Championed as one of the most consequential and bipartisan federal housing laws in decades, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act enacted this month makes significant changes across federal housing policy.

Included in the 139-page law are a host of provisions that will restrict some institutional investors from buying homes, ease rules for manufactured housing and expand assistance for veterans. But some of its most notable provisions give local governments greater flexibility in using federal grants while introducing new financial rewards and penalties tied to housing production. 

This is especially important because states and cities — not the federal government — control most housing choices through zoning and land use regulations. So the law tries a new approach to nudge cities toward more housing.

The law allows certain federal block-grant funding to pay for new affordable housing construction, which previously had been forbidden. And for the first time, it provides incentives and penalties for cities to build faster.

“The federal government is going to give you a whole lot of carrots, a whole lot of support, and just a couple sticks, in order to encourage these communities to start building more housing,” said Ben Harrold, senior manager of public policy at the National Apartment Association.

The measure made it through a divided Congress in part because it “doesn’t actually come with a ton of new money for these programs,” said Andy Winkler, the managing director of housing and infrastructure policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.  

“There’s not one huge idea that’s going to change the dynamics of the housing market, but there are tons of small bills and provisions and programs that collectively really could have an impact.” 

The most immediate impact of the law could be making existing federal housing dollars easier to use for municipalities. 

Mark Kudlowitz, senior policy director for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation — a national nonprofit that finances affordable housing and other projects in urban and rural communities — said localities can now make decisions on where to spend existing federal dollars to increase supply. They also can start readying their local policies for potential funds from new incentive-laden programs.

“When we make it easier for the jurisdictions to deploy the funding, it’s doing everyone a favor, from the jurisdictions that have to manage these dollars to the federal government and then the developers that are ultimately receiving it,” said Kudlowitz. “It’s just decreasing costs and creating more efficiencies within the process.” 

Although Hartford, Connecticut, Democratic Mayor Arunan Arulampalam wishes the law contained more new funding for programs, he praises a $200 million annual competitive grant program for municipalities that increase housing supply. He also welcomes a pilot grant project to help more municipalities convert vacant and abandoned buildings into housing. 

“The thing that this bill actually does is make existing federal dollars more efficient and maybe more useful,” Arulampalam said. 

The new Innovation Fund will reward communities that demonstrate increases in housing supply with $200 million in annual competitive grants from fiscal 2027 through 2031. The housing increases can come from local governments and tribes reducing parking requirements, revising minimum lot sizes and building height, creating incentives for dense development, changing zoning laws, streamlining regulatory and environmental requirements, or eliminating restrictions on accessory dwelling units. 

“The Innovation Fund for flexible spending, which I think is the core of what the federal government should be doing for communities like Hartford that are actually building housing, it’s an exciting program,” Arulampalam said.

Block grant changes

The new law also makes significant changes to the Community Development Block Grant program that could make it easier to use the money to build affordable housing. The CDBG program helps states, cities and counties finance improvements to housing, but funds also can be used for infrastructure, economic development and other projects that are geared toward low and moderate-income residents. 

The new law now allows some grants to be used for construction. And it will reduce the money given to cities that don’t meet certain construction thresholds.

Under the CDBG State Program, states receive federal money and distribute grants to eligible smaller communities. Jenna Pomponi, director of advocacy and federal programs at the Council of State Community Development Agencies, said cities under 50,000 residents and counties with fewer than 200,000 residents, known as non-entitlement communities, especially rely on state agencies to conduct environmental reviews and administer complicated federal requirements.

“In a lot of small communities, they don’t have the capacity to do all the compliance work that’s required for a government to review, so the state agencies do that for them,” Pomponi said. 

The new law now allows the construction of affordable housing to be eligible for CDBG grants, capped at 20% of the amount allocated to a recipient. Before the law, CDBG funds were used for public facilities and infrastructure, rehabilitation of existing housing, public services and economic development.  Congress provided $3.3 billion for the CDBG program in fiscal year 2026. 

“It streamlines some really outdated requirements that were adding administrative burdens onto administering these grants, so I think essentially it’ll just make the money that we have go further in communities,” Pomponi said. “In the past, folks mostly used CDBG just to repair older homes, but now they can construct new affordable housing.”

Under the law’s Build Now provision, which applies to cities and urban counties receiving CDBG entitlement funding, funding will be based on the rate at which housing has grown. Recipients at or above the median growth rate will receive bonuses, while recipients below the median generally will face a 10% reduction. 

Exemptions apply to municipalities that meet its thresholds for both lower rents and home values, places where rental vacancy rates are above the national average, areas recently impacted by a major disaster or emergency declaration within the previous three years, and those that lack legal authority to update zoning or permitting ordinances. 

