​Since learning about homelessness through grade school experiences making meals with a church group for homeless men and women, we have found inspiration from individuals who find themselves without a home but are able to find their way home again.  Since then, both Mike and I have worked in shelters, cooked meals and I have done counseling both as a Crisis Counselor and as a Work Placement Counselor, but it is never seems like enough.  We’ve met with politicians, mental health industry leaders and people with the Veterans Affairs (since usually half of people without homes are veterans) but still more is needed.  Decades in and we have found that judicious administration of resources coupled with getting to know people in need are at the heart of assisting people find places they can call home.

 

To repeat these two important ideas about what does work:

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• Common Sense administration of resources—Money, Time, Human, Spiritual

• Getting to know homeless people as individuals—seeing them for who they uniquely are.

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Defining “home” is important so that volunteers and those seeking assistance may work together in creating solutions and options.   We work with people who need housing, communities that want to provide housing and organizations that understand Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. [1]   As artists and gallerists, we have integrated our work with homeless individuals into artworks about home.  We have created award winning designs for affordable housing, exhibiting them internationally and having them built and lived in.  We believe in our TIPI Projects (TIPI = Twenty-first Century Interiorization Plans for Individuals) which utilize insight from the past to create a foundation for present and future building needs.  Take a look at TIPI 2.0 here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As advocates for solutions to homelessness we have worked for decades to to help people move to a better place.  Vicki assisted in founding Deborah’s Place in Chicago which began as a nightly shelter in a kindergarten classroom and then moved to a building which was purchased to be used as a single room occupancy (SRO) for the Deborah’s Place clients.  Throughout the process the clients had to participate in the running of the nightly shelter and SRO—this assisted in identification and solution-oriented work.   Mike has worked with homeless men on the streets in Chicago, finding them resources like Veteran’s Housing, medical care and other needed solutions.  Vicki has worked as a Crisis Counselor with county police departments in seeking to not criminalize people who  are experiencing a crisis—over half the people helped could have become unhoused.  Mike has employed unhoused individuals and trained them. Both Mike and Vicki have done more welcoming all who want to work, learn, teach, listen, speak and pray.

 

We do not have all the answers but we have worked with successful homeless initiatives and can share these experiences easily.  Beyond common sense and individuation there also has to be consistency, standards and patience that moves past today and extends into decades as we assist people in need.

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Correctly identifying the people we are working with is the first step toward a solution that involves assisting people live the life they want.  First the basics:

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• “Homeless” means someone who has not been living in a stable environment for over a year and may not want to, or may be unable to, return to a stable environment. 

• “Unhoused” means someone who is temporarily without a home for various reasons.

 

These are not a new terms and have been used to differentiate between people who have the ability to live alone in a home (Unhoused) and people who may be unable to live alone in a home (Homeless).  These two statuses need to be distinguished so that appropriate resources can be directed specifically to the need each individual has.  Resources can be wasted when trying to force someone to do something that they may be unable to do.  Accepting people for who they are is difficult but is a part of the work in helping people in need.

 

Naming is also an important step in assisting people live the life they want.   Unhoused is not a new term and has been used to differentiate between people who have the ability to live alone in a home and people who cannot or do not want to live in traditional style homes.  These two statuses need to be distinguished so that appropriate resources can be directed specifically.  Without a clear focus on who needs what much time and effort may be underutilized.  Often new volunteers try to change the language and naming that has been used for decades but this only creates confusion.

 

Place is important also since where a person might feel a sense of belonging may assist in returning them to independence.  A place like Eau Claire, WI needs to identify the people who have been a part of their community but have lost their way home.  

 

We urge you to drive by Sojourner House at any time and see what has happened to our area around S. Barstow and Seaver Streets.  This drive will also take you past Beacon House that appears at most times to be just another business when it is in fact another sheltering place.  Since Sojourner House doesn’t open until 7pm, Sojourner House Clients are there all-day loitering, playing loud music, fighting, doing drugs, defecating outside, and making open fires when it is colder outside.  This is unacceptable from any standpoint of working with people who are in need.  This is not only disrespectful to the businesses and residents but also to the people Eau Claire is suggesting they are helping.  Just because the library or day centers may not be able to take in everyone waiting we must also remember that many Sojourner House clients may not want to go into a library or day center. The amount of people who are around Sojourner House has increased since Catholic Charities began asking to rezone the building.  Now that the rezoning and money from Eau Claire has been given, the same amount of people are Sojourner House clients.  After years of working with the demographic something is not right.  The number of people in need fluctuates it does not stay the same.

