Politics
Potential options to shelter homeless offered by La Crosse city officials
The city of La Crosse continues to look at shelter options for homeless people.
A July report offers suggestions for overnight shelter locations, both indoors and outdoors.
The report is listed under ideas related to proposals for regulating overnight camping, which could be put to a vote at the August council meeting on Thursday.
A resolution to prohibit camping on city property is also on the Thursday agenda. It was sent to the council with no recommendation.
Here’s the list of proposed shelter locations:
OUTDOOR SPACES
- Wittenberg Park. 2945 Wittenberg Place. (8.6 acre with bathroom facilities).
- 300 St. Cloud St. (0.93 acres; no amenities)
- City Hall parking lot between 6th and 7th streets. (No overnight or weekend amenities).
- County parking lot at 230 7th St N.
- Sherwood Park at 3300 Nottingham Place. (No amenities).
- Erickson Park at 2423 21st Place S. (9.14 acres; Shower and bathroom facilities nearby)
- City property at 5248 33rd St S. (1.17 acres)
INDOOR SPACES
- Catholic Charities Warming Center at 413 3rd Street South. (Capacity 40)
- Fire station No. 10 at 626 Monitor Street. (Capacity 30)
- Northside Policing Center at 713 St. James St. (Capacity 20).
- 621 3rd St N. (Capacity 30)
- Norwood Inn and Suites – 148 hotel rooms, 101 Sky Harbour Drive, in Campbell.
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Cindy soller
August 8, 2024 at 7:39 am
Erickson park is right next to a grade school. Have you people in this committee lost your minds. Most of those individuals have psychological problems from drug use. So you think putting them in the middle of a residential neighborhood next to the most vulnerable individuals of society is a good idea.
You made this problem worse when you started housing them in hotels years ago. They repaid the city by selling off the furniture and destroying the rooms.
Push them out of the city. The individuals who truly want help will accept it and follow guidelines set up for them to become self sufficient. The only housing that will work would be similar to a minimum security prison and they won’t stay there because it would impede their drug use.
CITY PARKS!
GOD YOU PEOPLE ARE STUPID!
Joan
August 8, 2024 at 8:29 am
Cindy, not to mention the businesses in the area, like daycare centers where the youngest of children are being raised in safe environments.
If the government is going to be paying for this situation anyway. Send them to Fort Mccoy, its run by government plenty of space plenty of amenities like showers, rest rooms, kitchens . They can learn to cook for each other,maybe even gain respect for what has been given to them. The government can continue to
support them just not in the communities that will be adversely affected.
Lisa
August 9, 2024 at 1:09 pm
Fort MCoy is a good idea. The idea is to help people and not condem them for what life has handed them. Nor should we be trying to get them out of sight, which is even worse and reflects no morals nor ethics.
Betty
August 8, 2024 at 1:52 pm
There is grants for housing first programs it through Hud get grant writers to start this housing program in your state. Put each person in their own apartment,
Dom
August 8, 2024 at 3:57 pm
What on the heck is wrong with you?! Tell me you hate homeless people without telling me…damn…my wife and iwere homeless, not on drugs and now that we are off the street we OWN A LOCAL NON-PROFIT to help our fellow citizens… unlike KARENS LIKE YOU WHO DO NOTHING BUT HATE ONLINE.
DO BETTER KAREN
Joseph B Buchner
August 9, 2024 at 9:46 am
You’re an outlier.
walden
August 8, 2024 at 5:38 pm
Cindy, the School District’s “Polytechnic School” at 5th and King is right across the street from Cameron Park, where many of the vagrants spend their time. The children cross the street and play on playground equipment less than 10 feet from vagrants sleeping on park benches. The School Board and City have both failed to address this matter.
Rhonda Wisland
August 8, 2024 at 6:00 pm
Did you know that the homeless aren’t vagrants they have jobs,Alot are on SSI or disability. Maybe if the landlords would lower their outrageous rent prices,those of us that are on SSI or fixed income could afford to rent. Let’s see kick us out of lacrosse I’ve been homeless for over a year. I’m not a drug addict I’m disabled fixed income and can’t afford to rent a place that’s over 750 to 800$ efficiencies and one bedrooms are over that on average we can’t afford to pay rent and utilities and personal essentials when we don’t make over 1000$ efficiencies are going for 800-1500$ we that have income and kids or disability can’t get into anywhere due to cost I lost my Apartment due to where going under. I had to go to them cause my landlord raised my rent 350$. I think that you look at us like people but we are and if you think kicking us out of the city is right and will solve the problem it won’t. Maybe working together instead of punishing us for being poor,disabled,working a minimum wage job, your a piece of shit. Why don’t you try living on the income we do and have nowhere to sleep or put your stuff. I feel your selfish and think we don’t feel or were not human. You come live out in the woods the heat,rain you couldn’t do it cause like I said your a selfish,self righteous SOB. And shouldn’t talk like all the homeless don’t deserve help.
