' 2025-27 budget proposal, including grants for peer-run respite centers, mental health helplines and youth suicide prevention, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.9 Counties now face a state Medicaid program running $322.4 million short in state dollars for 2025-27, up from a $144.1 million estimate in September 2025, according to state projections reported by the Racine County Eye.10
The county is working to connect Open Door's visitors with other services before it closes, NBC 26 reported, though the station didn't say which ones.1 The need in Sheboygan has been growing. United Way of Sheboygan County reported that the July 2024 point-in-time count found 109 people experiencing homelessness in the county, up from 67 in July 2023.11 The Sheboygan County Warming Center is opening early this year, on Nov. 1, a few weeks before Open Door's planned closing.12
The state Department of Health Services lists no peer recovery center in Sheboygan County. The nearest are Lighthouse Recovery Community Center at 818 State St. in Manitowoc and The Gathering Place at 1001 Cherry St. in Green Bay, where adults living in recovery from mental health challenges serve as a resource for others, with no appointments or fees required.13
The two-term west side alder and former YWCA chief says she'll decide in the coming days. Her entry would make it a three-way race with Alyssa Proffitt and Jim Schmitt, with Amaad Rivera-Wagner still deciding.
Oneida opened the day with a tobacco ceremony while Trump called Columbus one of history's greatest heroes. The record from Hispaniola, and Wisconsin's own split calendar, explain why the fight never settles.
Incumbent Tammy Weckler-Sternard, Republican Curt Vandertie and independent Randy Wagner agree Door County shouldn't sign a 287(g) agreement. The campaign has turned on a union no-confidence vote and released personnel files.
Republican Rep. Tony Wied blames Biden-era spending for high prices. Democrat Rick Crosson blames tariffs and the Iran war. Four weeks out, the incumbent has a 20-to-1 cash edge in a seat Democrats haven't held since 2010.
Join for free and unsubscribe at anyime