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Some Sojourner House clients could be helped within a short amount of time, others it will take time.  But again, the homeless and the unhoused need to be identified so that work can be focused appropriately.  In all our years of working with people in need of homes, we have never experienced the lack of management that Sojourner House has.  There have been moments when it seemed a good, competent person was at the helm but those moments were fleeting and when they ended it led back to where we are today—with people in need, community members, businesses and others being disrespected.

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It was cringe-worthy when at one art opening for Vicki’s Suffragette Collection in Los Angeles some of our art collectors made mention of the Sojourner House problem.  We do not want our business or Eau Claire to be spoken of in any way that does not show us to be the quality, informed and intelligent community we can be.   But it is understandable if people visiting Galaudet Gallery are exposed to someone defecating on the lawn, we too have to question what is really going on here.  These customers used to walk down Barstow to visit other shops but not anymore.  We do not want this to define Eau Claire. These problems are global, but Eau Claire must be seen as doing more than just talking about it, and being lumped in with other cities as having an uncontrollable homeless problem.

 

We must start by accepting there is a problem that won’t disappear without thoughtful solutions enacted with consistency and professionalism. We also have to start understanding that this problem could get worse.  Many people in our community have told us they feel unsafe.  Vicki has had encounters with Sojourner House men when taking out the garbage so now, so now a plan had to be enacted so that there is someone nearby who knows she is outside by the garbage cans.  Even in the worst parts of Chicago or New York City we have not felt this way. The mismanagement of Sojourner House is an accident or worse just waiting to happen and we have it within our means to make some positive changes.  In our opinion not enough funds for management is the key problem at Sojourner House.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rules, Regulations and a strong leader is needed to manage Sojourner House.  It is clear that the Sojourner House clients need to be involved in the running of the shelter.  It is also clear that additional resources need to be allocated on a consistent basis for the following:

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• Basic maintenance—interior and exterior

• 24-hour security/paid staff

• 24-hour doctor or nurse practitioner (Onsite is best on-call might work)

• 24-hour counselors (Onsite is best on-call might work)

• If Sojourner House has unlimited access to the municipal parking lot across the street from them (as is the case right now) they should provide services for the people camping there such as:

  •  24-hour security/paid staff

  • Rules and regulations

  • a warming room or cooling area for weather extremes

  • 24-hour restrooms.

 

Having an outside Sojourner House, as is the case right now, in the Seaver Street Eau Claire Municipal Parking Lot is unacceptable and would not be allowed in any city.   Many of the Sojourner House clients say they come to have the meal, then spend the night in the parking lot waiting for the breakfast.  These are then Sojourner House clients whether or not they are inside.  If they were not afforded the opportunity for meals they might go elsewhere since there would be no reason for their continued presence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The community should be involved at all levels.  This includes the homeless community. Any meeting about the Homeless and Unhoused in Eau Claire needs to include the Sojourner House owner and manager Catholic Charities.  This means that Catholic Charities needs to be really present or the meeting will not work.   The other organizations which assist with homelessness in Eau Claire are doing work that is professional.  These are the ones moving people forward into an individualized conception of home.  Sojourner House has gotten worse over the last few years and continues to get worse.  The inability to keep professional people in the administration of Sojourner House is one of the most obvious problems.  The resignation of Sojourner House Coordinator Kiana Schoen in June of 2021 created problems and an exit interview should be done to find out what she thinks can happen with Sojourner House.  There has been a new Coordinator each year at Sojourner House and this says there is a problem that is not being solved.

 

In addition to the list of community organizations provided in a separate document who should all be invited to present at any meeting about the homeless and unhoused in Eau Claire (as opposed to just being present) the other people who should be invited are

• Representative from Catholic Charities needs to be present

• Representative from Veterans Affairs since more than half of all homeless are vets

• Representative(s) from Eau Claire City Council

• Representative from Eau Claire Planning Department

• Representative(s) from WI State, Eau Claire legislative districts

• Representatives from the media like The Leader, Volume One, Channels 13 and 7 and anyone else in the media that might want to report on this issue first as an announcement for the meeting then as an update.

• Representative from Federal legislative offices.

• The general community

• Each and every business and neighbor within at least 4 blocks of Sojourner House in all directions

 

Accept that this is an ongoing cycle with each new homeless person the cycle begins again.

