More than 350 military veterans are homeless in Wisconsin, according to estimates made in 2024. Some are getting a fresh start through a state program that offers job training and support for addiction.

But that work is now at risk after falling short of funding. That’s a concern for the veterans who rely on these services today and for those who will need them in the future. Looking ahead, there are hopes bipartisan legislation could restore funding and keep the program running.

“I developed all these bad habits with my anger and drinking, and yeah, I ended up in a shelter again,” said Michael Cable, a veteran of the United States Navy. He’s been homeless many times: First as a child, then as a young adult — and then he became homeless again after leaving the Navy in 2010.

When I came back, I was a full-blown alcoholic and anger — just couldn’t deal with my emotions at all,” Cable said.

He was struggling to deal with life after the military.

“You come back and it’s like your life’s gone, everything’s changed,” Cable added.

He knew something drastic needed to happen – and it did.

“Once I got sober, I felt so much different about everything,” he said. “I used to dream about everything all the time and now I was actually doing things, working towards those dreams.”

What changed is that Cable was accepted into the state’s Veterans Housing and Recovery Program at its Chippewa Falls location named Klein Hall. Graduating from the program in May, he got hired at a local plastics factory.

And then all of his hard work paid off: This formerly homeless veteran became a homeowner.

“I literally bought the first house I seen,” Cable said. “I gave a full price offer and moved in and every day, I’m just standing there like, I can’t believe it. It’s amazing.”

Since opening in 2007, Klein Hall has helped roughly 1,000 of Wisconsin’s homeless and at-risk military veterans find their footing and eventually secure permanent housing. While Cable is one of the success stories, he could also be one of the last veterans to use the transitional housing and recovery program.

Due to a lack of funding in the 2025-27 state budget, Klein Hall in Chippewa Falls and another similar location in Green Bay are slated to close their doors at the end of September.

“We were really saddened and disappointed with the budgetary decisions,” said Joey Hoey, an assistant deputy director with the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. “It’s a horrible situation.”

The Veterans Housing and Recovery Program is run by the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. Out of three locations, the state now only has enough money to keep one site open.

“So, we made some very difficult and agonizing decisions,” he said. “And we’ve decided that we’re going to focus our efforts on one of the three sites. It’s in Union Grove, down by Milwaukee.”

Politically, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has blasted Republicans in control of the state budget-writing committee.

In a statement, Evers said, “There will now be fewer options for homeless veterans as a result of the Legislature’s irresponsible decision to reject the investments that I proposed.”

The Joint Finance Committee’s co-chairs, state Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Dodgeville, and state Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, responded by saying the governor failed to make this program a funding priority during budget negotiations.

They said Evers was “looking for a scapegoat to blame for his administration’s failure to adequately manage the changes to the program volume and demands.”

“Who cares? Who cares whose fault it is? That doesn’t help the problem,” said Derek Aune, a veteran who first heard about the program while in prison. He said it is not only transitional but it can also be transformative.

“I’m learning all the time about this mental health stuff is that I do not do regular life well,” Aune said. “But I know that if I want to stay out of prison, then I have to be willing to do stuff like this, because it’s the best way for me to keep myself in the right frame of mind.

Discharged from the Marines 20 years ago, Aune has been homeless several times over the years. At Klein Hall, he said he’s found stability. And, he’s been allowed to keep his emotional support animal – a friendly, attentive Husky mix named Phoenix – with him.

Aune appreciates that the program is built specifically and only for veterans.

“That makes a big difference,” he said. “You’ll hear that from almost every veteran across the board with any situation, whether it’s treatment or groups or whatever. It is a different feeling when you’re amongst other veterans.”

Randy Withrow is the Klein Hall site director for Lutheran Social Services, which contracts with government veterans agencies to manage the program.

“Nobody’s homeless because they don’t have shelter. It is a myriad of things that occur in their lives — whether it be legal, mental health, substance abuse, financial — that leads them to homelessness,” Withrow said. “And part of our job is to make sure that we shore up those areas so that then when they become either renters or owners, that they have the skills and the ability to handle that day-to-day living that you and I may take for granted.”

Veterans stay in the program for a maximum of two years and participate in employment and education training. They receive meals and transportation assistance and are also required to maintain absolute sobriety.

Program staff members are working to place veterans currently in the program in other housing initiatives or move them to the Union Grove location that’s staying open. But, there is concern that if too much changes, some veterans will end up back on the streets.

“Change is not something that they necessarily experience well,” said Withrow. “Now they’ve got to go and meet a new group and interact and integrate into something that’s different.”

Veterans Affairs officials say there is still hope that the two housing program locations scheduled to close in September could be saved if new funding is secured soon. There is legislation being circulated at the Wisconsin State Capitol to do just that.

“If we were to get funding,” Hoey said, “we could quickly restart the program.”

With two of the three locations closing, the overall program will shrink considerably from more than 100 beds total to just 40 beds at the Union Grove location. Veterans say keeping the program running is a necessity.

“These kinds of things are pivotal if you don’t want to have people rolling back through the system over and over and again,” Aune said.

“Just having a place where you can catch your breath and really get back your sanity. … It doesn’t take much, just a place to stay, some food, and a counselor — someone who cares, someone you can talk to, life-changing” Cable said. “These guys are grateful for every bit of it.”