“This is the first time to my knowledge that the federal government will condition resources on the actual construction of new homes,” said David Garcia, deputy director of policy at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation. “So this goes even a step further from other programs, which provide money to cities and states to just do reforms. This is actually tying money to outcomes.” 

Garcia said that the Build Now provision and changes to CDBG funding will make cities, notably bigger and high-cost cities, motivated to do what’s necessary to get housing production moving and avoid any loss of funding.

Ultimately, zoning can only go so far, as Garcia noted that economic conditions and the price of building could still make construction very costly.

“Cities don’t control interest rates, they don’t control tariffs, they don’t control the labor pool … so there may be instances where you actually have cities working in really good faith to try and get more homes out of the ground, but the broader economic conditions are just not in their favor.” 

Before the law passed, six organizations representing states, counties and local development agencies urged Congress to remove the Build Now provision, warning that tying CDBG dollars to short-term housing growth could make funding less predictable and that the metrics used to gauge growth could be slow and misleading. 

“The idea was to put the squeeze on local governments to play ball, so to speak, as far as, looking at some of their zoning reform or their local housing strategies,” said Jared Grigas, associate legislative director for community, economic and workforce development at the National Association of Counties, which signed the letter.

These funding conditions don’t factor in until fiscal year 2029 and remain in effect through fiscal year 2043.

Grigas said the final version of the law, with the three-year implementation window and exemptions, made the provision more agreeable.

“That gives us three years to get the word out to our folks that, ‘Hey, you might find yourself in this new universe where this might impact your CDBG allocations,’” Grigas said. “And here’s how you can plan ahead.” 

‘Next battle’

Federal funding for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development staffing was reduced by 24% in fiscal year 2026. And the guidance and implementation of at least 35 new or updated programs and regulations from the new law will be assigned to HUD — including the Innovation Fund and the Build Now provisions, according to the Urban Institute. 

Winkler, from the Bipartisan Policy Center, said the “next battle” in the realization of the ROAD Act is swift implementation of the new law from HUD to the local agencies.

Some are skeptical that HUD — without new funding for staffing — can manage the workload that comes with such an expansive to-do list.

“A lot of this will hinge on HUD’s ability to implement this law,” Pomponi said. “Some of us are concerned because HUD cut back so much of their staff last year when the administration changed over, and now they’re being handed this huge law to implement.”

Arulampalam, the Connecticut mayor, said Hartford will continue pursuing options such as  office conversions and vacant lot development while waiting to see whether Congress funds the law’s new programs.

“We are coming up with as many creative solutions as we can to solving the housing crisis,” he said. “The thing that limits us the most is the dollars we can put into it.”

Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at rsequeira@stateline.org. 

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• Newcap was a leading provider of homeless services for 10 counties: Brown, Florence, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Shawano, Forest, Langlade, Oneida and Vilas.
• The organization’s abrupt closure in March left counties scrambling to fill the gaps. 
• In Shawano County, for example, residents no longer have a year-round homeless shelter. 
• Furthermore, Newcap took the lead in three regional homeless coalitions, and its staff served in key roles, fulfilling responsibilities for Coordinated Entry, the point-in-time count and federal and state funding. 
• Newcap’s Brown County federal grants have been transferred to House of Hope and Foundations Health & Wellness.

It’s been more than three months since the anti-poverty nonprofit Newcap closed, laying off 90 employees and leaving more than 100 low-income households on the brink of homelessness. For Shawano County residents, that means losing their only year-round homeless shelter. 

At Safe Haven domestic abuse shelter in Shawano, Executive Director Mindy Lohff started getting dozens more crisis calls and observing more unsheltered people on the streets or in wooded areas.

“We’ve seen an increase in our shelter stays directly, we’ve seen an increase in the calls for looking for shelter,” Lohff said. “Unfortunately, if they aren’t actively fleeing domestic violence or sexual violence, they’re not eligible (to) stay here, and there’s nowhere for them to go in Shawano County.” 

It’s not just that Lohff has nowhere to direct unsheltered people in Shawano. Newcap was a leading provider of homeless services for 10 counties — including Brown, Florence, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Shawano, Forest, Langlade, Oneida and Vilas. In 2025, Newcap had the capacity to provide nearly 250 beds across those counties, from emergency shelter to permanent housing. 

These mostly rural counties have been rocked by Newcap’s abrupt closure March 31, which came amid financial challenges and leadership changes. Former CEO Cheryl Detrick was placed on leave shortly before the nonprofit closed its doors and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, revealing that it owed nearly $4 million to creditors. 

The nonprofit’s closure reveals how the loss of a single agency can have a staggering effect, especially in rural areas where resources for the unhoused are already few and far between. As a federally designated regional leader — or Community Action Agency — Newcap held the keys to funding for many programs and can’t be easily replaced by a single organization. 

