Beds at St. John's Ministries Men's shelter. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Brown County’s homelessness issue continues to get worse. Leaders say the latest data is sobering.
“It’s tragic to understand how many people in the community are struggling with housing,” said Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich.
The county’s Homeless and Housing Coalition provided an update on the current state of homelessness Wednesday.
Brown County’s coalition works with the Wisconsin Balance of State Continuum of Care, a nonprofit organization looking to help end homelessness. Twice a year, all 21 coalitions in Wisconsin that work with the Balance of State record a point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness.
On Jan. 24, Brown County recorded 616 people. That number includes unsheltered people and others who are currently staying in a shelter situation. Of the 616 — 86 people were recorded as unsheltered.
“They might be sleeping outside in a car, in a park, or some other place that’s not meant for humans to live,” said Carrie Poser, executive director for the Balance of State CoC.
In Jan. 2023 — 48 people were listed as unsheltered.
The Balance of State projects the total number of unsheltered people in Brown County in 2024 will be about 343. That would be up 28% from last year.
Those experiencing homelessness are getting older, too. Most people who are homeless are now between 35 to 45 years old.
“We saw over the last two years that it’s kind of shifting in that direction. I would suspect in a couple of years, we’ll see it shift another, like another level up,” said Poser.
Leaders say a lack of affordable housing is a key factor in homelessness.
“In this next year and into a year and a half, we’re really going to be focusing on increasing access to housing,” said Lydia Van Thiel with Greater Green Bay Blueprint to Prevent & End Homelessness.
Poser recognizes the issue of homelessness could get worse before it improves.
“You’re going to see more people experiencing unsheltered homeless, the shelters are going to continue to be giantly full, and you’re gonna see folks not being able to transition into those housing resources,” said Poser.
The Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition is encouraging everyone to do what they can to help.
Click here if you would like to get involved with the coalition.
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