Homeless day resource center to help Dane County homeless population

Residents of Districts 4 and 6 met to discuss Dane County’s newly approved $1.75 million purchase of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce building, the new location for a homeless day resource center. 

Since the building is located near the two districts, District 4 Alder Marsha Rummel invited nearby business owners and neighbors of the building to get more information about the new center, a collaboration of the United Way, the City of Madison and Dane County.

Casey Becker, the communications and homeless services manager for the Dane County Department of Human Services, said a day resource center is a one-stop place where people experiencing a housing crisis can get all of the supports they might need. The county had been working many years to find a good spot for a homeless day resource center.

Becker believes the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce Building will be the best location because it is close to a lot of community supports, overnight shelters, a major transportation line, community meal sites, major bus lines, bike paths and within walking distance.

There were 660 people who were homeless either in a shelter or on the streets on a night in January, but this does not count the people who are facing eviction or staying with someone else, Becker said. She said the target group will be largest population of homeless people, which are families with children.

Becker said the center will be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The main floor will have services such as bathrooms, showers, a kitchenette, laundry, a computer lab, day storage phones and day rooms.

“These are things that are critical to a housing search, to an employment search, critical to people’s health and their basic dignity. They’re trying to navigate a really challenging situation,” Becker said.

The second floor of the building will serve as a place for agencies to provide support. Becker said she hopes in the future the center operator will partner with organizations that could provide alcohol and drug addiction services, medical services, mental health assessments and legal services.

Todd Violante, the director of Dane County Planning and Development, said the county issued a request for proposal looking for a service provider and the applications will close on August 12.

He said construction could start early 2017 and possibly open in spring or summer 2017.