Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary in Green Bay is opening its doors, during January cold snap, for people who have no place to sleep at night. Jan. 23, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary sat down with the city of Green Bay Monday after it was given notice of ordinance violations for housing homeless people during a recent Arctic cold snap.
Cathi Oreto, a Safe Haven employee, said both parties wanted to meet.
“It was really positive. I think we all went away feeling hopeful, feeling encouraged about the discussion and about what’s to come in the future,” she said. “I think they’re trying to get back to their normal without having the additional folks here and the additional help. I asked [another worker] when I got here, ‘Hey, has it been really quiet?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah,'” said Oreto.
According to Safe Haven, the additional help was coming from volunteers facing housing insecurity.
“These are our, for the most part, resource-resistant folks that we’re working with here. They haven’t found success with the existing resources that Green Bay has, and they were finding success [here]” said Oreto.
Since news of the ordinance violations broke, an outcry against the city of Green Bay has poured in from across the country on social media.
Monte Mader has over 2.3 million followers on Instagram. In a video that has garnered more than 250,000 likes, she said, “Homeless people are not problems. They are symptoms of poor leadership.”
Going forward, permanent solutions aren’t yet clear.
“I can tell you that my commitment to them was they wouldn’t have to sleep outside again,” said Oreto.
She said the unhoused people who had been staying at Safe Haven are currently staying in hotels.
Would Safe Haven consider getting the necessary permits to serve as an emergency shelter in the future?
“This was only ever supposed to be temporary for inclement weather. When it was below freezing,” said Oreto.
The city issued the ordinance violation on Friday and Safe Haven was required to correct the issues immediately. Had it not, then the city would have moved forward with a citation, including fines of $75 per inspection.
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