Homelessness is on the rise in Brown County. Here's what to know about the latest numbers
GREEN BAY - Homelessness is surging in Brown County, according to this year's State of Homelessness presentation.
Carrie Poser, the executive director of the Balance of State Continuum of Care, a statewide association that works with coalitions in 69 counties to reduce homelessness, presented the latest figures during a presentation Wednesday at the Brown County Neville Public Museum.
Balance of State is one of four Continuum of Care associations in Wisconsin that are part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Continuum of Care programs.
Here's what Poser's presentation showed about how many people are experiencing homelessness in the area and what can be done to provide more permanent housing.
In Brown County, 643 people are experiencing homelessness, as of the latest point-in-time count in January. The point-in-time count is an unduplicated count of people experiencing homelessness during one night and done every January and July. It tracks people who are in emergency shelters, transitional housing, unsheltered and domestic violence service providers.
The January point-in-time count had the most people facing homelessness recorded since it began in 2014.
In 2024, Brown County's total number of people in the point-in-time count was 622. The number of people in emergency shelters rose from 387 last year to 410, and transitional housing went up from 151 in 2024 to 165 in January.
While residents in emergency shelters and transitional housing rose, the number of unsheltered residents fell slightly to 73 in Brown County in January, compared with 86 last year. Brown County made up 23% of the statewide's total unsheltered population, while the Fox Cities had the highest number at 80.
In Brown County, for every 10,000 residents, 84 experienced homelessness in 2024. In comparison, 36 people were facing homelessness for every 10,000 residents statewide.
The Brown County figures include a rise in households with children facing homelessness. As of April 3, 613 households overall were referred to the Coordinated Entry system housed within the Homeless Management Information System, a jump from 454 in February 2024. And 218 of those households had children.
Black households are most likely to experience homelessness, about 13.7 times as likely to experience it compared to white households. But it varies between households with and without children – about 49% of the homeless households with children were white, while 35% identified as Black.
On average, homeless residents in the county needed assistance for 84 days between October 2023 and September 2024 either in emergency shelters or transitional housing. That's compared to 88 days on average in the Fox Cities, and 64 days in La Crosse.
The length of a household's stay has only grown in Brown County. Between 2022-23, the average amount of time was 83 days, and 76 days in 2021-22.
What struck Poser the most was how many people on that referral list had been on the list for 200 days or more — 175, or 29% of the total number of people.
Based on the number of people facing homelessness as of April 3, Poser said it would take 159 more permanent supporting housing options, 292 rapid rehousing with intensive case management to address substance use and behavioral health challenges, and 129 rapid rehousing to end homelessness.
Poser said there is currently "a lot of uncertainty" in what federal funding will be provided for homelessness programs, so pointed to advocacy efforts as key to reduce homelessness in Wisconsin.
"We are asking shelters to do all kinds of things and is sometimes the only intervention for someone and they don't have enough funding," Poser said.
Contact Benita Mathew at bmathew@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Homelessness is on the rise in Brown County, Wisconsin
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