The Madison CommonCouncil approved four new housing developments at a July 2 meeting, one of which will be the city’s first permanent men's shelter at 1904 Bartillon Drive.
The new permanent shelter is set to hold 250-300 men in total, Madison Community Development Director Jim O’Keefe told The Daily Cardinal. It will be the first permanent men’s shelter in Madison, with a previous temporary all men’s shelter operating out of the basement of Grace Episcopal Church.
O’Keefe said the project is “purpose built” and that “this facility has been designed specifically for the use that we are going to make out of it.”
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told the Cardinal in a statement the need for a purpose-built shelter in Madison was evident.
“It was through partnerships that we have made significant progress in treating people with dignity,” Rhodes-Conway said.
The shelter at the Grace Episcopal Church had limitations, including a 90-day stay limit.
“Men would learn to save their 90 days for when the weather was bad,” O’Keefe said.”It was kind of a disincentive to use the shelter.”
Additionally, O’Keefe said men were turned away from the shelter if they showed up “under the influence.”
The church’s budget for the shelter was less than $600,000, according to O’Keefe. The city granted the new permanent Far East Side shelter a budget of $25 million.
“The only way that we have been able to make that work is because of the federal money that has come to Madison and to Dane County as part of the federal response to COVID,” O’Keefe said.
The city has been involved in running and maintaining services for people experiencing homelessness, according to O’Keefe, and “the talk of building a purpose built shelter to house those experiencing homelessness has become a reality.”
Porchlight, an organization providing shelter services in Dane County, was chosen by the city to operate the new facility on Bartillon Drive. Porchlight Executive Director Carla Thennes told the Cardinal she is excited to have a purpose-built shelter for their guests’ needs, especially after the need for services increased following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Numbers have just gone up exponentially since the pandemic with so many people losing jobs, losing their housing, kind of working their way through family and friends and then becoming homeless,” Thennes said.
Porchlight has been operating shelters for 40 years, including their largest housing project near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on Brooks Street.
Shelter aims for guest safety, privacy
In 2022, the city worked with a Denver-based organization called ShopWorks Architecture to conduct multiple surveys and talk with volunteers and guests of the shelter in order to gain knowledge about the needs of the new shelter.
Thennes told the Cardinal ShopWorks, Porchlight and the city made “trauma informed decisions” to best support the guests of the shelter when they arrive.
ShopWorks was able to receive feedback from about 150 people, including both Porchlight staff members and those who have experienced homelessness, according to O’Keefe.
Thennes said the survey was a great way for the shelter to best accommodate its guests.
“[Those interviewed] appreciate being able to give their opinion,” Thennes said. “What else is more valuable than their opinion and somebody who's stayed at all shelters?”
The main takeaways from the survey were safety, privacy and security of belongings, O’Keefe said.
“Safety issues are addressed partly through staffing, partly through lighting, partly through how the other facility is laid out so that there are sight lines,” O’Keefe said. “There aren't hidden corners or that sort of thing.”
Guests will be able to store their belongings in storage units rather than leaving them outside and at risk of being stolen, O’Keefe said. On-site health care and rehabilitation services will also be offered to guests.
“We very much want this facility to have more than just an overnight shelter,” O’Keefe said.
The shelter will include accommodations to guests with chronic health or mobility issues, including space for them to stay on the first floor of the building, Thennes said.
Funding roadblocks limit services
The facility, according to Thennes, plans to be open 24/7. But the necessary funding to do so are not currently available, she said.
O’Keefe said the federal pandemic aid money Dane County received “is nearly depleted.”
The city and Porchlight estimated the operating cost to keep the shelter open 24 hours a day would be an extra $1 million per year, according to O’Keefe.
“Soon, we will not have access to that money, and so we're gonna have to come up with another way to pay for the ongoing cost,” O’Keefe said.
Rhodes-Conway emphasized the importance of the community coming together to support the facility and
“The long-term success of the Bartillon Shelter will depend on the city,” she said.
Thennes believes the construction of this shelter will force the public to not treat those experiencing homelessness as an afterthought.
“I hope that the people who are still sleeping out on the streets choose not to do that anymore, because they have this really nice place to go to. I think we're gonna see a lot of positive impacts,” Thennes said.
The project is set to finish construction in the fall of 2025.
