County Executive announces $1.5 million more for emergency men’s shelter

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The community’s first purpose-built overnight shelter for men will receive an additional $1.5 million for programming and service space for guests.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced Monday that he will add these funds to his 2024 budget proposal. If passed, the facility will have a total of $10.5 million in Brick and Mortar investment funding.

The additional funding from the County Executive plans to help increase daytime funding and service space for shelter guests. They also aim to reduce long-term operating costs, and support critical back-up systems to ensure the shelter will operate if there’s a power outage.

“Emergency shelter plays an integral role in helping our neighbors experiencing homelessness move into housing and achieve economic stability,” Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said in a statement. “A safe, welcoming shelter space with consistent connection to case management and community services goes hand in hand with the County’s ongoing efforts to increase access to and availability of new affordable housing units.”

Scheduled to be built on 1904 Bartillon Dr. in Madison, the shelter will be the first shelter designed and constructed for this use. In the past, shelters were operated out of spaces like church basements and other renovated spaces.

The shelter plans to serve up to 250 people, who will receive connections to services like housing, behavioral health, medical, and employment support in addition to basic needs.

More information on the men’s shelter program can be found at https://www.cityofmadison.com/engineering/projects/bartillon-shelter. For more information about current shelter services, visit https://www.danecountyhomeless.org/get-help.

Click here to download the NBC15 News app or our NBC15 First Alert weather app.

Copyright 2023 WMTV. All rights reserved.