You
Over one night this week Wisconsin volunteers
Fanned out to find the number of people
Experiencing homelessness in what's called
A point in time count.
There are some 5,000 people without shelter in the state and
Now 10 counties in northeast Wisconsin are scrambling to
Find places for people to stay after a nonprofit provider
Of homeless services abruptly closed due to bankruptcy.
An organization called the balance of state continuum of
Care which covers 69 counties in Wisconsin is rushing
In to respond along with state agencies and other programs.
Balance of state homeless systems manager Ryan Graham joins us
Now.
Ryan thanks very much for being here.
Yeah thank you for having me.
So how many people served by the bankrupt provider of
Services are at risk of homelessness in those 10
Counties?
Well you know I think
There was 134 households that were served in
The direct homeless housing programs that we were
We were able to
Maintain housing for it but there's a significant amount of
Homeless folks still in that community that are in need of
Housing and
You know that lack of
Services and that closing of that agency
Really creates a gap in institutional knowledge that creates
A gap in process and systems and
All the things that were established there
You know and looking for resources and re-establishing
That is going to take
A considerable amount of effort
Just stepping back at the whole picture is the number of
People in Wisconsin experiencing homelessness on the rise?
I would say yes.
You know we just did our point in time count Wednesday
We are in the process of our post pit count
Meaning we still up for a week after our point in time count
We are still looking to engage and
Identify those folks who are connecting with
Services in that week prior to the council
We can include those folks
And so the data is not out yet
But you know
We haven't fixed the housing problem
We haven't fixed the lack of
Services problems so
An affordability of living
Just in general has not gotten any better
So yeah I do expect
The housing problem to increase
Not decrease
Because how important is that kind of point in time count
Toward understanding the needs out there
It's very important
You know it's really our only data point that includes
Folks that we are engaging with that are sleeping on
Outside so unsheltered
Our place is not meant for habitation
Folks that are sheltered engage with housing programs
But also our DV population
And so while
We
Obviously do not locate everybody
Who's experiencing homelessness in that night or the week prior
We're really comfortable saying it's at minimum
This is what our homeless problem is
And it's a good place to see
See trends right because of the structure and the way that's been set up consistently for years
It's a really good data point to look at trends and how
Homelessness is and how we're responding to homelessness in Wisconsin
Is there enough state federal and other funding to cover resources needed for this work?
Not even remote
We are really working hard to do as much as we can
With pennies of what we need to do the work
And that takes a collaborative effort
So we work hard in all of our counties
You know really to build that collaboration
And work together to try and problem solve and figure out solutions
For people experiencing homelessness
As to federal funding
That point in time count I understand is used to apply for federal grants
For housing services
What kind of uncertainty in that federal funding is there right now?
Yeah, I mean I think there's a significant amount of uncertainty
You know I think you know looking at the federal COC program
Through HUD you know they're looking at making significant changes
Away from permanent supportive housing programs
That we know to be affected
And moving more towards transitional
Non-permanent supportive housing
Permanent housing or permanent housing efforts
You know so I think that's a significant change
Without protecting the folks that were already housed in these programs
And so there's a significant shift
That is going to provide I think a lot of housing and security
For folks who were previously homeless
Now are securely housed
And we don't know what that's going to look like
Here moving forward
So there's a lot of uncertainty that way
We leave it there Ryan Graham
Thanks very much
Yeah, happy soon
For more on this and other issues facing Wisconsin
Visit our website at pbswisconsin.org
And then click on the news tab
That's our program for tonight
I'm Frederica Fryberg, have a good weekend
Thank you
It's too bad
Yeah, well thank you for your work