In Milwaukee this week, three adult men died in the bitter cold, two found dead outside
and one in their car.
Even without shelter in these conditions is unimaginable for most of us.
While strides were made to help people during the pandemic using federal funds, that money
is now drying up and homelessness is once again on the rise in Wisconsin.
At the same time, there are proposals in the legislature that include cracking down on
where people can camp outside to live.
Latest numbers from this time last year show nearly 5,000 people counted among the
unhoused, including nearly 500 with no shelter at all.
The highest number since 2012, according to the State Department of Administration, which
says the problem is only growing.
Agencies across the state are working to help, including the Wisconsin balance of state continuum
of care.
Its director, Carrie Poser, joins us now and thanks very much for being here.
Thank you for having me.
What are the biggest drivers of increasing homelessness in Wisconsin right now?
I would say that there's two kind of equal drivers.
One, the lack of available housing options for people.
Because of that, it stalls out the system.
People can't move from shelter to permanent housing.
People can't get access into a spot in the shelter.
So people remain unsheltered, bouncing around, sometimes even staying in dangerous situations.
At the same time, there's not enough mental health and substance use treatment options
for those that want to need it.
So there are more people suffering and not enough services to meet those increasingly
complex needs.
Weren't federal funds able to help deliver more permanent solutions by way of shelters
or low income housing?
So during the pandemic, there was an influx of COVID funds for things like shelter, funding
to build housing and funds for eviction prevention.
There was not more funding made available for rent assistance in case management for
those people with the highest needs, the most vulnerable population.
So we often think of homelessness as a particularly urban problem, but is it?
No, homelessness exists in every county within Wisconsin.
So the 69 counties that are represented by the Balance of State Organization make up
over 60% of the people counted during the point in time.
That includes people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
People communities often have less resource options than urban.
So less services, less housing, less agencies available.
And although urban have more of those options, they don't have enough to meet their current
needs.
So you just spoke to something called point in time.
That is a count of people who are experiencing homelessness.
And that comes up every January and July.
Is that right?
So there's one coming up soon.
This week, yeah, it's the fourth Wednesday overnight in January and July.
And is the expectation, again, that these numbers will rise above last year's?
Correct.
Unfortunately, in 2023, so in January's count, there were 268 people sleeping outside in
the 69 counties I covered, looking at somewhere, you know, north of 2,000 people, 2,000 households
and almost 3,000 people that were in shelters, unsheltered or in transitional facilities.
And that number continues to grow.
So I know that the Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance Program ended in 2023, and with
it more than $250 million that was helping, more than 60,000 households, evictions therefore
are now up.
What does this spell?
Certainly, so that program that you referenced was something that we call an eviction prevention
program.
It was specifically designed to stop evictions from happening to help people stay in their
homes.
Unfortunately, it's not necessarily a homeless prevention program.
Not all people or households that are evicted end up homeless.
So unfortunately, without investing funds in homeless prevention, looking upstream and
targeting those folks that are at the greatest risk of becoming homeless, not only are you
going to see evictions, but you're also going to see an increase in homelessness.
Meanwhile, the legislature is considering a bill that would criminalize camping on public
property, not sanctioned by the state.
What is your reaction to that measure going through the legislature right now?
Yeah.
So the Cicero Institute is a leading proponent of this proposal, and it's not just happening
in Wisconsin, it's coming up in states all across the country.
Unfortunately, it perpetuates a false and often harmful narrative as to the causes of homelessness,
along with the potential solutions, rounding people up and putting them in a place established
by a city or a state and making it a crime to be anywhere else does not end homelessness.
Oftentimes, it's counterproductive, it's expensive, it's harmful, and it's dehumanizing.
The purpose of those bills is to address, is to truly address the unsheltered homeless
uptick in this state, then we need investment in a variety of different things, including
crisis housing, shelters, outreach, engagement, landlord incentives, to get landlords to
agree, to work with our programs, and the people we're trying to serve, but rounding
people up isn't the answer.
With about a half a minute left, what do you know about the appetite for more investments
of the kind that you just mentioned?
You know, it's a good question.
Under the Walker administration, there were several proposals to increase funding for
diversion and outreach and other items within the homeless crisis response system.
And unfortunately, even under the lieutenant governor's leadership at that time, they
still stalled out in the legislature.
I know that Governor Evers is interested in addressing and making some good investments
in homelessness.
We just need the legislature to come along for it.
Kerry Poser, thanks very much.
Thanks for your work.
Thank you so much for having me.
Grim.
Grim, grim conversation.
Yeah.
It is.
Yeah.
So, and you've been doing it a long time, haven't you?
This work.
Yeah.
About eight years, eight, nine years.
Yeah.
It's the worst.
It's been.
Really?
Yeah.
Yes.
Absolutely.
It's just such a disconnect between national and state investments.
This Cicero stuff is scary business.
It's messy.
It's like model legislation.
Yeah.
Yes.
It's based on a variety of different states currently.
Yeah.
All right.
Well, we will continue to follow this.
And again, thank you.
Absolutely.
Anytime.
I appreciate it.
Thank you.
Bye.
Have a good day.
You too.