Working together on shelter solutions

Shawano Area Matthew 25 is a seasonal overnight homeless shelter open from Oct. 15 to May 15. Newcap’s closure means Shawano County residents no longer have a homeless shelter to turn to during warmer months. Newcap also led Shawano’s homeless coalition, meaning it controlled state funding for SAM25. Executive Director Kendra Brusewitz said she’s still waiting on $12,000 in funds. 

Over the summer, SAM25’s resource center is still open, providing food, showers, laundry and other assistance. 

“We just continue to see an increase in the numbers coming through our resource center,” Brusewitz said. “Not having a place to refer people, families to in the area during the summer months is challenging.”

Without Newcap, nonprofit leaders realized there was no longer a way for Shawano County residents to access Coordinated Entry – a prioritization list that matches people with housing resources throughout the state based on their eligibility. 

Safe Haven and SAM25 teamed up with Shawano Area United Way to form a coalition, educating local officials on housing needs and brainstorming solutions. Brusewitz and Lohff took charge of signing people up for Coordinated Entry. 

“We’ve actually had clients getting pulled for the housing assistance because they wanted to move to other counties, so that’s been great,” Lohff said. 

They’ve also applied for grants to fund a housing coordinator for Shawano County and collaborated with Bonduel middle and high schools to make hygiene kits. The coalition’s efforts aren’t funded, nor are they part of anyone’s job description. But Shawano community leaders feel it’s necessary.

“A lot of us have lived here, grown up here, and we’re so passionate about it, so some of (the work) may be slightly out of the scope, but it’s so important,” Lohff said.

Support for survivors

Newcap’s grants allowed victims of domestic violence in Shawano and neighboring counties to obtain permanent housing, which is vital since Safe Haven is an emergency shelter, Lohff said. So far, no agency has been identified to permanently take on the grant. 

“The financial assistance for them to be able to obtain the housing has vanished,” Lohff said. “Within the realm of domestic violence, so many of our clients experience financial abuse … and that’s one of the reasons why they don’t leave that abusive relationship, is because their abuser holds finances over their head.” 

Rainbow House, a domestic violence shelter serving Marinette and Oconto counties, was similarly left as one of the area’s only providers after Newcap closed. Executive Director Courtney Olson told Wisconsin Watch she’s received a “steady increase” in calls since then.

Like Safe Haven, Rainbow House cannot respond to general calls for housing. As it is, its waiting list for domestic violence clients continues to grow, which means ensuring their safety in other ways.

“In response to these long waits, we are working hard to keep survivors safe in their own homes whenever possible,” Olson wrote in an email. “That means offering more on the security side (cameras, cell phones, panic alarms, lock replacements, temporary restraining orders) and working with landlords to remove the person causing harm from a lease rather than displacing the survivor.”

A ‘long, slow road’

Regional Continuum of Care programs distribute federal funding for homeless shelters. Milwaukee, Dane and Racine counties have their own CoCs, while the Balance of State CoC oversees the rest of Wisconsin through regional coalitions. 

Although based in Brown County, Newcap also served as the lead agency for the Wisconsin Balance of State’s Northeast Coalition — in Florence, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto and Shawano counties — and the NWISH Coalition – made up of Forest, Langlade, Oneida, and Vilas counties. 

The loss of Newcap comes at a time when national funding for Continuum of Care programs is already uncertain. President Donald Trump’s proposed 2027 fiscal year budget would eliminate the Continuum of Care program, reducing all homeless assistance funding by $400 million. 

Meanwhile, the 2026 budget will require the Wisconsin Balance of State to compete with Continuum of Care programs nationwide for a greater portion of funding based on the Trump administration’s priorities. An estimated 1,287 people could lose their housing in Wisconsin, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. 

The Balance of State is acting as a temporary lead for the Northeast and NWISH coalitions, ensuring the “point-in-time” homeless count happens – an essential step to securing federal funding – and filling vacant board positions. 

Balance of State homeless systems manager Ryan Graham said they’re essentially starting from square one, and they won’t be able to replace Newcap easily. 

“Now, it’s about, ‘How do we rebuild some kind of homeless response in that area?’ because the agency that pretty much did all of that and provided the capacity to do it is no longer there,” Graham said. “They were the coalition lead, they were the point-in-time lead, they were the state funding lead.” 

Graham has been impressed by organizations like Safe Haven and SAM25 stepping up, but finding an organization qualified to take on Newcap’s responsibilities is still hard. 

“It’s going to be a long, slow road, “ Graham said. “Hopefully, it won’t be too slow, but we’re really starting from scratch in a lot of areas, especially in the Northeast and NWISH Coalition, as far as building a homeless response system.”

