1
00:00:01,301 --> 00:00:03,871
here.
>> Two years ago, we

2
00:00:03,937 --> 00:00:07,140
checked in with the mayor
of La Crosse, who was

3
00:00:07,207 --> 00:00:10,410
painfully confronting
surging numbers of people

4
00:00:10,477 --> 00:00:13,680
experiencing homelessness
and living in encampments.

5
00:00:13,747 --> 00:00:17,885
In response to the problem,
the city, county and local

6
00:00:17,951 --> 00:00:20,454
organizations banded
together in a concerted

7
00:00:20,521 --> 00:00:24,858
effort to get people into
housing. The five year

8
00:00:24,925 --> 00:00:28,762
Pathways Home plan launched
in 2024, when 300 people

9
00:00:28,829 --> 00:00:32,766
were counted as unhoused in
La Crosse. Today, that

10
00:00:32,833 --> 00:00:37,104
number is under 200. The
goal to get to a functional

11
00:00:37,171 --> 00:00:42,009
zero homeless population by
2029. We're joined now by

12
00:00:42,075 --> 00:00:44,611
Jim Drees, the La Crosse
County Homeless Response

13
00:00:44,678 --> 00:00:48,282
Systems Manager and co-lead
of Pathways Home. And

14
00:00:48,348 --> 00:00:51,351
thanks very much for being
here.

15
00:00:52,319 --> 00:00:55,422
>> So what stands out about
how the Pathways Home plan

16
00:00:55,489 --> 00:00:59,860
is moving the needle on
homelessness in La Crosse?

17
00:00:59,927 --> 00:01:03,664
>> I think we've always had
a dozen plus organizations

18
00:01:03,730 --> 00:01:06,967
here in nonprofits
supporting this community.

19
00:01:07,034 --> 00:01:09,403
What was really critical
was just getting alignment.

20
00:01:09,469 --> 00:01:13,340
And so really sharing
common information, a by

21
00:01:13,407 --> 00:01:16,343
name list of anyone
experiencing homelessness,

22
00:01:16,410 --> 00:01:20,214
easy ways to get into our
system. And then weekly

23
00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,783
coordination where we have
a dozen plus agencies

24
00:01:22,850 --> 00:01:26,019
really working together. I
think just achieving that

25
00:01:26,086 --> 00:01:28,222
alignment was, was really
important in terms of

26
00:01:28,288 --> 00:01:31,391
making a lot of progress.
>> What are the greatest

27
00:01:31,458 --> 00:01:34,328
needs and greatest barriers
to getting people into

28
00:01:34,394 --> 00:01:37,664
housing?
>> Yeah, one of the things

29
00:01:37,731 --> 00:01:40,667
we look at with folks is we
want to place them into

30
00:01:40,734 --> 00:01:42,970
housing that's appropriate
for their level of need. So

31
00:01:43,036 --> 00:01:46,440
we'll categorize folks that
need anywhere from a light

32
00:01:46,507 --> 00:01:49,810
need to moderate, which we
consider once a week

33
00:01:49,877 --> 00:01:53,013
intensive, which is daily
support. And really in our

34
00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,816
system, a lot of our
reductions in homelessness

35
00:01:55,883 --> 00:01:58,652
count have been with those
of light and moderate needs,

36
00:01:58,719 --> 00:02:01,588
easier to place, easier to
house. Our biggest

37
00:02:01,655 --> 00:02:04,391
challenge right now is
folks that have intensive

38
00:02:04,458 --> 00:02:07,761
support needs. So daily
support, sometimes

39
00:02:07,828 --> 00:02:12,165
overnight monitoring,
typically related to mental

40
00:02:12,232 --> 00:02:15,969
health, trauma, sometimes
substance use. And that's

41
00:02:16,036 --> 00:02:18,505
just a shortage in our
system. These tend to be

42
00:02:18,572 --> 00:02:21,074
the folks that have been
unhoused the longest get

43
00:02:21,141 --> 00:02:23,243
categorized as chronically
homeless. And the longer

44
00:02:23,310 --> 00:02:25,312
someone is unhoused, the
higher their level of need

45
00:02:25,379 --> 00:02:29,082
is usually.
>> And so the Pathways Home

46
00:02:29,149 --> 00:02:34,154
program includes these kind
of wraparound services.

