This artwork, entitled "Love," was created by guests of Community Haven House, a day shelter for the homeless in Eau Claire funded through ARPA dollars through the City of Eau Claire. (Submitted photo)

The City of Eau Claire, like many communities across the country, is seeing the homeless population increase. The increases are due to many different reasons including: a loss of jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic; increased housing costs; the closing of HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital and other related resources, which reduced mental health and substance abuse treatment options; wages not keeping up with inflation; housing supply not keeping up with demand; and many other reasons. There is not one solution. We need immediate lifesaving solutions and longer-term solutions including increasing housing supply to meet demand.

Though this is beyond the general scope of our functional areas, the City has made significant investments in addressing the humanitarian crisis of homelessness that’s at our doorstep, including:

• When Positive Avenues – a day shelter in the community for more than 20 years – shut down, the City allocated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to a warming/cooling center called the Community Haven House. This funding will run out in May 2025.

• The City allocated ARPA funding to fund Eau Claire Transit passes for people experiencing homelessness. The passes have helped individuals find housing, transport, travel to jobs and medical appointments, and complete other daily needs.

While we have done all we can to address the crisis, the City does not have the resources to continue funding after ARPA or to build housing affordable to low-income individuals.

• The City is allocating ARPA funding for a Street Ambassador program in the downtown area. The program will provide outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness, help businesses navigate concerns, reduce our first responder number of calls for service, help keep the downtown area clean, and create a sense of security downtown.

• The City is allocating ARPA funding to help continue the Community Haven House past May 2025, filling the gap before the Day Resource Center (DRC) opens. This funding will allow Hope Gospel Mission to take over the operations at CHH and begin bringing in services planned at the future DRC. This will continue to provide a safe space for individuals during the day.

• The City plans to spend borrowed Capital Improvement Plan Housing Funds to help pay for the siting of the DRC, which will continue the life-saving day sheltering currently occurring at CHH and bring community service providers together to coordinate services for individuals experiencing homelessness.

We know that the ultimate solution for homelessness is housing. There has been an increase in the overall housing supply in the community, but at the same time, the City’s population is growing. We have limited tools to incentivize creation of affordable units, and we have used them to the very best of our ability, such as with developments like the Eddy and Prairie Heights Residences, two Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) developments that have created a number of units for people who earn less than the area median income.

While we have done all we can to address the crisis, the City does not have the resources to continue funding after ARPA or to build housing affordable to low-income individuals. We need the community to advocate to state and federal elected officials and staff for more resources to help solve the current humanitarian crisis.

Billie Hufford is neighborhood services manager for the City of Eau Claire. This is the second published piece of a series of columns addressing the issue of homelessness in the Chippewa Valley. If you have professional or personal experience with homelessness and would like to submit a column to be considered as part of this series, please email editorial@volumeone.org.