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>> First tonight, more than
350 military veterans are

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homeless in Wisconsin.
According to the latest

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estimates, some are getting
a fresh start through the

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Veterans Housing and
Recovery Program, which

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offers job training and
support for addiction. But

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the program is now at risk
after falling short of the

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funding it needed in the new
state budget. That's a

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concern for the veterans who
rely on these services

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today, and for those who
will need them in the

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future. But as "Here& Now",
reporter Steven Potter tells

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us, there are hopes new
bipartisan legislation could

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restore funding and keep the
program running.

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>> It's like I developed all
these bad habits with my

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anger and drinking, and I
ended up in a shelter again.

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>> Michael Cable is a
veteran of the United States

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Navy. He's also been
homeless many times first as

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a child, then as a young
adult. And then he became

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homeless again after leaving
the Navy in 2010.

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>> Came back. I was a full
blown alcoholic and anger.

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Just couldn't deal with my
emotions at all.

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>> Struggling to deal with
life after the military.

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>> You come back and it's
like your life's gone.

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Everything's changed.
>> He knew something drastic

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needed to happen. And it
did.

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>> Once I got sober, I felt
so much different about

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everything. I used to dream
about everything all the

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time. And now I was actually
doing things, working

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towards those dreams.
>> What changed is that

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Michael was accepted into
the state's veterans Housing

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and Recovery Program at the
Chippewa Falls location,

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known as Klein Hall.
Graduating from that program

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in May, he got hired at a
local plastics factory. And

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then all of his hard work
paid off. As this formerly

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homeless veteran became a
homeowner.

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>> I literally bought the
first house I seen. I gave

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him a full price offer and
moved in, and I. Every day

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I'm just standing there
like, I can't believe it.

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It's amazing.
>> Since opening in 2007,

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Klein Hall has helped
roughly 1000 of Wisconsin's

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homeless and at risk
military veterans find their

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footing and eventually
secure permanent housing.

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And while Michael is one of
the success stories, he

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could also be one of the
last veterans to use the

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Transitional housing and
Recovery program due to a

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lack of funding in the new
state budget. Klein Hall in

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Chippewa Falls and another
similar location in green

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Bay are slated to close
their doors at the end of

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September.
>> We were really saddened

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and disappointed with the
budgetary decisions. It's a

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horrible situation.
>> The Veterans Housing and

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Recovery Program is run by
the Wisconsin Department of

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Veterans Affairs. Out of
three locations. Assistant

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Deputy Director Joey Hoey
says they now only have

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enough money to keep one
site open.

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>> So we made some very
difficult and agonizing

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decisions. We've decided
that we're going to focus

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our efforts on one of the
three sites. It's in Union

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Grove down by Milwaukee.
>> Politically, Democratic

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Governor Tony Evers has
blasted Republicans in

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control of the state budget
writing committee. In a

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statement, Evers said,
quote, there will now be

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fewer options for homeless
veterans as a result of the

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legislature's irresponsible
decision to reject the

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investments that I proposed.
Joint Finance Committee

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Chairman Senator Howard
Marklein and Representative

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Mark Born responded by
saying the governor failed

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to make this program a
funding priority during

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budget negotiations. And
they added that the governor

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was, quote, looking for a
scapegoat to blame for his

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administration's failure to
adequately manage the

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changes to the program
volume and demands.

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>> Who cares? Who cares
whose fault it is? That

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doesn't help the problem.
>> For veterans like Derek

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Aune, who first heard about
it in prison. This program

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is not only transitional,
but it can also be

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transformative.
>> I'm learning all the time

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about this mental health
stuff is I do not do regular

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life well, but I know that
if I want to stay out of

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prison, then I have to be
willing to do stuff like

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this because it's the best
way for me to keep myself

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like in the right frame of
mind.

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>> Discharged from the
Marines 20 years ago.

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Derrick has been homeless
several times over the years

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at Klein Hall. He says he's
found stability and he's

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been allowed to keep his
emotional support animal, a

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friendly, attentive, husky
mix named Phoenix, with him.

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He appreciates that the
program here is built

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specifically and only for
veterans.

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>> That makes a big
difference. And you'll hear

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that from almost every
veteran across the board.

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With any situation, whether
it's treatment or groups or

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whatever. There it is a
different feeling when

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you're amongst other
veterans.

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>> Randy Withrow is the
Klein Hall site director for

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Lutheran Social Services,
which contracts with

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government veterans affairs
agencies to manage the

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program.
>> Nobody's homeless because

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they don't have shelter. It
is a myriad of things that

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occur in their lives,
whether it be legal, mental

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health, substance abuse,
financial that leads them to

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homelessness. And part of
our job is to make sure that

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we shore up those areas so
that then when they become

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either renters or owners,
that they have the skills

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and the ability to handle
that day to day living that

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you and I may take for
granted.

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>> Veterans stay in the
program for a maximum of two

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years and participate in
employment and education

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training. They receive meals
and transportation

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assistance and are also
required to maintain

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absolute sobriety. Program
staff members are working to

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place veterans currently in
the program in other housing

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initiatives, or to move them
to the Union Grove location

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that's staying open. But
there is concern that if too

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much changes, some veterans
will end up back on the

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streets.
>> Change is not something

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that they necessarily
experience well, and now

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they've got to go and meet a
new group and interact and

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integrate into something
that's different.

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>> Veterans affairs
officials say there is still

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hope that the two housing
program locations, scheduled

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to close in September, could
be saved if new funding is

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secured soon and there is
legislation being circulated

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at the state Capitol to do
just that.

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>> If we were to get
funding, we could quickly

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restart the program.
>> With two of the three

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locations closing. The
overall program will shrink

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considerably from more than
100 beds total to just 40

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beds at the Union Grove
location, veterans say

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keeping the program running
is a necessity.

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>> These kind of things are
pivotal. If you don't want

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to have people rolling back
through the system over and

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over and over again.
>> Just having a place where

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you can catch your breath
and really get back your

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sanity doesn't take much.
Just a place to stay. Some

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food and a counselor.
Someone cares. Someone you

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talk to, life changing.
These guys are grateful for

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every bit of it.
>> Reporting from Chippewa