47
00:02:34,888 --> 00:02:37,791
>> Yeah. So, so really, our
goal is developing a wide

48
00:02:37,858 --> 00:02:41,261
range of housing and a wide
range of support services.

49
00:02:41,328 --> 00:02:43,997
Part of our challenge is a
lot of our really good

50
00:02:44,064 --> 00:02:45,899
programs, helping folks
with mental health,

51
00:02:45,966 --> 00:02:49,403
substance use, housing
stability issues require a

52
00:02:49,469 --> 00:02:52,139
level of stability that
often the unhoused

53
00:02:52,206 --> 00:02:55,342
population doesn't have. So
we've really extended our

54
00:02:55,409 --> 00:02:58,178
outreach into the community.
People don't have to come

55
00:02:58,245 --> 00:03:01,782
into our building or into
an agency. We are out

56
00:03:01,849 --> 00:03:04,685
almost daily in terms of
both general and targeted

57
00:03:04,751 --> 00:03:08,255
outreach, because it really
takes building trust and

58
00:03:08,322 --> 00:03:10,791
connection to help people,
you know, get involved in

59
00:03:10,858 --> 00:03:13,193
the right programs that
lead them to the to

60
00:03:13,260 --> 00:03:16,029
appropriate housing.
>> What does functional

61
00:03:16,096 --> 00:03:19,566
zero mean? As stated as a
goal by 2029?

62
00:03:21,335 --> 00:03:24,771
>> Yeah. It recognizes that
we won't always be able to

63
00:03:24,838 --> 00:03:27,040
prevent someone from
becoming unhoused. But when

64
00:03:27,107 --> 00:03:29,843
they do, it's critically
important that we get them

65
00:03:29,910 --> 00:03:32,279
rehoused quickly. And so
there's two measures that

66
00:03:32,346 --> 00:03:35,282
we think about with
functional zero. One, that

67
00:03:35,349 --> 00:03:38,519
number of unhoused people
in our community should be

68
00:03:38,585 --> 00:03:42,155
lower than our ability, our
proven ability to house

69
00:03:42,222 --> 00:03:44,625
people in a given month. So
right now we're housing

70
00:03:44,691 --> 00:03:47,461
about nine people a month.
So we need our count to be

71
00:03:47,528 --> 00:03:50,697
under nine. That would say
our system is capable of

72
00:03:50,764 --> 00:03:53,200
rehousing them. And so the
target is to rehouse

73
00:03:53,267 --> 00:03:57,104
everyone within 30 days.
>> What kind of success

74
00:03:57,171 --> 00:04:00,240
have you had in eliminating
people living in winter

75
00:04:00,307 --> 00:04:03,744
encampments?
>> Yeah. So really that's

76
00:04:03,810 --> 00:04:06,180
where the city and county
collaboration comes in,

77
00:04:06,246 --> 00:04:09,183
because this is an issue
that affects police, it

78
00:04:09,249 --> 00:04:11,985
affects parks, it affects
fire department, emergency

79
00:04:12,052 --> 00:04:15,656
response. It affects
community services. So City

80
00:04:15,722 --> 00:04:18,825
of La Crosse created a
camping ban, which really

81
00:04:18,892 --> 00:04:22,396
became the catalyst for
clearing out encampments.

82
00:04:22,462 --> 00:04:26,300
We are really trying to
focus on everyone having a

83
00:04:26,366 --> 00:04:28,936
shelter option right now.
We don't have enough

84
00:04:29,002 --> 00:04:32,539
emergency shelter beds on
there, but we do have extra

85
00:04:32,606 --> 00:04:35,776
overnight capacity during
the winter. Recognizing how

86
00:04:35,843 --> 00:04:38,612
critical that people have a
place to stay overnight

87
00:04:38,679 --> 00:04:41,248
when it's cold.
>> What are kind of the

88
00:04:41,315 --> 00:04:44,885
benchmark goals between now
and 2029?

