- Now a look ahead to potential impact of bills having to do
with the homeless population that passed this week in the
Assembly.
It's estimated there are nearly 30,000 homeless people in
Wisconsin and not just in the urban areas.
According to the Wisconsin Coalition Against Homelessness,
the state lags way behind neighboring states in its
response to the problem.
But this week the State Assembly passed four bills to fight
homelessness.
Among them creating a pilot program to get chronically
homeless people on the waiting list for federal housing
vouchers.
Freeing up more money for transitional housing and making
$75,000 available for one city for a pilot program to help the
homeless get jobs.
Homeless advocates say it's the first time in 25 years there
will be an initiative to provide more resources and policy
enhancements.
Also among the bills passed, one calling for the creation of an
interagency council on homelessness with the
secretaries of eight state agencies meeting to discuss
services.
Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch will chair the
council.
She joined us earlier to discuss her role.
Lieutenant Governor, thanks for joining us.
- Thank you for having me.
- Why is this issue getting the attention of Republican
lawmakers and the administration now?
- I think one of the reasons it is a key piece of our workforce
solution is because you have a lot of folks on the sidelines of
the traditional Wisconsin economy who can be animated to
get into the economy if only given the connections they need
and I would argue they deserve as their right.
Our Constitution says and our Declaration of Independence
guarantees we have the right to pursue happiness
here in the United States of America.
You have a lot of folks who may be housing insecure who have not
been exercising their right to happiness.
And I believe this package of bills and the impetus, the
budget from our executive branch allows those things to happen.
Those connections to be made and folks who are right now on the
sidelines of Wisconsin's economic recovery to get into
our talent pipeline.
- How do you see the interagency council moving
forward to help prevent and reduce the homeless population
in the first place?
- Well, I've been working on this issue for about the last
year and a half.
You know as a former journalist I like to see both sides of a
story and interview everyone involved before making
a decision on best steps forward.
So I have traveled the state and can assure you this is not a
problem, an issue for just one area or just one demographic.
Homelessness and housing insecurity in fact affects all
corners, all facets in Wisconsin.
I spent a lot of time not only with the advocates and
those not-for-profit and social workers working with this
population but also with the population asking them the
questions that I think I need the answers to in order to
provide the best solutions and resources so we can get them
connected to opportunity.
I imagine the interagency council will continue that work.
The work determining how those on the front lines of this
challenge can best use resources and which are the most necessary
and the most immediately needed.
But also as we see challenges change how we can be more
responsive and more nimble in assuring we can get our homeless
and house-insecure population attached to a safe place to
sleep at night so they can get engaged in our workforce.
- According to the Wisconsin Coalition Against Homelessness,
Wisconsin's annual funding for homeless programs is $3.25
million compared to Minnesota's nearly $45 million.
What is the commitment to put more money into programs?
- Well, after traveling this state for the last year and a
half talking to the groups with whom I've talked and the folks
with whom I've met, I can tell you honestly this is less about
funding and more about our expectations of the use of the
funds we've allocated.
I'm not arguing we don't need more funding.
What I am arguing is we need to have high expectations and we
also need to re imagine how we do this funding as it is spent in
communities.
I've seen really good models, Frederica.
I've also seen models that are not accomplishing what I would
consider to be success.
It's one thing to say somebody got a safe place to sleep for a
night and they're not on our rolls.
They're not counted anymore because they've just moved
to another program.
That to me isn't success.
What I see as success is a long-term solution where someone
is well, mentally healthy, is well, free of addiction but also
connected to the services and also perhaps even the private
sector economy where they can succeed independently long-term.
- One type of program we've reported on is something called
"Housing First" where homeless people get permanent housing
first and then supportive services to go with it.
Is this the kind of program you would support?
- "Housing First" works specifically and best I think in
cases of what we call dual-diagnosis, which means
mental illness coupled with addiction.
Because oftentimes in cases like that you need intense
wrap-around services, almost life coach style, in order to
get someone well enough to have a dependable income to begin to
live independently in the first place.
- We need to leave it there as you're suggesting varied reasons
for homelessness, varied approaches.
We'll be watching as this goes forward.
Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch.
Thanks very much.
- Let's keep talking about this, thank you.