Community Resources for the Hardest Weeks
Our crews clean up after the worst days, but cleanup is only one piece of what a family needs. This page gathers the crisis lines, grief support, victim services, and recovery organizations that serve southern Wisconsin, verified against official sources, no strings attached. If someone you love is in danger right now, call 911. If you’re struggling, start with any number below.
Immediate crisis support
If you need help right now
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988Free, confidential support 24/7 for anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, and for the people worried about them. Nationwide, staffed by trained counselors.
Rock County Crisis & Connections Line
(608) 757-5025Rock County’s own crisis team: phone support, mobile response, and walk-in help at the Dr. Daniel Hale Williams Resource Center, 1717 Center Ave., Janesville (calling ahead is encouraged). They serve all ages for mental health and substance-related emergencies, and callers can remain anonymous.
Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741741Free, confidential, 24/7 crisis counseling by text, for people who can’t or don’t want to talk on the phone.
211 Wisconsin
Dial 211The statewide front door for help of every kind: emergency shelter, food, utility assistance, counseling referrals, and local programs, connected by a real person who knows what exists near you. Works in every county we serve.
If you’re outside Rock County: Walworth, Jefferson, Dane, and Green counties each operate human services departments with crisis programs of their own, and both 988 and 211 work everywhere in Wisconsin and can route you locally.
Grief and loss support
You don’t have to go through it alone
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
Resources built specifically for people who have lost someone to suicide, including Healing Conversations, which connects loss survivors with trained volunteers who have lived the same loss. Find them at afsp.org.
The Compassionate Friends
Peer support for families after the death of a child, of any age, from any cause, through local chapters and online communities. Find a chapter at compassionatefriends.org.
GriefShare
Grief support groups hosted by churches across southern Wisconsin, searchable by ZIP code at griefshare.org. Faith-based format, open to anyone grieving.
NAMI Rock County & NAMI Wisconsin
Support groups, education, and advocacy for individuals and families navigating mental illness, including after a crisis touches your home. namirockcounty.org and namiwisconsin.org.
Victim services and rights
Wisconsin law guarantees your rights
Wisconsin DOJ Office of Crime Victim Services. Wisconsin law, Chapter 950, guarantees crime victims specific rights, and the state’s Office of Crime Victim Services exists to uphold them, including the Crime Victim Compensation Program, which can help with certain expenses stemming from violent crime. Start at doj.state.wi.us, and ask the law enforcement agency handling your case to connect you with victim services; every county district attorney’s office has a victim/witness unit whose job is helping you through the process.
Your county’s Victim/Witness office. Located within each county district attorney’s office, Rock, Walworth, Jefferson, Dane, and Green alike, these units guide victims and families through the court process, notifications, and available assistance. The officers or detectives on your case can make the introduction, or call the county DA’s office directly.
Disaster recovery help
When the emergency is over but the crisis isn’t
American Red Cross, Wisconsin Region
The Red Cross responds to home fires with immediate help: emergency lodging, essentials, and recovery planning, at no cost. If your fire department hasn’t already connected you, reach them at redcross.org or through the fire department that responded.
The Salvation Army
Emergency assistance including shelter, food, clothing, and case work after disasters, with locations serving southern Wisconsin. salvationarmyusa.org.
211 Wisconsin
Worth repeating in this section: after a fire or flood, 211 is the fastest way to find every local program you qualify for, from emergency housing to replacement documents. Dial 211.
Aging, disability & hoarding-related support
Support for older adults, disabilities, and hoarding situations
Aging & Disability Resource Centers (ADRC). Every Wisconsin county operates or shares an ADRC, the front door for services supporting older adults and adults with disabilities, from in-home help to caregiver support. Find your county’s at dhs.wisconsin.gov (search “ADRC”) or through 211.
County human services departments. Hoarding situations, self-neglect concerns, and adult protective issues can be raised confidentially with your county’s human services department, which can assess and connect households with help. In Rock County, the Crisis & Connections line above, (608) 757-5025, is also the front door for behavioral health services beyond emergencies.
About this page
We compiled and verified these resources in July 2026 against official sources, and we’ll keep them current. If a number here fails or an organization has changed, please tell us at our contact page so the next family finds a working door, and in any emergency, 911 and 988 always work.
And for the piece of the hard week that’s ours, biohazard cleanup, crime scene cleanup, and fire, water, and mold restoration across southern Wisconsin, we’re at (888) 629-1222, any hour. But this page isn’t about us. Take what helps.