From Kate

Walk-In has been providing free, no-appointment, anonymous mental health counseling since 1969 to everyone who comes to us. Last year, we served 1,500 people in 3,700 free counseling sessions. The reason we are still here is our community of volunteers and supporters. Early giving has already begun in the lead-up to Give to the Max…

he holidays bring up a lot for many of us: the people we miss, the relationships that are hard, the years that didn’t go the way we hoped. If that’s where you are this month, our door is open. Sometimes what starts with grief can offer an opportunity. Many of the stories, values and traditions…

This month, we are launching a sustainability campaign that centers the volunteer practitioners who make Walk-In’s work possible. Retire to Walk-In is both an invitation to clinicians and a call to the wider community to support the critical work they do. Many clinicians reach the end of their paid careers with decades of skill and…

Last October I wrote to you about planting bulbs. I was a few months into this role, the days were getting shorter, and the letter was about preparing: putting something in the ground and trusting it would be there in spring. A year later, I can tell you some of what came up. This fall…

Walk-In should not exist. Not by any conventional logic. No fees. No insurance. No appointment. Walk in, be seen, walk out — no bill, no barrier, for anyone. And yet here we are. I have been thinking about what makes that possible — not just financially, though the financial reality alone is quite remarkable. We…

There is a plant taking over my yard right now. Creeping Charlie, my neighbors call it — and they say it with a certain gravity, the way you’d name a problem that needs solving. Pull it up, they tell me. It doesn’t belong. To be clear, I welcome their guidance.  But I’ve been watching it.…

This is the message from Executive Director Kate Fischer in our 2025 Annual Report. To view the full report, click here. Dear Community, This past year held a lot for Walk-In — and for the community we serve. More people came to us in crisis. More volunteers showed up to meet them. And quietly, honestly,…

March is Women’s History Month, a time to honor wisdom that’s often overlooked in our rush toward linear progress. The ancient Greeks understood this: they had Chronos, god of chronological time – always forward, measuring productivity – and Kairos, goddess of cyclical time – rhythms, seasons, essential work that happens in phases we can’t always…

Harm is happening in our communities—compounding trauma, layering on top of what we were already carried. The heaviness and exhaustion we feel is everywhere. In families, workplaces, neighborhoods. And while there is promise of relief on the horizon, the fallout will be with us for a long time. At Walk-In, we’re not seeing a flood.…

Healing is justice work. Our community is experiencing pervasive fear and compounding trauma. Federal enforcement has intensified, with reports of actions that have left many community members – immigrants and citizens alike – questioning safety and shared rights. Nervous systems are on high alert. Some of us are frozen, some activated, many struggling to sleep,…