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The Homeless and Unhoused in Eau Claire have become a problem because of many different reasons which need to be understood.  But right now, it is best to effectively manage our resources of time, space and people and start to distinguish who is the Homeless and Unhoused.

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From our decades long work with homelessness and as from Vicki’s crisis counseling we have found there are three types of people who frequent sheltering operations, each person needs different assistance:

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1. Unhoused: Those who became homeless due to loss of revenue, crisis event or other circumstance which has caused someone to lose a home but that has not changed the person.  Such a person would like to live in a home and be responsible for it, they sometimes have employment which is not enough to keep them housed and they sometimes own a car. This person should be identified quickly so they don’t fall into the other two categories.

2. Homeless: Those who become homeless due to drug use, a crisis situation which changes a person or mental health reasons.  Such a person would be unable to live in a home without support.  Such a person may not want to move into a stable environment for various reasons.  This does not make them criminal, it just requires a different set of solutions to assist them in the life they would like to lead.

3. Criminals: Those who are not homeless but use homelessness as a cover to conduct criminal activity such as drug selling, theft, and prostitution

 

In our opinion there are all three of these types of people at Sojourner House, and each type should be identified and receive targeted assistance. Because identification has not occurred at Sojourner House the criminal element has grown as has the use the drugs.  This criminal element assists in normalizing drug usage and illegal behaviors like shooting guns, prostitution, trespassing, theft among other behaviors.  Sojourner House does not have enough parking spaces for the unhoused with cars, and Sojourner House should be under the same jurisdictions as any business when it comes to parking.  Stricter loitering laws should be enacted and enforced not to create new fines or jail time but to figure out where certain people could go and how to get them there.  Most importantly counseling and funding must be made available before this problem gets worse. 

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As an example of this last solution, we offer an initial problem with two different levels of solutions.

 

The initial problem: 

Homeless men and women roam the downtown streets waiting for Sojourner House to open.

 

Easy solution:                

• Create a space they can go to during the day                  

• Provide transit cards for movability 

• Provide counseling services—social, job and mental health

• Provide health and dental services

 

Harder solution:           

• Find places for them to live, such as a room they have 24 hour access to, and/or storage lockers so they don’t have worry about  their belonging.

• Find varied and welcoming places people can go to during the day.

• Many people would like to work or help out and finding situations where this can happen would be good.

• Matching people with mentors.  Or even matching people with others who need company. 

 

Again giving someone something to do is much better than having them sitting on a sidewalk all day.

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The easy and harder solutions all need to be coupled with the following:

 
1. Counseling is needed for all to determine each individual’s needs

2. Funding is required to house, feed, clothe, consul each individual

3. Employment might be possible from area employers so that this demographic might find work. 

4. Legislation needs to be enacted creating rules for conduct of any homeless shelter, and enforceable rules on overnight camping, and loitering so that no business district is impacted like SBBID.

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None of this is easy, if it was there would not be a homeless problem.  But with consistent, professional work that is sustained throughout the years utilizing resources in a common-sense way, Eau Claire can move the people who are in need into a better place.  The first job has been done for us—the people are here their very presence is asking us all to accept them for who they are, work with them to find a solution to their current challenges and pray that our work together brings about a better life for all involved.

                                        

 

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The death of Marilyn Roeber’s in 2021 occurred before she was able to regain a sense of home.  Her death on a bench in the downtown business district of Eau Claire should be remembered as an impetus for change in how Eau Claire approaches homelessness and unhoused people.  That Marilyn had been “banned” from Sojourner House means that Catholic Charities decided to let her sleep on the bench in full view of many open business and customers.  Marilyn made that bench her home for weeks before passing and no one else from Eau Claire decided to help her.  From the church which claims her as a member and where the bench she chose was right in front of their office windows, to the community members who walked past her, the other businesses on the street and the City of Eau Claire itself, Marilyn’s death was the biggest ask of all—to change how we are working with the homeless.  It is in the first time we turn away from such a sight that we normalize it and then try to act surprised when someone is hurt or worse.  Currently, everywhere around our downtown Eau Claire business there are people doing drugs, having sex, fighting and more—we refuse to say this is now how it is when we know it can be better, when we know it is a disrespect of everyone involved to allow it to continue in this way.     Having a meeting that is being called quickly to discuss these “recent events” is not the answer.  It is a start, and I do hope attention, thinking and action are what happens next.

 

We have more ideas and solutions just let us know if you need any.

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