Family & Home
Housing as a “human right” in La Crosse discussed by city commission
The city of La Crosse is discussing the idea of declaring housing as a “human right.”
The concept was debated Wednesday by La Crosse’s Human Rights Commission.
Lewis Kuhlman, the city’s environmental planner, said during the meeting larger cities, including Minneapolis and Madison, have worked on designated unsheltered people as a “protected class.”
“Berkeley has included housing status as a protected category,” Kuhlman said, “and San Francisco also has policies aimed at preventing discrimination against homeless individuals.”
Kuhlman added that the commission may consider passing a resolution, which would put La Crosse on record as making housing a human right.
He wants to find local companies or other partners to offer housing, under the Pathways Home campaign to end homelessness, which was unveiled at the beginning of the year.
The request for new housing ideas in La Crosse could be made official as early as next week.
The news comes as the city council, last week, passed an ordnance to essentially ban homeless people from public property overnight.
Shelly H
August 14, 2024 at 10:00 pm
This is absolutely asinine, as foolish of an idea as a community could have.
Think about it. This will bring the equivalent of Houska Park on steroids x1000. If we are the only city that does this and surrounding communities do not, the policy may as well read
Attention:
“Do you enjoy drugs and dislike bosses? Come to La Crosse WI where working is unnecessary. We are so rich that we will provide free housing, food, and support you.”
Do not do this UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
Need to fire Lewis Kuhlman asap. And who hired him?
Enough with these brainless wacko ideas. Stop trying to force this most foolish agenda on our local community. The people spoke at the meeting, the city council voted, and here you are doing the opposite of what people want. Enough.
SmarterThanYou
August 15, 2024 at 6:41 am
Idiot
Yvonne J
August 15, 2024 at 10:53 am
Shelly H, I totally agree with what you said. If the La Crosse city council had an ounce of common sense they would all reject Lewis Kuhlman’s asinine and destructive idea of passing a resolution making La Crosse, (with only 50,000 tax paying citizens) a ‘free housing’ + city for homeless people. You are essentially inviting thousands + other potential homeless to come to little ol’ La Crosse for free housing, food, healthcare, & free needles compliments of the taxpayers because you will not find local companies to foot the $$$$ bill for the next 50+ years to end homelessness in La Crosse. We would end up becoming a dangerous, crime ridden city with hundreds of thousands
of homeless and 50,000 taxpaying citizens locked in their homes. That statement may be exaggerating the point I’m trying to make, but that’s how asinine Lewis Kuhlman’s idea is too. Minneapolis, Madison, San Francisco & Berkeley are all 20-30+ times larger than La Crosse. I’ve been to all these cities and they’re becoming crime ridden and dangerous to live & work in. No companies that I know, are footing the bill for free housing, food and healthcare carte blanc for the homeless. It would not be feasible or sane to pass a resolution like this asinine proposal by a environmental planner (what is his job description). Why don’t the homeless want to work? There are thousands of jobs in La Crosse available but most don’t want to work for a living. Sad but true.
Roy
August 15, 2024 at 11:02 am
Kuhlman uses Berkeley and San Francisco Ca. as examples to follow. He ignores what the City Council passed last week to put an end to squatters. Liberals like Kuhlman ignore rules and citizen majority rule to advance left-wing positions on everything. Oust him at the earliest opportunity.
Yvonne J
August 15, 2024 at 12:09 pm
Shelly, I had written my comment that I totally agreed with you plus my opinion on the asinine idea of Kuhlmans but News Talk decided not to publish it. There was nothing inflammatory about my opinion but sadly, censorship is alive and well in little ol’ La Crosse, Wis.
walden
August 16, 2024 at 12:04 am
They are not really asking if the homeless have a right to a home…this is just doublespeak for telling you the homeless have a right to demand YOU provide them a home.
Debra Glenn
August 18, 2024 at 9:08 am
You seen how they live. Look how they left Houska. Not to mention the destruction at the motel we unwilling tax payers had to donate too. Then I read they are complaining that we are not offering enough time or places for them to shower and do laundry. Now they feel they can demand how much we give them FREE? Enough is enough. One way bus ticket like years ago.
Katherine Kimbrough
August 15, 2024 at 7:11 am
I was a young woman from Chicago Illinois I slept on the streets and buried my son and had a whole lot of things that happened I was in the housing authority in Lacrosse I did get intoxicated and still a package only to find out that it was criminal activity in the building and I wanted to make sure that I was safe they don’t watch cameras I felt like my life was in jeopardy and I almost was killed in a building and the police had to kick the door in due to all of this they put me out and I’m homeless in the streets I am a young black woman from Chicago Illinois I had my place ever since 22 I think this is very unfair and I am still homeless right now who or what do you think I should do in this situation
Kevin
August 15, 2024 at 7:16 am
This is a bad idea.
