APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A council tasked with reducing Wisconsin’s homeless population has approved a statewide plan.
Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch introduced the plan Tuesday at Pillars, a homeless shelter in Appleton.
It was exactly one year to the day since the Wisconsin Interagency Council on Homelessness was created.
The initiative was spearheaded by State Rep. Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna) who tells FOX 11 he saw how common homelessness is after working in Madison.
“The homeless just become kind of part of the scenery; part of the fabric of the society down there. You don’t necessarily see them as much as you did when you first start going down there and when I realized they were fading from my own view, that was concerning to me.”
Tuesday, the council unanimously supported the “A Hand and A Home: Foundations for Success” plan.
It’s a housing first approach, but not a housing only approach.
“You can’t just assume that when you give someone a place to live, they’re good, they’re done with you and your willingness to help they’re good,” said Kleefisch.
“That’s not the case for everyone.”
The plan gets people into permanent homes, without a no addiction, no conviction requirement.
It also focuses on case management.
Pillars executive director Joe Mauthe tells FOX 11 experts say that service is linked to decreased substance abuse and better housing outcomes.
“It gets into understanding people’s barriers, as well as their dreams and, with that, how can we help them become independent, how can we help them to achieve their own goals, and how can we help them contribute to our society in the greatest way they’re able to.”
The plan calls for $3.75 million in extra spending – more than double the state’s current investment in direct housing assistance.
Kleefisch said passing it in the new state budget is key to preventing homelessness.
“We’re not naïve enough to say there never will be homelessness again but, if there must be, it should be brief, it should be rare and it should be one time.”
Kleefisch said almost 22,000 people received homeless services from state agencies in 2017.
She said she hopes Governor-elect Tony Evers makes the plan a priority.