Federal grants transferred to Brown County nonprofits

Even in Brown County, where organizations do exist to take on Newcap’s clients, it’s still not that simple. 

When Newcap closed, the 134 households that depended on federally funded programs were immediately put at risk of homelessness. Public officials advocated to get four federal grants transferred to local organizations and waited nearly a month after Newcap’s closure to receive confirmation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

House of Hope in Green Bay will take on three of the four grants, but Director of Community Engagement Beth Hudak said it’s collaborating with multiple Brown County agencies to manage cases for Newcap’s former clients. 

“One of the biggest lessons we learned … is that when one agency holds all of the funding – does all of the work – when something happens, our community is devastated by it,” Hudak said. “What we really want to make sure we’re emphasizing in the future is having many, many more organizations involved in all of this work.” 

House of Hope’s primary mission is to serve homeless youth — not to provide permanent housing for adults, which some of the grants stipulate. But according to Hudak, HUD said House of Hope was the only agency qualified to take on the grants. 

“I don’t think we really had an option … HUD said that it was either us or the contracts would go to other parts of the state,” Hudak said.  

House of Hope will personally take over a $440,000 grant for youth rapid rehousing in Brown County. Through working with other agencies, it hopes to find subrecipients for a $1.1 million permanent supportive housing grant for individuals in Brown County. 

The third grant was specifically designated for supportive housing in rural northeast Wisconsin. Hudak said House of Hope is working closely with the Balance of State’s Northeast and NWISH coalitions even though they have yet to receive access to the grant funds.

Foundations Health & Wholeness, also based in Green Bay and primarily serving youth, will take on the fourth direct federal grant from Newcap, which provides nearly $300,000 for a youth mobile outreach program. 

Jackie Baumgart, director of Foundations Youth Services, said the grant fits into the work they’re already doing: engaging with homeless youth where they’re at since their access to transportation is often limited. 

“Why we were approached for this is because we do community-based services, and we don’t have specific offices where everybody works,” Baumgart said. “So our staff are out in the community … Our hope is to have a counselor go out and do a mental health check-in with young people that wouldn’t otherwise be able to access these services.” 

The organization will also take over Coordinated Entry for the NWISH and Northeast coalitions, filling another gap left by Newcap. Baumgart said her nonprofit plans to operate with more transparency and collaboration with other organizations. 

“My vision for what to do versus what has been done is to change it up a little bit and make it a more publicly known list for housing … I really want to make sure that we are teaching other organizations how to use it, when to use it, how to take people off of it, when to put people on, so that it’s not us doing all the work,” she said. 

Moving forward

In Green Bay, Newcap’s closure has made way for a unique new homeless shelter that takes in people who have been banned from other shelters in Brown County. Although controversial, Safe Haven Hope Center received a permit in May to use one of Newcap’s former buildings to shelter 19 individuals. 

Safe Haven technically rents the property from Newcap, which means Executive Director Cathi Oreto isn’t sure if it will be able to keep the property as Newcap liquidates its assets. But for now, she’s moving forward with a harm-reduction approach, offering a community-centered shelter with an extremely forgiving policy.

“We know that we’re going to have to ask people to leave, but when we ask them to leave, we’re going to ask them — and we have asked them — to leave for today and come back tomorrow,” Oreto said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the first time, 10th time, or one millionth time, our exit strategy is the same.” 

Meanwhile, a Brown County coalition is making sure the point-in-time count still happens on the night of July 22. Although Newcap led the point-in-time count for the past five years, Hudak said some Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition members have participated for decades. 

“I think we have it pretty well handled,” Hudak said. “One of the biggest issues that we’re coming across is just sort of a lack of data transfer, so some of the more in-depth information that Newcap had, we don’t necessarily have access to because of how quickly they closed.” 

In the future, Hudak said they’ll make sure the entire coalition has access to PIT documentation, instead of just one organization. It’s part of a broader effort to build interdependence between local anti-poverty nonprofits to minimize the impact of one closing. 

That network includes community members, too. Hudak said volunteers are always needed, and anyone who cares about homelessness can provide a fresh perspective. The NWISH and Northeast coalitions are also looking for members.

“All of our coalitions are always looking for more people to be in and support the work, and you don’t have to be a service provider to do that … Having outside perspectives is hugely, hugely important for making sure that we’re doing the best work that we can for the people that we serve,” she said.

‘There’s nowhere for them to go’: Newcap closure leaves northeast Wisconsin counties scrambling to prevent more homelessness is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

President Donald Trump is running out of time to decide what to do with a bipartisan bill meant to lower housing costs by making it easier to build.