Patty Maringer
August 8, 2024 at 7:28 pm
So true. Rent around here is outrageous compared to income. I know someone who has a small one bedroom and is paying $1,000 a month. People on fixed incomes can’t afford to live in the La Crosse area.
walden
August 10, 2024 at 10:10 pm
Then presumably they are on the list for one of the rent subsidized high rise units where rent is adjusted to income.
Sp
August 9, 2024 at 7:08 am
What if it was you with the problem? Some of these people are down on there luck maybe by helping them they will help themselves. Maybe not put them by schools but some where else. I feel prison is not the answer either.
Kate
August 9, 2024 at 9:28 am
Did you learn to speak this way and think this way about your neighbors in church by chance? I feel like that’s almost exactly what Jesus said about the less fortunate!! Amen bruh đđŒ smh
Roy
August 8, 2024 at 7:52 am
It’s interesting to see what public officials have been doing this summer about the vagrancy problem in La Crosse. The attached list shows sites that these government people believe the squatters can be placed to “solve” the problem. One suggestion is buying the Norwood Inn and Suites on French Island. I’m not kidding. Which vagrants would be housed in the suites?
This “Pathways Home” project is a new welfare plan costing millions of dollars….EVERY YEAR.
It demonstrates vividly that your elected officials are not listening to the voters.
It’s probably time for a good housecleaning at La Crosse City Hall and the County Board. These people do not listen to their constituents
David Greener
August 8, 2024 at 11:33 am
Let’s do what hasn’t worked three other times before.
Paul
August 8, 2024 at 12:37 pm
I would say City Council and the mayor are operating on the edge of stupid. Their judgment is impaired by their good intentions. As a nation, we are replete with good intentioned politicians across the country and that is largely the reason for the multiple messes, the city, county, state, and nation are in.
Examples of good intentions: The so-called war on poverty. The percentage of people living in poverty is the same as it was before Linden Johnsonâs war on poverty and this is true after billions of dollars have been spent trying to end poverty. The war on drugs. There are just as many people using drugs as there were before the war on drugs started. The effort/war to stamp out hunger has not worked despite the millions of dollars spent. Homelessness is a social problem just like the other examples mentioned. Homelessness is caused by drug use, mental health Issues, personal choice to live off the grid so to speak, a series of poor choices, a desire to obtain something for nothing, failing to save for an emergency fund in the event of job loss, committing crimes causing adverse legal history, a pattern of evictions, ad infinitum. In short, homelessness is a product of poor individual choices and no government program will change that. Note: the cities who are not trying to end homelessness do not have a homelessness problem. Our city Council and mayor are simply rearranging the chairs on the titanic, thinking they are accomplishing something and the result are adverse consequences. They are attracting more homeless to the area. They are harming local business. They are harming community parks. They are wasting hard earned tax money confiscated from city taxpayers. People are avoiding the farmers market because of the problems at Cameron Park. People are avoiding certain businesses where homeless are hanging out, and sometimes verbally harassing customers. Businesses are leaving lacrosse.
Pathways Home is likely to be a huge government boondoggle that will cost us taxpayers dearly, the longer it continues. Spending proposals in the July 8 24 letter are ridiculously costly and will not serve city residents well.Again, businesses are pulling out of our community. Business owners and their customers are being harassed at best and frightened away and sometimes being verbally assaulted. After 35 years living in La Crosse, for the first time Iâm thinking of leaving lacrosse if this is how the city is going to spend tax money and to continue tolerating and enabling vagrancy. Theyâre not just wasting money, they are causing harm to the community. They need to stop and they need to stop now.
Dustin Morgan
August 8, 2024 at 3:11 pm
If the city actually stepped in and started controlling the rules landlord’s make guarantee that 1 week population will drop by a thousand
walden
August 8, 2024 at 5:27 pm
The folks at the Black River encampment are actually getting hot meals delivered to them. Why would they move? Room service is great!
