By M.L. Wright
A home is a house, apartment or other shelter that is a usual habitat for a person, family or household.
Homelessness is living in housing that is below a minimum standard or lacks stability. A government study shows many homeless people sleep in a public or private place not designed to be sleeping accommodations for human beings.
I ask myself why, in a country of billionaires, is anyone forced to sleep in a doorway or a refrigerator box?
A home offers warmth and safety. This reaches as far back as the cave dwellers. It was the gathering place when evening fell. It was security from wild beasts lurking in the darkness. As humans progressed out of caves, houses became the safe gathering places and even symbols of status in the community.
The American dream can become a nightmare if one’s financial situation changes due to job loss, medical bills, death or a change in marital status. These situations can create a myriad of difficulties: the loss of one’s home, credit rating and even a mailing address. If there are children involved, they could lose their school, two meals a day, friends, scholastic growth and after-school activities.
Unfortunately, there are millions of individuals who fall through the cracks of our society and join the army of the homeless every year. For some, their situation is temporary, but others become trapped in a cycle of crushing poverty. Most never believed they could become homeless.
Some live in cars, tents or cardboard boxes. A doorway may become home. There is no warmth, no public restroom, no safety and no sense of hope. There is also constant danger.
Occupy Madison Inc., is a nonprofit organization whose vision is to provide “a place where people with or without current safe housing can live and/or work cooperatively in a way that promotes dignity, safety, stewardship, and sustainability for all.”
In 2014 Occupy Madison established the first tiny house community at 304 N. Third St. The newest Occupy Madison tiny house location is 1901 Aberg Ave. These are temporary Conestoga-style wagons built by volunteers. The wagons are well insulated, providing a safe, warm place to sleep.
There is an affordable housing crisis in Madison, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. A temporary law allowing individuals to have tents in parks has changed. In winter, the need for safe, warm housing becomes more acute.
There are those who believe there is no way to end homelessness and just throw up their hands. But there are also heroes who strive every day to make the lives of the homeless easier.
A society is judged by the way it responds to its most vulnerable. When a society does not have the ability to feel compassion or lacks understanding of the real impact of becoming homeless, society must change. America can do better.
As you retire for the night in a warm secure place, think about your fellow citizens — the young and the old living daily in unsafe conditions. Please consider volunteering or donating to a local organization to assist the homeless.
Thank you to Diane Zabawa, for her assistance with this article.
Some local responses to homelessness
Fleet Services Temporary Shelter
The former Fleet Services Building on First Street provides much-needed capacity and support for temporary use as a men’s homeless shelter. It will be used for much of 2021 while the city is in the process of purchasing a new men’s homeless shelter. The final location of the shelter is still to be determined.
Alder Syed Abbas
District12@cityofmadison.com
Interagency Council on Homelessness
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial and concerning effect on the issue of homelessness throughout Wisconsin. The largest concern since the pandemic began is the significant increase in unsheltered homeless persons. The State of Wisconsin is leveraging funds through the CARES Act with community resources to expand sheltering options.
Michael Basford
Wisconsin Dept. of Administration
mike.basford@wisconsin.gov
Briarpatch
We estimate there are about 300 homeless youth in Dane County every night.
Of those, 86% report being physically abused; one in three have been sexually exploited; 75% will not finish high school without support.
Our team works with at-risk youth ages 10-17 in a variety of ways: temporary shelter, 24-hour helpline, youth employment programs, job support, financial literacy, tutoring and mentoring, and parent support programs.
Our Intensive Supervision Program, Youth Restitution Program and Restorative Justice Program work directly with youth offenders to offer them support and guidance for better choices and to complete their judicial obligations.
We want and need the community to be aware of this unacceptable number. Youth are the future of our community and they need support to make our community a better place.
Jackie Wehrenberg
Development & Communications Director
jackie.wehrenberg@briarpatch.org
608-819-3775
OutReach LGBT Community Center
COVID has had quite an impact on our services. We are still open but are closed to the public. We offer Zoom support groups and trainings such as 50+ Alliance, Al Anon, AA meetings, Pansexual Support Group and more.
During the pandemic, we offer Willma’s Fund, a financial assistance program that provides motel, rent, bill payments, grocery support and more. We do an assessment over the phone and then determine how best we can help.
Another COVID-19 related program is the Road Forward, a 2021 collaborative initiative that will include a series of Zoom workshops aimed at at-risk and marginalized community members. Workshops will include professional agencies and community members who will discuss job loss, homelessness, mental health, AODA, PTSD, POC support and more.
In 2021 we would like to promote for homelessness, mental health and QTPOC focused programming and support groups.
Mark Hargrove Jr
Program Director
facebook.com/lgbtq.mark
lgbtoutreach.org
markh@lgbtoutreach.org
United Way of Dane County
When it comes to homeless individuals and families in our community, the numbers are up, and the dollars are few to help with the need we’re seeing. People are hurting, and the need is great. Community members can help be a part of the solution by donating to United Way of Dane County. Every dollar raised will allow us to continue supporting the economic needs of Dane County into 2021 and beyond.
Recent numbers from the Homeless Services Consortium show 154 homeless households with children and 617 homeless single adults and youth (age 18-24) in Dane County. We expect these numbers to rise once the eviction moratorium expires.
We continue to work with local nonprofit and corporate partners to address the need for housing and economic stability in our community. The Dane Workforce Housing Fund, managed by Madison Development Corporation and created by the Economic Stability Council, will work to create 500 new, affordable housing units for working families within the next three years. Our first project breaks ground this month in Middleton.
Ashley Reynolds
Director, Communications
Ashley.reynolds@uwdc.org
608-246-0401