89
00:04:46,186 --> 00:04:48,822
>> Yeah, it really is
reaching functional zero.

90
00:04:48,889 --> 00:04:51,358
And that's taking our count,
which is a little under 200

91
00:04:51,425 --> 00:04:56,196
right now, down to say
under ten in terms of doing

92
00:04:56,263 --> 00:04:59,833
that average duration of
homelessness, taking that

93
00:04:59,900 --> 00:05:04,204
down to under 30 days up
there. The other thing we

94
00:05:04,271 --> 00:05:07,140
had to really adjust in our
system was it's not just

95
00:05:07,207 --> 00:05:11,778
about getting folks housed.
Once folks are housed

96
00:05:11,845 --> 00:05:14,248
historically in our system,
unaddressed issues would

97
00:05:14,314 --> 00:05:17,217
lead to evictions falling
behind on rent, other

98
00:05:17,284 --> 00:05:20,721
issues there. And so really,
we've started this housing

99
00:05:20,787 --> 00:05:22,656
stability tracker where
when people are moved in,

100
00:05:22,723 --> 00:05:24,925
we're staying connected.
Who's staying connected?

101
00:05:24,992 --> 00:05:29,396
How are we checking in? And
so really that Housing

102
00:05:29,463 --> 00:05:32,666
Stability Tracker would say,
you know, the, the best

103
00:05:32,733 --> 00:05:36,236
systems in our country
right now are tracking at

104
00:05:36,303 --> 00:05:39,439
70 to 80% housing retention
after two years. So it

105
00:05:39,506 --> 00:05:41,742
doesn't always work for
everyone. But again, we

106
00:05:41,808 --> 00:05:43,810
want to place them in
places where they can

107
00:05:43,877 --> 00:05:46,313
retain housing, get the
support they need.

108
00:05:46,380 --> 00:05:49,149
>> How fulfilling is it to
see this movement toward

109
00:05:49,216 --> 00:05:52,553
finding this sustainable or
stable housing for the

110
00:05:52,619 --> 00:05:55,355
unhoused?
>> Yeah, it's it's a mixed

111
00:05:55,422 --> 00:05:58,859
bag. It's hard to celebrate
a milestone of going under

112
00:05:58,926 --> 00:06:01,094
200 when you still have
people unsheltered in your

113
00:06:01,161 --> 00:06:04,731
community on there. The
team is super dedicated in

114
00:06:04,798 --> 00:06:07,434
terms of connecting with
people. So, so I do think

115
00:06:07,501 --> 00:06:10,103
we take success with each
move in. I remind folks all

116
00:06:10,170 --> 00:06:13,640
the time that every number
we put out there on our

117
00:06:13,707 --> 00:06:16,343
dashboard is connected to a
person with a name and a

118
00:06:16,410 --> 00:06:20,480
story. And so we have good
days that we celebrate move

119
00:06:20,547 --> 00:06:23,317
ins. We have tough days
where there's a remission

120
00:06:23,383 --> 00:06:26,787
or someone lost housing.
And so we try to stay

121
00:06:26,854 --> 00:06:30,157
steady. We see ourselves as
the backbone of this system,

122
00:06:30,224 --> 00:06:32,826
providing consistent
options and resources for

123
00:06:32,893 --> 00:06:34,962
housing and supportive
services.

124
00:06:35,028 --> 00:06:37,497
>> All right. We leave it
there. Jim Drees. La Crosse,

125
00:06:37,564 --> 00:06:40,801
thanks so much.
>> You're welcome.

126
00:06:42,236 --> 00:06:47,040
>> Finally tonight, what's
in a name? A federal bill