Joe Sweazey
August 8, 2024 at 6:13 pm
Norwood Inn on French Island? I am a Town of Campbell resident. I live blocks from that hotel. I DO NOT agree with making this a place to enable the homeless to continue getting things handed to them. Houska Park is a perfect example of the disregard for whatâs been handed to these people. It cost LaCrosse how much to clean the park if needles? Garbage and other debris? It was THIUSDANDS! The police have more than enough calls to Norwood Inn. They are not staffed for more. Quillins right next door to Norwood started closing an hour early because of the people on the âextended stayâ program at Norwood. I do however sympathize with the homeless but French Island, the Town of Campbell is not the place to invite what comes with (not all) but a great majority of drugs, crime, disregard for property.
Dom H
August 8, 2024 at 6:34 pm
All of you HATEFUL citizens are just as much of the cause of this problem as any of the city… You sure and gripe and complain from your cushy nice homes and yet not a one I bet goes out, gets to know the PEOPLE out there suffering. You do nothing but complain and wonder why nothing gets any better. Instead of complaining.. Do to help the problem! Otherwise shut up or leave. My wife and i were homeless all last year and the second we got a place WE STARTED A NON PROFIT to help those in need in all communities. We got proactive and we aren’t even from this city! Yet here we are helping. So before judging what you don’t know… Find out and then you don’t sound like a blabbering moron… Blessings!
Dan Jenson
August 9, 2024 at 6:47 am
What about the old Kmart?
Kent Porter
August 9, 2024 at 3:09 pm
Doing to same thing over and over expecting a different result is the definition of insanity!!!!!!!!! Go look at the junk yard they made on Rose st by the WELCOME TO LA CROSSE SIGN !!!!!! IF I WERE A LANDLORD THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD RENT TO THESE HOMELESS FOLKS , Lets offer them 2 options get off the needles and bozze get a job or get ont the bus !!!!!!
Gary
August 11, 2024 at 12:01 am
Listen up lacrosse I use to work for the parks dept ok the first yr I worked there was probley 25 homeless and I knew most of them went to school with them they were respectful and they cleaned up after there selfs ok the next yr right around the forth of July I see an influx of people hanging around copeland and black river beach I thought it was becouse of the 4th well I was wrong they were here and homeless where they came from no idea well it just kept getting worse well I find out there comming from all over wi ok
Then instead of putting rules down and stuff the city of lacrosse turns there head and let’s them run amok they start multiple then people start giving them free stuff then the city goes and get them a motel for the winter the city baby’s them the people baby them pretty soon the homeless start flooding in word of mouth travels fast so now lacrosse an influx of homeless well people if the city of lacrosse would of laid some rules down and made them abide by them we wouldn’t be having such problem the rules I would of put down we don’t mind helping you but you got to help your self to and you have so much time to do if not we will escort you to the county line and you go back to wear you came from simple I was down and out once before and you know what I took the first job that was handed to me and I stayed with it for 24 years ok these people here they don’t want to work they are here for the free hand out and to trash our town to me that’s a slap in the face to me and the people of lacrosse lacrosse has bent over backwards trying to help people that don’t want help all they want is to party and get the free ride the other thing is why does lacrosse got to foot the bill they shouldn’t have to all these county’s these homeless are comming from should pitch in for all the money that lacrosse has spent could of went for better things for the people of lacrosse to enjoy up grades to parks better roads extra nothing is gonna get any better unless the city of lacrosse lays downs some rules and regulations were we will help you but you got to be willing to help your selfs to and you have a certain amount of time to do it if you don’t you will be escorted out of town and sent back to wear you came from period the other reason there is so much homeless these management Company’s are over the top if you got anything a police record an eviction they won’t even look at you and they want 25 bucks from you to look at your record 25 bucks you don’t get back when you get denied that hiway Robery come on people until somthing is done with these management company’s your not gonna get rid of homelessness and I’m sorry lacrosse stop giving them free stuff becouse it goes from your fingers to there’s and straight in to the garbagethatno lie I did garbage for the parks and rec every day my truck would be loaded with mostly the free clothes they are given and that’s no lie you know I’ll help anyone out that’s down and out but they got to willing to help them selfs to lay some rules down a timeliness and if they don’t abide by the rules or time line or they get arrested they will be sent back to where they came from and for christ sake start sending these county’s that have homeless here a bill why the hell should lacrosse foot all the bill they need to start paying up and paying there part to quit babing the homeless make the get up stand on there own two feet and if they don’t your out of here see you see how fast the homeless start to dwindle down and make them work until they get on there own to feet help clean up parks what ever give them some self worth the city of lacrosse needs to get there head out there ass and stop babing the homeless and lay the law down and if they don’t abide see ya go back to wear you came from