OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The city of Oshkosh will have a new facility to further address homelessness within the community.
The site, formerly part of Father Carr’s Place 2B will act as a transitional shelter.
Bill Wyman, president and CEO of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation says it’s much needed.
“The community of Oshkosh has been addressing the homeless continuum for some time, and the community has quite a few crisis situations where places provide food and shelter but we don’t have an organized group to take a person from homelessness back to self-sufficiency,” Wyman said.
According to the Winnebagoland Housing Coalition’s 2021-2022 Homeless Continuum Report, 1,624 Oshkosh and Southern Winnebago County individuals received homeless services through State Continuum and Care-funded organizations in December of 2020 through March 2021.
The shelter will be operated by COTS, a Fox Cities organization.
“Individuals can and sometimes do live with us for up to two years and then we support them once they move into independent housing for the next three years,” COTS executive director Cindy Sahotsky said.
The purchase of the facility was mostly funded by donations.
John Nieman, executive director of Father Carr’s Place 2B says he hopes his organization will act as a feeder program for COTS.
“We take our residents on a limited basis, sometimes 3 to 6 months, we try to get them back on their feet to save their money. And then when they leave here they don’t really have any other place to go so COTS is going to be that program for them where COTS will help them manage their money, help give them other programs, so they can stay on their feet and then eventually rent a house or an apartment,” Nieman said.
“This is a process, not an event, and so we count on the other members of the continuum that are helping them through the crisis…. when they get to us, we help put some wheels under that bus so that they can live independently into the future,” Sahotsky said.
COTS’ goal is to open the facility by the end of January.
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