If Trump does not sign the measure, it would become law at 12:01 a.m. Saturday under a provision of the Constitution that gives the president 10 days, excluding Sundays, to sign or veto a bill. Trump has said he would not sign the bill to pressure the U.S. Senate to pass an unrelated election security measure he considers a higher priority.

The constitutional provision does not apply if Congress is adjourned, resulting in what is called a pocket veto, but the current July Fourth recess does not count as an adjournment, experts agree.

“This would be considered a recess so the bill will become law without signature 10 days after presentment,” Jason Roberts, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina, wrote in an email to States Newsroom. 

The White House has not publicly communicated its legal position and spokespeople did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday. 

Trump has vetoed only two other bills passed by the GOP-controlled Congress during his second term. Both were noncontroversial and targeted to local projects in Florida and Colorado.

‘A huge problem’

Groups representing a vast array of housing interests, from low-income renters to bankers, have endorsed the wide-ranging legislation that packages together numerous bills affecting every corner of the industry.

“Housing affordability is a huge problem for almost everybody,” Alys Cohen, the director of federal housing advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center, said in an interview. “And so there’s broad consensus that Congress needs to do something about that, period. So, as a result, they have a lot of different stakeholders coming together to really get something done.”

The bill, called the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, generally seeks to lower housing costs by expanding the supply, while also adjusting loan programs backed by the federal government. 

Estimates of the number of housing units needed to meet demand vary, but it is “probably” near 4 million units, Kristen Klurfield, an associate director for housing policy at the Washington, D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center, said.

The package includes an assortment of smaller bills to update regulations on manufactured homes, loosen requirements for home construction and adjust a rural loan program to help lower income people qualify for and keep mortgages. The wide scope of the bill gives every segment of the policy space a reason to support it.

“In general it modernizes federal programs,” Klurfield said. “It incentivizes pro-housing policies locally, streamlines regulations that have been hindering housing production and really expands options for affordable housing financing. And so we think that the bill tackles the problem from these several angles, and that’s really what it’s going to take to chart a path forward.”

Trump quiet

As the package was gaining momentum in Congress last month, White House staff said Trump supported it. After it passed both chambers of Congress with broad bipartisan votes, he was set to sign it at a high-profile ceremony at the Capitol. 

But the president changed course and canceled the signing ceremony at the last minute in a protest of Congress’ failure to pass an election security measure, the SAVE America Act, he considers a top priority.

Since the Senate passed the housing measure, 85-5, and the House cleared it, 358-32, in June, Trump has disparaged the bill as “a big yawn” and “unimportant” compared to the election bill. 

That bill would introduce a series of restrictions on voting, especially vote-by-mail, and would require voters to provide photo ID to cast ballots. Critics say it raises new barriers to voting while attempting to limit noncitizen voting, which is exceedingly rare. The GOP-controlled House has passed a version of the SAVE America Act, but it does not have the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate.

Trump has not commented on the bill in several days and spent Wednesday attending a NATO conference in Turkey.

Madison's Common Council recently OK'd an agreement, authorizing the city to spend $4.3 million to acquire four parcels of land.

The post Madison is buying part of an old farm with the goal of building more housing appeared first on WPR.

Dozens of public housing authorities, tribes, property owners and community groups have joined a new coalition organized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to promote work requirements and time limits for people who receive federal housing help.

HUD is currently finalizing a rule that would allow public housing authorities and property owners who participate in federal housing voucher programs to impose work requirements and time limits on work-ready adults, or working-age adults (younger than 62) who are not disabled.

The federal agency says members of the coalition support the idea of giving housing authorities and providers discretion to require work of up to 40 hours per week for nonelderly, nondisabled adults, supplementing those rules with job training and other supportive services.

HUD argues that current housing policies discourage work and self-sufficiency, and extend the amount of time that people remain on housing assistance. In a social media post, Public and Indian Housing Assistant Secretary Ben Hobbs said the new requirements could generate over $500 million in new resident income.

In 2023, 31% of the people receiving federal housing assistance were nonelderly, nondisabled adults. Of that group, 44% were working and 56% were not, according to a 2025 report by the Congressional Research Service.

More than a hundred public housing authorities, tribes, property owners and community groups have joined the Work & Dignity Coalition, according to HUD. The National Housing Law Project, a nonprofit that advocates for more low-income housing, produced a list of 58 entities, including the public housing authorities in Fort Worth, Jacksonville, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Tampa.

Less than 1% of public housing authorities, known as Moving-to-Work agencies, are currently allowed to impose time limits or work requirements on people receiving housing assistance. HUD cites Champaign County, Illinois — which requires each able-bodied adult to work or be in school for at least 15 hours per week, and each household to generate 30 hours of work income at the minimum wage.

