Family & Home
As La Crosse’s marsh trails are cleared of encampments, where do homeless go now?
La Crosse began clearing the marsh trails and other city properties on Wednesday due to homeless encampments, as council members Mackenzie Mindel and Mac Kiel joined La Crosse Talk Pm to discuss some details surrounding the dilemma.
La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts.
Kiel goes out weekly with the homeless outreach team and updates us, in the second half of the show (17:45), on the council’s decision earlier this month to ban camping, and dilemma now for homeless people with nowhere to go.
Both Kiel and Mindel are on the Judiciary and Administration Committee, which meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
We discuss some of the things on that agenda (4:10), which indirectly have to do with homelessness, including three rezoning decisions that all deal with housing — the old Lincoln Middle School, the Washburn Community garden area and the county’s Hillview Healthcare Center.
Roy
August 29, 2024 at 10:11 am
Some suggestions for Solem, Kiel and Mindel on “where the homeless can ‘go’-
1. Solem’s back yard.
2. Kiel’s back yard.
3. Mindel’s back yard.
Split evenly, that’s only about 50 squatters per property. Not Bad.
Another option is for the squatters to get a job, move in together for a time-split the rent, (they already live that way) and begin to join society. They’ve been taking from society for long enough. About time they pulled their own weight. We’re tired of carrying them.
Yvonne
August 29, 2024 at 1:42 pm
Spot on, like that idea. The city council has had 3 yrs to find a solution other than fork out alm9st 2 million of taxpayer money for hotels, which was a den of iniquity.
They hired some out of towner whose idea was to seek out rich business owners to fork out millions to house them. That is the stupidest idea so far. These ‘homeless drug addicts’ would tell their out of town friends to come to La Crosse for free housing, food, needles, heathcare and soon we will have 1000s of homeless here in La Crosse. The city council has NO ideas to address this huge problem that directly affects us citizens. Nor do they care how these homeless affect us.
Misty Rae Valentine
August 30, 2024 at 3:43 am
Not all homeless are drug addicts and some are actively in recovery so your comment about that is prejudice towards the homeless and again is just a shame to be suffering from so much ignorance. I’m educated and have a family. I have actively been pursuing a clean sober safe life but get turned away and nose turned up at because of my living situation… Too many people don’t really understand the traumas and daily struggles we endure just to try to have normalcy in our lives. And to have people disrespectful and rude just makes no sense. I’m a daughter, mother, auntie, sister, friend, cousin and I matter regardless of how you think of my living… We matter too
bozzbrown
August 30, 2024 at 10:22 am
You know what you are a sad person. You say homeless people are all drug addicts,get a life. You know nothing about us. So till you do shut your fuckin mouth.
R Head
August 29, 2024 at 12:33 pm
They could also camp In Mitch’s backyard or maybe in the yard of some of the county boards back yard. The need live with the problems they created .8
Yvonne johnston
August 29, 2024 at 1:52 pm
WIZM never posts my opinions on the homeless topic. I’ve tried 3-4 times and the posts are deleted. There’s no freedom of speech at WIZM or any media in this city. That’s why we need to elect a man as president who believes in free speech for all, no matter what is said.
Steve Evets
October 1, 2024 at 12:57 pm
Me too.
nick
August 29, 2024 at 4:11 pm
You have schools that will probably close. There is an old KMart that may never be developed. Buy the KMart put all
of them there.
Get them off drugs and get help for them. Mitch, city reps and county reps can help out.
Otherwise, nothing will change. However, here comes the ACLU and others to scream their rights are being violated.
The ACLU only is outraged when they perceive the left’s constitutional rights may be in jeopardy-
Kent Porter
August 30, 2024 at 6:55 am
WHERE WILL THEY GO ??? GO GET CLEANED UP AND GO GET JOBS !!!!!!!
