Record waiting lists at some area shelters

GREEN BAY - Homelessness appears to be on the rise in Brown County.

A recent count by the Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition reports numbers are up 10 percent compared with last year -- a situation echoed in other area counties.

Officials say that increase means nearly 470 individuals are considered homeless in Brown County.

While Saint John the Evangelist Church in downtown Green Bay battles to get official approval to increase its capacity, that shelter is not the only one struggling to keep up.

Freedom House in Green Bay houses up to 12 families at a time.

"I don't know the last time we weren't at capacity," explained Freedom House president Robyn Davis.

Davis says the shelter is booked, with dozens of Brown County families still on the waiting list.

"For the last two years, probably more like three years, we've seen our waiting list creep up consistently," Davis said.

In 2009, Davis says the shelter's waiting list averaged 10 to 15 families. Now, officials say they're averaging 70 to 80 families.

Davis says the shelter even has a waiting list of around 30 families from surrounding counties.

"That speaks to the number of families on the edge," Davis explained. "The face of homelessness has changed, so that, obviously it's more families, so more children are homeless than ever and we've also seen all economic types, people who have lost their jobs because plants have closed or they've downsized, they're hours cut."

"37 is a record high for us unfortunately," explained House of Hope director Shannon Wienandt.

Those at House of Hope in Green Bay say their waiting list is also full. The shelter is at capacity with ten Brown County mothers and their children.

"We feel as long as the rate of teen pregnancy increases, we'll also see our waiting list increase," Wienandt said. "We're also seeing the effects of generational poverty here, so sometimes the women who come here, their moms were teen moms or their parents are struggling, and most often their parents or family members can't offer that support to them."

Both shelters say, until the core issues of homelessness are addressed, nothing much will change.

They hope collaborative efforts county wide will help get a handle on the issue.

One of those efforts is a newly formed task force of shelters and agencies headed by Green Bay Alderman Mark Steuer.