“I think that the important thing to note is that this is all about self-sufficiency, even if there might be some fear over what is required and how that would affect their housing,” said Peyton Pannell-Johnson, a spokesperson for the Housing Authority of Champaign County. “There is a team that needs to connect people to work, and then a team that follows up with each client.”

But housing advocates argue that the proposed requirements will make it more difficult for people to keep their housing assistance. The Congressional Research Service also warned in its 2025 report that imposing work requirements on federal aid recipients often trips up people who are working already.

“Work requirements can increase the burden for working recipients to prove that they remain eligible for benefits by requiring that they produce additional or more frequent information about their wages and hours,” the research agency stated. “There is an inherent tension between helping families meet their basic needs and promoting work in low-income assistance programs.”

Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at rsequeira@stateline.org

Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Grants Pass v. Johnson decision  — which allowed governments to enforce public camping bans without violating the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment — more than 350 cities and 14 states have adopted laws or measures to crack down on street homelessness.

States have varied in their approaches toward street homelessness since the 2024 ruling, including imposing statewide camping bans on public lands, setting mandates for local governments to enforce those bans and, in some cases, allowing property owners to sue their local government if they do not comply with enforcement of statewide camping bans, according to details gathered by the National Homelessness Law Center.

This year, Louisiana made unauthorized public camping a crime and created a Homelessness Court program, where an unhoused person charged with a crime could seek treatment as an alternative to jail time. Indiana’s new law, which bans unauthorized camping, sleeping and sheltering on state or local public land, goes into effect in July. 

Georgia and Oklahoma enacted Safe Neighborhood laws, which allow property owners to seek compensation from local governments if they fail to enforce laws tied to public camping, loitering and panhandling. Some measures have been modeled after legislation drafted by groups such as the conservative think tanks Cicero Institute and the Goldwater Institute.

There were fewer homeless people in the United States on a single night in January 2025 than in January 2024, but homelessness increased in 28 states, according to the latest federal count. 

Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at rsequeira@stateline.org.

A sweeping bipartisan housing bill passed through Congress earlier this week, with provisions aimed at making it easier to build new houses and rezone communities.

The post Sweeping federal housing bill won’t be a magic bullet for Wisconsin affordability, experts say appeared first on WPR.

David Crowley is no stranger to crowded political races. Before becoming Milwaukee’s first African American county executive in 2020, he had to emerge from a hotly contested primary that included Democratic Sen. Chris Larson (D-Madison), former state Sen. Jim Sullivan, Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy and then-county board chairman Theodore Lipscomb. Both Larson and Crowley advanced to the general election, which Crowley narrowly won. Over six years later, Crowley again finds himself in a Democratic primary, this time for the governor’s office, packed with experienced policymakers. 

Crowley’s opponents this time  include Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, state Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), former Department of Administration chief Joel Brennan, and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. In a straw poll at the Democratic Party convention in mid-June, Crowley placed fourth, with Rodriguez and Hong finishing first and second and Roys placing in third.

“Even though they’ve done great work in their respective roles, the one thing they’ve never done is actually run government,” Crowley said of the other Democratic candidates during an interview at Pilcrow Coffee in Milwaukee. “I’m the only executive in this race. And what’s also different for me is that I know what it means to be accountable and responsible for my actions and decisions, and how they’re going to affect the masses and the people that I represent.” Another key difference, he added, is that he’s got the  “receipts.”

Crowley highlighted how under his tenure, close to 1,000 units of affordable housing have been created across Milwaukee County. The past four years have also seen drug overdose deaths decrease by 40% with the expansion of harm reduction strategies. In 2023, the county also saw the largest property tax cut in its history, totalling $21 million. 

“What sets me apart is the fact that I’ve delivered for folks,” said Crowley. “And I continue to deliver for folks, and I’ve been able to do it in some of the most contentious times, if you will — especially with how partisan we are nowadays — as a lead Democrat representing the largest and most diverse community in the state of Wisconsin.”

In his first statewide race, Crowley said he wants to avoid labeling himself. “I’m a voting Democrat,” said Crowley. “I’m a Democrat that gets things done.” Crowley scoffs at ideological purity tests and the buzz about a rift among Democrats who identify as Socialists versus those who see themselves as moderates. “This is about how do you fight back against the Trump administration, but more importantly not just reacting, but how do we become more proactive when it comes down to Democratic policy that we need to push so we can actually win?”

