Dan Robinson, director of Sojourner House in Eau Claire.

For many of us, home is more than a building – it’s a feeling. Home is where our memories are made. It’s where we mark our child’s height on a doorframe with each passing year. It’s the place where we snuggle in tight with those we love, on comfy furnishings that we picked out, after a hearty meal that we prepared (or grabbed absentmindedly on a whim) after a long day of commitments and obligations. It’s not assigned to us, we selected it – often lovingly after poring over information about the school district, the vintage trim, and the size of the yard. Home isn’t just a building. It’s where we make our family’s history, and it lives in our hearts.

Yet for others, home is just one more thing on a never-ending list of survival needs. It’s a space – a space that could be easily lost or moved away from depending on how many extra overtime hours can be picked up or whether an already rocky relationship with a significant other can survive for another month, or even another day.

“There’s this thought out there that people need to just pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and I always say that’s nearly impossible if you’re wearing flip flops." – Kelly Christianson, executive director of Beacon House

“I often hear, ‘Do we really have this problem?’ ” said Kelly Christianson, executive director of Beacon House, in regards to homelessness in Eau Claire. According to Kelly, the answer is a resounding “yes.” In the past year, roughly 700 individuals have been turned away from Beacon House and Western Dairyland Community Action Agency’s housing services due to space limitations and eligibility. There is a constant waiting list to get into Beacon House, 309 E. Lake St., which can house six families at a time for an average stay of 37 days and those through Western Dairyland, 418 Wisconsin St., which can house four families at a time for an average of 31 days.

According to Christianson and Jeanne Semb, housing services coordinator at Western Dairyland, the overall attitude of those in need isn’t entitlement; it’s panic and depression. Although Beacon House accepts many types of families, the typical guest is a young single mother with little to no post high school education, and sometimes not even a high school diploma, a very limited support system, and probably also grew up in a low-income household.

“There’s this thought out there that people need to just pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and I always say that’s nearly impossible if you’re wearing flip flops,” explains Christianson, “but when they walk in the door, we’re working on a plan to get them out.”

Beacon House does its best to maintain a sense of normalcy for its young guests. The school bus picks older children up a block or so away so their peers are never aware of where they’re living. There’s an 8pm curfew for families, for a number of reasons, but it also helps to establish bedtimes and routine for the children. But with their parents’ permission, older children are allowed to attend football games and social events that will keep them out later than the curfew.

While shelters like those through Western Dairyland, Beacon, and Sojourner House, 618 S. Barstow St., a facility where up to 55 adults can sleep, help close the gap for a short period of time, the real struggle begins when it’s time to move on. “Having been a landlord myself, I know how hard it is to relax criteria and give someone a second chance after you’ve seen their evictions or criminal records,” said Dan Robinson, director of Sojourner House, “but that’s exactly what these people need.” Beacon house works closely with Western Dairyland, county housing programs, and Section 8, but even then Christianson said, residents still struggle to find adequate housing, “The answer isn’t to build more shelters,” she said. “If you can’t empty them, you’re not solving any problems.”

The leaders at these organizations are quick to say how remarkable Eau Claire is towards its homeless community members. Beacon House feeds its entire population three meals a day on less than $100 a year, thanks to the generosity of local religious organizations and community members. Meanwhile, Sojourner House receives clothing and food donations from the public and organizations like Feed My People Food Bank in Eau Claire, and Mayo Clinic Health System provides clean bed linens for every night of the week. ARK and King’s Closet give out free, presentable clothing so that no one’s appearance gets in the way of opportunities.

Even if the four walls that surround those with different definitions of home are temporary, if we can all just be a little kinder, a little more open-minded, and a little slower to pass judgment, we can help make the entire city of Eau Claire feel like a permanent home. It can be the place they feel supported, loved, and a part of. We, as a city, can be the place they make their history and the heart in which they grow.

PITCHING IN

For anyone interested in helping these organizations, monetary donations are often most needed, in addition to caring volunteers.

Contact Information

BEACON HOUSE
309 East Lake Street
Eau Claire, WI 54702
(715) 834-4357

SOJOURNER HOUSE
618 South Barstow Street
Eau Claire, WI 54703
(715) 514-5556

WESTERN DAIRYLAND
418 Wisconsin Street
Eau Claire, WI 54703
(715) 836-7511