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LEVI STEIN IS AN ACTOR. Not a thespian; you can’t find him on a stage or screen. He takes action.
He started taking odd jobs when he was 11. He volunteered throughout his youth in Detroit. He didn’t do well in the classroom; he says he barely made it through rabbinical school in Russia before returning to the U.S., first working in Puerto Rico, then coming to Fox Point in 2016 to lead The Friendship Circle of Wisconsin.
Its mission: “To empower individuals with disabilities and mental health challenges to overcome isolation.”
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
On Nov. 4, 2024, upon hearing that his friend Ald. Jonathan Brostoff died by suicide, Stein didn’t cry. “My reaction was action,” he says. He pledged to lead 41 no-cost SafeTALK suicide-prevention trainings (one for each year of Brostoff’s life) for at least 1,000 people within a year of Brostoff’s death, a goal Stein surpassed. He has mourned by paying it forward.
As Friendship Circle continues to provide employment training and job opportunities to individuals with disabilities – most notably through its cafe, bakery and art studio at 8649 N. Port Washington Rd. – Stein is growing the nonprofit’s mental health wing. Friendship Circle now sponsors a teen mental health podcast, “Wish You Knew” (sptfy.in/lz9a), inspired and led by the Circle’s hundreds of teenage volunteers whose lives were upended by the COVID pandemic. Stein continues to lead SafeTALK trainings long after reaching his goal – and he’s expanding his efforts to prevent suicide further.
His current priority is petitioning area police departments to place step-by-step suicide-prevention worksheets in every single squad car, giving officers a playbook to follow when responding to mental health calls. “Suicide is the most preventable cause of death,” Stein says. This rabbi’s chosen mission is to prevent it.
Who or what in Milwaukee inspires you the most?
“The kids, our volunteers, these teenagers. Listening to their stories.”