Crowley is leaning on his  track record in his campaign. His platform is laid out in what he calls his  “Badger Basics Plan” which includes:

• Bringing universal childcare to Wisconsin, and working to cap childcare costs at 7% of household income 
• Establishing universal K-4 across Wisconsin, giving kids a better foundation of learning before entering the school system 
• Making sure that school districts have the funding, staff and resources that they need
• Expanding Badgercare as a public health option, and increasing reimbursements 
• Repealing Act 10 and restoring the collective bargaining rights for workers 
• Implementing restrictions on data centers and Artificial Intelligence (AI), while making sure AI enhances productivity rather than replacing job opportunities 
• Supporting programs for vulnerable people, especially the victims of domestic violence

When he’s not busy with his full-time day job running the county, he has been campaigning all over the state. “We have been everywhere,” he said. “I think we’ve done 40-plus forums around the state already, whether we are in southeastern Wisconsin, or Taylor County, or in Brown County, or in Marinette County, or Wausau, La Crosse. We’re traveling everywhere not only to spread the message, but more importantly to listen.” When he was a young organizer, Crowley likes to say, he learned that “if you don’t have a seat on the table, you’re on the menu.” 

Confronting questions about race

In his travels, Crowley said, he believes he can overcome negative racial perceptions some voters have about him and  the county he represents. “It’s not a real concern for me,” he said of the history-making task of becoming Wisconsin’s first Black governor. “They already trust me to deliver because I’ve been doing it as a county executive and I’ve done it as a state representative.” 

In fact, Crowley feels that the question of race comes up mostly in the state’s more diverse communities. “We have been conditioned, because we have been listening to the Republican talking points for so long, to where we have internalized it more and we use it as a reason as to why we can’t get certain things done,” he said of all the conversation about Wisconsin’s racial divide. “And honestly, I think it stops us from getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Building those relationships, going outside of our geographic comfort zone to talk about the things that we have done here, in one of the largest urban centers in the entire country, and how we can bring those best practices to communities across the state. What’s good for Milwaukee is good for every single town, village, and city in the state of Wisconsin.” 

Crowley points out that Wisconsin elected Tammy Baldwin, its first openly LGBTQ U.S. Senator. Wisconsin voters also elected “a skinny kid with a funny name by the name of Barack Obama,” he said. “We have been put into a box. It’s our job to think outside that box. It’s our job to shatter that glass ceiling and focus on how we’re going to deliver. Because people don’t care where you’re from. People don’t care what you look like. People don’t care who you love. They care about whether or not you’re going to care for them, and deliver real results moving forward.” 

The fact that he performed well in his election to his current post in suburban areas built up Crowley’s confidence. “I know they’ll vote for me, because they voted for me twice already,” he said. “That’s the type of experience that we need to not only stand up to Donald Trump, but that’s going to be proactive and be on the offense to deliver for the 6 million people that call Wisconsin home.”

Going around the state, Crowley has met people who want their voices heard on important issues from childcare and healthcare to lowering utility costs and making housing more affordable. He said he’s learned that even in a divided state like Wisconsin, people agree on more than they realize. “I think that in this particular political climate, as things become more polarized, no matter if you’re the far left or the far right, I think we can all agree that government isn’t working,” he said.  “And right now, we need to make sure that we are electing individuals who are not just going to fight back against policies that are going to leave families behind, but how are we going to be proactive in making sure that we’re pushing policies to make sure that when the tides rise, all of us rise.”

Data centers

One of the hottest issues in local communities around the state is the rise of giant data centers, proposed in communities across Wisconsin, and needed to feed the energy demand of a rapidly expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure. By 2023, a United Nations report found, global data centers will require the same amount of water annually as the 1.3 billion people who live in Sub-Saharan Africa, and require enough electricity to equal the annual needs of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria combined. Communities in Wisconsin have been pushing back on data centers due to concerns about increased utility costs, environmental fallout and the trajectory of AI. 

Crowley said “it’s asinine” that the Legislature ended its recent session without doing anything to regulate data centers. 

Crowley, who is not opposed to data centers, said it’s crucial that the state develop a “framework” to protect natural resources and the people of Wisconsin.

Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission approved an energy rate, requiring data centers to pay 100% of their own energy costs. Data centers should also have to pay 100% of the cost of the energy grid upgrades they require, Crowley said, as well as any infrastructure upgrades. He also wants to tie their development to investments in renewable energy. “I want to see more energy opportunity that doesn’t cost us any money,” he said. “Wind doesn’t cost us. Sunlight doesn’t cost us.” If Wisconsin invests in renewables, “moving forward it won’t be a huge drain on resources for ratepayers, or for these utility companies.” 

Crowley also said that as governor he would require data centers to use union labor, project labor agreements and community benefit agreements. He added he wants to explore  how data centers could be leveraged to benefit public schools, communities and already existing industry.

