Here is a recap:
HALO, which is the permanent homeless shelter, needs to be choosy on who they take into the shelter. Those with substance issues, severe enough health problems, and sex offenders cannot be accepted, except for an emergency stunt for 72 hours, and they must live in the dining room overnight, on a thin mat with a sheet and a blanket. Some people end up there up to a month, and people who are in the dining room must be out at 7am, and those in rooms must be out at 9am. These people are not allowed back until 2pm, and are supposed to look for jobs during this time. They say that they serve lunch, but they don’t. The in-house programming leave a lot to be desired, and usually is a lecture about common sense, and not much more. HALO pressured their residents to give up their foodshare cards, but, 95-99% of the food they get fed come from donations, with the most common breakfast being 4 day old bakery items. I’ve heard this from SEVERAL people, not just one or two.
HOST is the temporary overnight shelter that takes in those who do not qualify for HALO. They were open from November 1, to March 31, and the hours of operation are from 7pm - 7am the next morning. A van is available to transport them out at 7am. They help with providing some items to do laundry, shower, etc. but, I do not know what kind of facilities are available, nor what kind of meals are given, because they did not get back to me on what these services include and how they are delivered.
The Hospitality Center is an awesome thing. You don’t have to be homeless to take part in their program. Those who just need socialization can come, too. They are open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 7:30am-1pm, and have a clothing bank on Thursday mornings from 10-noon. A mid day meal is served all 4 days, and on Monday and Thursday evenings, a community meal is also offered. This is the largest meal program in the county, maybe even the state. They also offer laundry services, also. It’s an awesome place. But, what do people do on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays? The library isn’t open on Sundays. Plus, it’s a long time from 1pm to 7pm on those cold and frigid evenings in winter.
The Vine Ministries offers job programs for those with various issues. RVM offers job programs for those with records, including felonies, among other services as well. The HOPES Center has counseling and other programs for those who want to get their high school education and other services such as getting the government phones and more. The Workforce Solution Center has mini-courses and in-services on a broad range of courses, and also has programs for higher education programs to look into. Workforce Development also has some networking programs, also. ResCare also is a jobs program, that offers different programs that can go with but may be different from the other work programs. This program is out at the RKCAA.
There are funds available for things like the Rapid ReHousing, where those with chronic homeless issues can get into a motel or apartment. But, these usually goes to the people who don’t qualify for HALO, and if I understand correctly, they can be on this program for up to 2 years, where they can get help paying rent and utility bills. But, this is in hopes that they will be employed by the end of 2 years. Mind you, these people are the ones who have substance abuse issues or recent criminal records that make them ineligible for HALO.
Now, here are some more links to show how much of a problem this is. Wisconsin is sitting low for job creation. Even if people are employed, many are either underemployed or are at low paying jobs that can’t make the bills. So many do not get employer health coverage.
Here are some statistics from the Department of Labor. It shows where the stats are coming from, with various locations reporting their numbers. While the percentages may look good, they aren’t telling the whole story. If you dig around here, you will find that there are more potential employees than there are jobs available. And, for those who say that we have so many “new jobs” that have been created, this is the Economic Innovation Group which takes a close look at how there have been more jobs that have been closed out, than the new ones that were made, still, for a net loss of the number of jobs. There are people who are still underemployed or underpaid and this doesn’t reflect those numbers.
Here are my suggestions, as much as what they may be worth, and I’m not saying that I’m an expert, but, I do have tons of experience going through so many of these programs to try to better my situation. Some helped more than others, so, I’m going to share my observations.
1) HALO, the homeless shelter is a HUGE space. I highly doubt the space is being fully utilized. The upper levels, which could get self contained by floor, could be used by these other groups of people. So, say the 1st floor is made up of common areas, and the 2nd as the main living areas. The 3rd floor could be for those who have AODA issues. The 4th floor, or the other half of the 3rd, could be for those with recent criminal records and sex offenders who don’t belong being mixed with the rest of the population. This would ensure that all homeless people would be serviced, and those not on the general population would be in self contained floors, so that they would have to be allowed out by staff. This would not only make it less expensive to get all people into a shelter, because the same building is being purposed for a broader spectrum, and would also create more permanent and secure jobs, especially for those going into Social Work. This way, Segue/HOST can still do their ministry for those who have substance abuse, in the convenience of a building that has the means to support that mission. And, we wouldn’t have those who have various issues out loose during the warmer months, when crimes are likely to rise, because they are inside the building and have a structured schedule, and not mingling with everybody else. This would reduce the amount of energy needed, also. I just think that smarter work habits are better for the people.
