Homelessness Awareness Week
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United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County

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Homelessness Awareness Week

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​Homelessness Awareness Week runs October 27 – November 2, 2024, across greater Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. The purpose of this week is to increase public education on the current state of homelessness in our local communities.

Watch this space for the list of 2024 Homelessness Awareness Week events.

Things to Know for Homelessness Awareness Week 2024

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We are organized on the issue

The Milwaukee Continuum of Care (CoC) is a network of 100+ organizations working to end homelessness in Milwaukee.

The CoC is filled with call reps, street outreach workers, social workers, case managers, shelter and safe haven staff, nurses and doctors, employment specialists, and so on, that work 24/7 and all use a shared database to record the individual case plans and housing plans for every person experiencing homelessness in Milwaukee County. The CoC is led by the City of Milwaukee and all CoC agencies are united to get every person experiencing homelessness back on their feet and into safe and stable housing.

Learn more at: http://MilwaukeeCoC.org

Homelessness rates are decreasing in Milwaukee County

In 2022, Milwaukee County had the lowest street homeless count, per capita, in the nation. Between 2015 and 2021, homelessness decreased by 46.3% in Milwaukee County because of our Housing First programs.

Housing is a human right. The Milwaukee County Housing Services has led the CoC’s Housing First work of securing housing vouchers, working with people in their street outreach work, and making connections with landlords. The following agencies all work together in an effort called “Coordinated Entry” to make sure those with the most significant vulnerabilities are prioritized first for housing as housing vouchers become available: Cathedral Center, Community Advocates, Center for Veterans Issues, the Guest House of Milwaukee, Heartland Alliance, Hope House of Milwaukee, IMPACT Inc., Institute for Community Alliances, La Causa, Milwaukee County Housing Services, Outreach Community Health Centers, Pathfinders, Salvation Army, Sojourner Family Peace Center, Vivent Health, and Walkers Point Youth and Family Services. 

Learn more at: www.HousingFirstMilwaukee.com

We can end homelessness

We are working together to end family homelessness in the Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County region by the end of 2025. 

Since 2020, United Way has committed over $17 million into Safe & Stable Homes initiative strategies that prevent family homelessness whenever possible, and in those situations that can't be prevented, make them rare, brief, and one-time experiences. The Safe & Stable Homes Initiative has led to improvements in the court system (EvictionFreeMKE.org), better support for housing insecure students, supports resource connecton specialists for landlords and tenants (RentHelpMKE.org), and is filling the gap in rent support vouchers for families in shelter. 

Learn more about Safe and Stable Homes.

 

You can join the fight to end homelessness

GIVE ∙ ∙ ∙ Visit the websites above to learn where you might want to make a donation

ADVOCATE ∙ ∙ ∙ Attend Homelessness Awareness Week events to get educated on the issues

VOLUNTEER ∙ ∙ ∙ Click on the Volunteer link on UnitedWayGMWC.org