Family & Home
Homelessness in La Crosse with the city council’s Woodard, Kiel
Two conversations about homelessness on Monday’s La Crosse Talk PM with city council members Chris Woodard and Mac Kiel.
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.
La Crosse’s two big committees meet next week Thursday, Woodard discusses a resolution he’s authored that — simply put — requests the state and federal government’s help in addressing homelessness.
After that, Kiel joins to talk about the warming shelters being full and how the council’s “camping ban” has affected the homeless.
Plus, we discussed the need for a surge shelter and how that should have coincided with something like a camping ban. She also broke down the city’s policy on using the Main Street library as an emergency shelter.
Both Woodard and Kiel are on the Judiciary and Finance Committee, which will meet at 4 p.m. next Thursday, due to the holiday.
Bob Nester
December 25, 2024 at 9:26 am
It’s amusing that Solem and his two Council buds don’t see the forest. The warming shelters at the Salvation Army are full on cold nights. That’s bad? No, that’s good. That’s what the shelters are for. The City should have provided for a replacement squatting place when the parks were declared off-limits overnight? Why? That’s the failed tactic the City and Hizzoner had been using that led to a growing, larger squatter population. Enabling, it’s called.
The goal is to cause these people to finally start taking care of themselves. You know, a job, their own housing, paying for it themselves. The goal is not to endlessly take care of them. That’s enabling. Any clean addict will tell you to stop enabling addicts. It will eventually kill them. I wish all drunks and addicts a clean, sober Christmas. I could give them nothing better.
Yvonne
December 26, 2024 at 7:25 pm
You nailed it, the city council does a lot of talking but they never seem to have answers.
The last I heard the C.C. was going to nab rich local business owners to fund this endless problem in La Crosse. It would be a whole lot cheaper for the taxpayers if each homeless person was evaluated to find out why they use drugs or drink everyday. Where do they get the money for their drugs & booze? Who supplies them? These people cannot be taken care of endlessly. The city council spent millions putting them up in hotels (which were trashed, they used drugs & shot up who knows what, committed crimes, trafficked women and prostitutes. Yes, and the city had to tear it down this Spring. Evaluate each one, find jobs for those willing to quit their nasty habits or kick them out of La Crosse.
Yvonne
December 26, 2024 at 7:28 pm
You are spot on. Evaluate each one & those willing to quit drinking & drugs will get jobs with the city’s help or send them on their way south.
The city has no ideas nor do they care. They just talk & talk & talk. No solutions.
Patty
December 27, 2024 at 11:05 am
Put them all on a barge and then scuttle it. Problem solved.
Brad j Allred
December 26, 2024 at 4:06 am
This countries economic and social system has failed millions in this kleptocratic,plutocracy!
Brad j Allred
December 26, 2024 at 4:18 am
Pay decent wages,and provide jobs that have healthcare,and medical benefits,the problems will disappear!
This Kleptocracy has failed millions in the US,and the problem is getting much worse!
Tiffany
December 27, 2024 at 2:35 pm
Provide decent jobs that will allow people with a criminal history or history of addiction to actually b3 hired and make it easier for those people to obtain housing and then the problem will take care of itself. My husband and I got clean and dug ourselves of homelessness around 5 years ago and got ourselves in college and successfully graduated two years later. We were lucky in our journey. Some people aren’t so lucky. Most aren’t in fact.
Stacey
December 29, 2024 at 4:52 am
They should be addressing the cause and not the symptom. NeuroRights should also be addressed.
walden
December 30, 2024 at 2:35 pm
La Crosse taxpayers are weary of the giveaway of their hard earned tax dollars to the homeless with no measurable improvement, along with the social costs of illicit drugs, theft, safety issues and the destruction of the downtown business area (soon vacant stores will outnumber active stores).
The Council is in a panic because the Covid play-money giveaway bonanza has been exhausted while the Homeless Industrial Complex requires constant cash infusions to perpetuate itself. I don’t see any plan for State support for this fiasco materializing…for good reason.
noel
December 31, 2024 at 1:48 pm
I am homeless myself do to eviction which doesn’t care how or what someone did it’s eviction which means you have to be homeless forever cuz no one will accept you and the organizations that are here pick and choose I’ve been homeless for 2 years trying to find a place filling out applications desperately but yeah I am still in my car with my autism and sensory overload it is not easy I just can’t believe this city cannot provide a building in the proper people who know how to run a facility that can encourage people each day provide for them and let them know they are worth something does anybody have a brain down there in City Hall or have you ever been in the situation yourself evidently not or it would be resolved I have been in many other cities who have started shelters for people and they are still going on today taking care of people providing and actually making a difference in the city Aurora Illinois hasid House missions check it out one building provide for everything healthcare daycare food showers and maintain it very well my dad and a few other people work there since they opened back in the day we did not have problems we knew who the right people were when they came in the door we knew who needed help we did not turn people away especially in the middle of winter while you people sit on your comfy couches bringing the new year open your presents some have nothing set in a tent set outside or in a car wondering what went wrong when there is plenty of money in this town and don’t tell me it’s not you guys have plenty of fundraisers let alone runs marathons and you can’t even fix the roads I think someone in City Hall should be checking where that money has been going and how it’s been spent because somewhere it’s been going wrong a tourist town they say huh there’s not much here to tour I am sad at the mayor and at the people around him who work for him we need a mayor who knows what problems are in Lacrosse we need someone to stand up for City Hall and say no I ain’t putting up with the elite and what they choose for us in Lacrosse because the people are suffering