2) This could be another outlet for job training, so that Social Workers going through Gateway could have an in-house clinical to go through, to create an environment where on the job training would be a part of the program for all those involved. This would be better for not just the regular staff who are there to work, but, for the students and those going through addictions, too. It would be a win-win situation all the way around. Some of this plan could utilize taking people down to the Hospitality Center, Library, etc.
3) Speaking of work experience, one theme seemed to come up with every single one of my experiences, whether we are talking about ResCare, RVM, Workforce Development, or the Dress for Success program, that networking is the key to finding that job. The numbers vary a little bit, but paint the same picture. Only 10-25% of all available jobs are listed online. The rest, is through word of mouth, on who knows who. So, while you only have a 10-25% chance of finding a job searching online, this also means that you have 75-90% chance of finding a job through networking. So, HALO could use the main level, in the dining room, to host a weekly networking session there. Temp agencies, job developers, farmers, and other places that always are looking for people could be coming in, to offer their services and/or hiring events there at HALO, around the meal preps.
4) Many of the people do not know how to cook, especially with the limited supply of food that is available to the residents of HALO. Which, gives the idea of not only hosting the food service students from Gateway to actually come in, to offer some tips and hints on how to cook, or maybe get some experience in food service before they go out into the real world. Another idea? How about a Chopped or Iron Chef contests, courtesy of people around Racine, or a new cooking concept of “Pauper’s Kitchen”? I’m sure the residents wouldn’t mind being judges on who did the better job. It could be a community project, to better help those in need. With the sense of community, maybe those with substance abuse as well as those with criminal backgrounds could feel more in tune to not go back to old ways.
5) Because of the fact that those who are not fresh out from incarceration, and those with AODA issues are in need of detox, therapy, group, or other type of treatment, rather than putting these people up into apartments just to fall back into their old habits would need a longer stay at a permanent shelter, therefore, better able to do extended treatment, the rapid rehousing project would be better used for those who are homeless w/o other issues, who are much closer to be able to be employable than doing it the opposite way of putting up alcoholics who aren’t done with their recovery journey in, which is backwards to put them up, first. This would be a much more efficient way, w/o wasting money on those who are not ready for a real life yet.
6) With these in place, get one of those huge mansions that are up for sale as a permanent site, and use it as a halfway house for those who may be too independent for HALO, but not ready to be on their own yet, to ease into the daily grind by being in a home setting with stable staff available to coach them into what is the proper way to run a household. Again, win all the way, because higher jobs are being created for those who work at these shelters, as opposed to minimum wage jobs that could go to those who are exiting the homeless situation.
That is MY assessment, and take it for what it’s worth, it makes logical sense to me, and practical, as opposed to running around like chickens with their heads cut off just to spin tires into the ground. This would be a better program set up that would create permanent jobs that will move into the future, in hopes that this will prevent more homelessness because the need for maintenance, administrative, social work, living skills, etc positions would be created to help alleviate the situation of replacing homeless people with those becoming homeless due to lack of jobs. With these in place, we can keep creating jobs, to give more to prevent homelessness. With these people in a permanent situation, the focus can be on real job creation and homeless prevention, rather than to start helping at the bottom w/o the safety net of those on the margin to just become homeless and keep repeating the cycle.
*For those of you who are listening, I am in need of a permanent job as an administrative assistant, secretary, office worker, etc. My skills include professional writing, multicultural communication, office equipment, Microsoft office, filing, and I am currently in an internship at the Racine County Courthouse, in the Victim-Witness Office, an extension of the District Attorney’s Office. I enjoy my work there. I’d prefer full time, but, part time is good too, if it has the potential to move into full time. Thank you in advance!*
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