Brown County Homeless & Housing Coalition

Day 45: ⏰ The countdown begins! You have 45 days to prepare for Medicare Open Enrollment.

Today's Affirmation:
I deserve to understand my Medicare choices/health insurance.

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Day 45: ⏰ The countdown begins! You have 45 days to prepare for Medicare Open Enrollment.

Today's Affirmation:
I deserve to understand my Medicare choices/health insurance.

👕👔👖Laundry Love events in Brown County. Please be aware Laundry Love Brown County will be moving locations as of September 1st. See flyer for details. 🧦👗🩳

Laundry Love - Green Bay Laundry Love Brown County

Have you fallen or have concerns about falling ? Check out this community program the Aging & Disability Resource Center of Brown County WI and Brown County Falls Prevention Coalition are hosting in September. Check out the flyer for more details and location of the event. Please register by 9/18/2026.

Homelessness in Wisconsin decreased throughout the 2010s. Among many factors, this improvement may be attributed at least in part to policy changes at the national and local levels that emphasized the Housing First model.

Since 2021, however, Wisconsin’s homeless population has been increasing, though at a slower rate than in its neighboring states and the nation. This may be influenced by factors such as housing costs rising faster than incomes, worsening economic conditions, and the expiration of pandemic-era supports, rather than by public policies directly pertaining to homelessness, which have not changed considerably during that period.

However, consequential changes may occur soon due to a shift in priorities and funding at the federal level. In the middle of the most recent budget cycle, funding for some programs that address homelessness was pulled and then reinstated, causing disruptions for providers and participants. This experience, and the ongoing pursuit of these proposed policy changes – which are currently under litigation – has increased concerns among local agencies regarding the types of programs they can offer in light of uncertain federal funding streams.

As homelessness begins to rise again in Wisconsin, policymakers and program leaders may wish to consider which responses could be most effective. This could include expanding the housing programs and funding streams that previously contributed to declines in homelessness while also strengthening prevention efforts that address the factors leading to housing instability. Keeping people housed before they experience homelessness is often less costly and disruptive than helping them recover after they have lost their homes.

N.E.W. Community Clinic will be at the Aging & Disability Resource Center of Brown County WI offering 30-minute free onsite health assessments on August 27th. You do not need to a customer of the ADRC to use this service. Medicare and Medicaid is accepted a sliding fee scale for those who do not have insurance. They will take walk ins otherwise call to register and get a set time.

The 2026 Community Resource Handbook Is Now Available!

Are you looking for an easy way to connect your clients, families, community members—or even yourself—to trusted local resources? This handbook is designed to do just that.

The Community Resource Handbook brings together contact information for nearly 200 organizations serving Brown County, all in one convenient place. Developed by Brown County Extension, this resource supports food security and helps increase access to low-cost services for individuals and families with limited incomes.

Whether you work directly with the community or want to keep valuable resources on hand, this guide is a must-have tool.

What You'll Find Inside:
Food and nutrition resources
Housing and utility assistance programs
Healthcare and mental health services
Employment and education resources
Family support programs
Transportation resources
Senior and disability services
And much more!

Want to be among the first to get a copy? Visit our website below to purchase copies for your organization, staff, or community space: go.wisc.edu/crh

Don’t miss out, make sure your space is equipped with the latest resources to support your community in 2026.

Community Resource Handbook Community Resource Handbook What is the Community Resource Handbook? The Community Resource Handbook brings together contact information for nearly 200 organizations serving Brown County, all in one convenient place. Developed by Brown County Extension, this resource supports food security and helps...

St. John's Ministries event

Please let them know you are coming by signing up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44ADAD28A6F4C61-59408534-tours #/

How can people who have housing help?

Many organizations that don’t provide shelter still interact with people experiencing homelessness and can benefit from understanding how the homeless response system works. These organizations can help brainstorm community-wide solutions, said Josh Benti, homeless initiative project director for the Greater Green Bay Blueprint to Prevent and End Homelessness.

“Housing is something that affects us all, either housed or unhoused… Our hospitals aren’t homeless providers, but they provide services to those who are experiencing homelessness,” he said. “Our employers hire and employ people who are experiencing homelessness… So, it’s getting all these systems to work and communicate and collaborate better.”

People who want to help can donate if they have disposable income or volunteer with organizations serving people experiencing homelessness. Volunteering can start with contacting a local shelter or attending a coalition meeting.

Even if you can’t donate or volunteer, you can still help fight the stigma surrounding homelessness. Brusewitz said she welcomes tours of the SAM25 shelter for greater community understanding.

Ryan Graham, homeless systems manager for the Wisconsin Balance of State Continuum of Care, said widespread homelessness reflects a broader affordability issue, with many people just one crisis away from losing their housing.

“What you’ll see is we have all these people who just can’t afford basic needs or can’t afford their current housing, and they’re one bad event from becoming street homeless,” Graham said. “If we don’t have any kind of homeless prevention or diversion programming to stop that from happening, you’re just increasing the bottleneck that we have at our crisis response system, which we don’t have enough of already, right? So it’s really a tough environment across the country, but in particular in a lot of our rural counties.”

1,200 people face homelessness in Northeast Wisconsin — a number experts say is severely undercounted.

Explore the factors behind hidden homelessness in our region: https://gopresstimes.com/stories/understanding-homelessness-in-northeast-wisconsin,349425

👕🧦 Community laundry events in Brown County 👗👔

Laundry Love - Green Bay Laundry Love Brown County