Here & Now

Homelessness Council Calls for 'Housing First' Mode

Zac Schultz:
Now back to the proposal from the Interagency Council on Homelessness. The plan calls for a housing first model which would focus on getting homeless people into housing which sounds obvious but currently addiction issues or a criminal record can make it difficult for the chronically homeless to get into an apartment. The plan also calls for case management which helps reduce the chance that addiction or mental health issues cause people to lose housing again. The plan says in 2017, nearly 22,000 people experienced homelessness with 8% considered to be chronically homeless. In a program note, Wisconsin Public Television is working on a special on teen homelessness that will air on “Here & Now” on Friday night, December 28th.