Take note of Massachusetts that made housing a ‘human right’ and what has happened to them with the influx of illegal immigrants. Who will pay for this declaration? In a community that is already burdened with a higher-than-average property tax bill, how is this going to work.
Katherine
August 15, 2024 at 7:17 am
No one deserves to be homeless no one’s deserves to be homeless and no one deserves to be homeless reach is not helping to place people in homes I think the housing authority employees need to be dropped too just to make sure that they are not under the influence when they’re giving houses out to people that’s on meth and crack I believe they should know better and they should do better they need to see what goes on with everybody who they rent out places to it’s unhealthy the housing authority builders are unhealthy for anyone to live in they need to clean their buildings up lacrosse housing authority all day buildings are full of junkies
kimbroughkatherine
August 15, 2024 at 7:21 am
The people that work at the housing authority needs to be fired too except for the secretary lady everybody there used to be a drug addict or support drugs or addicts or drug dealers and put people out who’s trying to prove a point that is criminal activity in this building and people should not have to live like that we should not as a people of the United States has to live with people with their criminal activity
Munchkin
August 15, 2024 at 7:42 am
Life, Liberty and the PURSUIT of Happiness is endowed by our creator and is stated in our Declaration of Independence, the law of our land. Government committees, commissions or elected officials cannot “declare” housing as a human right. The homeless choose their LIFE, their LIBERTY, and choose also not to PURSUE the HAPPINESS of home. Stop the politics of feel-good-ism. It’s time for tough love.
LG
August 15, 2024 at 12:49 pm
There are so many things wrong here that it is hard to know where to begin. I will try to spare the hyperbole. So let’s carry out this idea just for a hypothetical moment and see where this goes. If housing is a right then why not food. If food and housing is a right, then how about basic income. If these three things are a right, shouldn’t we also have a right to be warm in winter and cool in summer? Maybe someone else should pay for my heat, my air conditioning, my dinner, my home, etc. For dignity how about haircuts and make up. Shouldn’t we have a right to transportation too?
The founders got it right. We have a right to live, to have liberty, and to find happiness in whatever way we can as long as it does not take away the rights of others. The above “housing is a right” concept is socialism. Anything beyond the rights spelled out in the constitution are provided at the expense of others. That is the opposite of liberty because these things are provided by taking them away from others. That is, taking away the fruits of one’s labor to redistribute it to someone else who did not work for it. What happened to the right to keep that which one earns instead of having it forcefully confiscated from you to hand it to someone else. Doing this reduces the work incentive and we should all sit back and have government provide for us. That has never worked anywhere. It has been tried. In order to have freedom, you have to be willing to give it to others. It is not appropriate to take from one person and give it to another. housing is not a right and I agree with the other comments above.
Yvonne J
August 15, 2024 at 2:10 pm
I agree with you & tried twice now to voice my opinion, which wasn’t much different than anyone’s here but was gaslighted by WIZM and my comment wasn’t printed. Why? What did I say that was any different than anyone’s here???
walden
August 15, 2024 at 1:15 pm
The La Crosse Homeless Industrial Complex will not be denied in its quest to waste taxpayer dollars in ever increasing amounts to enable a growing number of vagrants.
The Human Rights Commission is an assortment of aggrieved and far left dingalings appointed (not elected) by a far left mayor now trying to us what is or is not a “human right.” Here’s a clue…being homeless is a right, taking what belongs to others is not.
La Crosse residents need to wake up. The Commission needs to be disbanded.
DJM
August 31, 2024 at 11:18 am
Yup!
Mike
August 15, 2024 at 3:46 pm
Have they not looked at the news? The California Governor changed the rules about cities and the homeless and now San Francisco is starting to bus their people to other cities. Not that we did not have a problem before but the problem with homelessness increased once the Mayor opened Houska Park for them to live. The system works like a telegraph and once people know that La Crosse will take care of them, more will come. These people at City Hall forget that the citizen’s are the ones that pay their wages. They should be working for the taxpayer and property owners, not the other way around.
Sue Ann Krause
September 17, 2024 at 8:07 pm
Our government hasn’t worked for tax payers in nearly 4 years. Where do they think the money is coming from? Who do they think pays their wages? Let’s be real in their motive, they are trying to cover for the massive amount of illegals that our government has welcomed over the border during this administration. What has our government offered our men and women who put their lives on the line for (all of us). Do they get free housing and care from the govt? What’s happening to all our mentality disabled who were put out on the streets? Are they being cared for under controlled supervision? No they are not. When will the citizens of this country put an end to government spending? We are heading face first into total government control. Read or talk with other countries that are not a democratic country. They’ll tell you how fortunate we are. We should be proud to be Americans. What happened is things like this; people like Lewis Kuhlman who could care less about citizens of LaCrosse!!!