APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Local homeless shelters are about to see some help from the state – as the Wisconsin State Senate has approved a bill that would increase funding for a grant program that provides funding for homeless shelters by $500,000 in each of the next two years.
It’s one of eight bills in a bipartisan package designed to fight homelessness in Wisconsin. Director of Community Engagement Scott Peeples with Pillars in Appleton says the money helps in a number of ways.
“It’s not just providing money to support more shelters, it’s also providing other services, different types of case management, to keep people out of shelters,” Peeples tells WTAQ News, “Every bit we get from the government makes it easier to guarantee that we’re continuing to do the things we need to do to keep people safe and warm when they don’t have a home of their own.”
The Adult and Family shelter facilities that Pillars Incorporated operates in the Fox Valley cost about $4 million annually to run. Both shelters often hit or exceed their expected capacity year-round.
And while the money is extremely helpful for those shelters and the people running them, it’s not all about monetary gain for Peeples.
“It was exciting when state government took a greater interest in homelessness and reaching out to help some of the most vulnerable people in our population,” Peeples says, “It sends a message that everyone matters, that the state cares about people who are homeless or are at risk of being homeless. And we hope that has a trickle-down effect to where everyone in the community cares.”