Bozz
August 30, 2024 at 10:28 am
You know a lot of you people have no idea what being homeless is. Till you do shut up and grow up. I’m homeless and I don’t have a problem with work,but a lot of places won’t hire homeless people because of people like you. Always talking bad about us and you have no clue what we go through everyday.
A. H.
August 30, 2024 at 2:49 pm
Kill em all.
Fkhomelesspeople
August 30, 2024 at 3:23 pm
Lazy ass homeless drug addicts need to get sober and figure out their lives
Shane
August 30, 2024 at 6:46 pm
And this all happened before trump got hear.. so he couldn’t mention it at his speech.. Democrats are scared
Abigail
August 30, 2024 at 7:12 pm
Hello. I am a former foster youth who aged out of care and am currently fleeing a domestic violence relationship. I am 19 years old and currently homeless. I would like everyone to be mindful and I will share something with all of you becuase clearly this world forget how to accept people and spread love and peace not hatred. Clearly we all forgot how to not put a stereotype or stigma on all homeless becuase others live the way they do. Not every homeless person is threatening, an addict, or an issue. We aren’t all the disgusting monsters you think we are. Some of us stay to ourselves away from everything you all see in society. Some of us have jobs and are going to college and still sleeping outside. I’m sure each and every one of you knows what it’s like to fall down and have a hard time getting back up. Most of us don’t always get the opportunity to live of a silver plater. A lot of you had supports, loving family’s, a happy home. And some don’t have that and never did to begin with. I think I can speak for all the homeless when I say this but we are just as much scared of all of you and you are of us. You walk through fear but we live through fear. I have no hatred towards the city but I also will never understand how everyone can be so hateful and have a cold soul and heart. Let’s face it La crosse fell apart years ago and the way everyone’s is acting is cruel. This whole situation is a disappointment. You can’t blame everybody becuase not even try body wants to live like this but some of us don’t have a choice. You all have a warm bed to go to and a big plate of food at home. I bet nobody who is running there mouth could last a week out here with just the clothes on your back. That would shut you all up. Try living in survival mode and having a little compassion for the ones who actually are doing something being out here.
Bill
September 3, 2024 at 5:32 pm
●●● Why do all cities go about this backward. You kick the homeless out. OK, where do they go? Another city or person’s property. They create an issue and we kick them out. Repeat, repeat, repeat. That’s not a solution and we should not group and classify homeless people into one group just are we don’t group all those with a home. Some have addition issues. Some have mental issues. Some are normal and educated but they don’t want to join society as we know it, some are educated citizens who have experienced unfortunate situations, and some are employed. Let’s sit back and come up with viable conditions for all. Personally, I think we should rebuild instructions for the mentally ill that can’t function in, what we refer to as, a normal society. For others there should be an effective plan to house certain people. For a good portion of today’s homeless would be grateful to be self sheltered in a campground BUT, not like the illegal grounds. A campground area with dumpsters, utilities, bathrooms and showers. If such a place were vetted and charged only at token fee $1 a day fot tent rental, the remainder paid by county or state, it would be more cost effective and safer then what we have now. If gainfully employed we could have another property with campers or tiny homes available for rent. Just saying, there are ways to deal with unsheltered people without criminalizing it.
Booner McDowell
August 30, 2024 at 10:38 pm
Boy I get sick every time I come south from i90. These homeless make a huge mess. Right by the welcome to Lax sign. How can they have so much trash? Thought they were going to kick them out of there? Can’t give them ticket, cuz you know they won’t pay it. A lot of the homeless want to be homeless. I just don’t get it.
Bill
September 1, 2024 at 10:37 am
When all these bleeding hearts on the council and the mayor and all the liberal weenies at WIZM take one of those poor people into thier home and spend thier own money on them then you can Ask for our money to waist. But they won’t, all talk no action.
Dustin M.
September 3, 2024 at 8:32 am
The problem won’t be fixes any time soon. Not until the rental rules are changed. 3 thousand homeless in are town. City council can’t seem to figure out why we are homeless.