As the leader of a county that has experienced the rise and fall of heavy industry, he said he thinks about  how to plan ahead 50-100 years with data centers, to prevent them becoming empty shells, like abandoned Rust Belt factories, in the communities where they are built. He also feels that moving forward, Wisconsin needs to be “intentional” when it comes to giving out tax exemptions and tax credits for data centers, which have already been given $2 billion in tax exemptions. Crowley said that it’s not just the surge of up-front jobs which build the data center to consider, but also the smaller number of long-term jobs on the back-end. Protections need to be put in place to make sure communities are getting ahead, Crowley said. 

Education and school choice

Crowley describes himself as a strong advocate for  public schools. He, his wife, and his three daughters are all public school graduates But, he said, he also doesn’t believe in eliminating Wisconsin’s entire private school choice system outright. Half of the kids enrolled in school in Milwaukee go to public school while the other half go to private or charter schools. If charter schools were eliminated, that would create a strain on an already stressed public school system, Crowley said. He said he believes in accountability for choice schools and recognition that public schools have a greater responsibility and level of accountability, since they are required by law to serve every child who comes in the door. 

Working across the aisle

Crowley is optimistic that, as a Democratic governor, he can work with Republicans in the Legislature, especially since, he says, new voting maps will help depolarize the state. He believes that the old maps forced people into separate corners. “We have to focus on partnerships and collaboration if we want our state to move forward,” said Crowley. He also feels that Democrats need to be prepared to play offense and be proactive. He said voters will need to be patient with a Democratic governor as the party adjusts to its new identity after this year’s elections. With the new voting maps, Democrats have an opportunity to gain a majority in the Legislature as well as the governor’s office for the first time in almost 30 years. 

“We have a lot to prove as Democrats,” Crowley said. “We have a lot to prove as leaders of our community, to show that we can govern, we can win elections moving forward, and we can plan for the long term.”

Editor’s note: The Examiner is running periodic profiles of the contenders in the Aug. 11, 2026 gubernatorial primary as well as the candidates in the general election Nov. 3. 

Green Bay leaders are moving toward creating a registry of vacant buildings and charging fees in the hope of encouraging redevelopment.

The post Green Bay looks to create policy addressing vacant buildings through registry, fees appeared first on WPR.

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On Monday, June 1, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, better known as HUD, released its Notice of Funding Opportunity Continuum of Care Competition for Fiscal Year 2026. 

Brown County is part of the Balance of State CoC, the Continuum of Care that makes up the majority of the state outside of Milwaukee, Dane and Racine counties, which have their own CoCs. A Continuum of Care is a regional nonprofit or government entity that helps coordinate and distribute funding to homeless and housing providers. 

Homelessness fell 3.1% nationwide based on the January 2025 Point in Time count, according to the 2025  Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (Part 1). This trend is seen locally: In Brown County there was an 8% decrease in homelessness from 453 in 2025 to 416 in 2026 on the night of the Point in Time count. 

More people than ever before are receiving housing services nationally: 642,451, an increase of 4%, according to the annual report. However, over the course of 2024, 912,807 people entered homelessness for the first time. 

Service providers are tasked to meet the needs of an increasingly vulnerable population, including the chronically homeless. Chronic homelessness is defined as an individual with a disability who has been continuously homeless for one year or more or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the last three years where the combined length of time spent homeless on those occasions is at least 12 months. In particular, chronic homelessness continues to be a challenge for CoCs with funding for Permanent Supportive Housing. Organizations nationwide have Permanent Supportive Housing beds available for, at most, 32% of the chronically homeless population, according to the AHAR report. In Brown County nearly 19% of our homeless population meets the chronically homeless designation and 69% have a disability.

HUD has designated $4.04 billion in funding for CoCs to apply for in fiscal year 2026, more than previous HUD notices. However, this notice redirects CoC programming away from Permanent Supportive Housing and toward Transitional Housing programming, with addiction and mental health treatment as an objective for housing services.

In the notice, HUD tells us that “Housing First” programming has failed, pointing to the 27% increase in homelessness since 2013 when “Housing First” was introduced. In that time, funding for “permanent beds” has increased 150.9% and CoC funding has increased 111%. 

From 2013 to 2026 rental costs in Wisconsin have increased nearly 78%, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Zillow, with spikes in post-COVID rental markets in midsize Wisconsin cities such as Green Bay and Appleton being hit the hardest. 

The minimum wage has not changed in the state of Wisconsin since 2009, and according to data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition this leaves rental options out of reach for many in the state of Wisconsin. In Brown County, an estimated 35% of the population, or 39,000 people, are renters, coalition data shows. This means a minimum wage worker in Brown County needs to work 104 hours a week to afford a modest one-bedroom rental. 

With direction from the HUD notice, CoCs will need to meet a new set of requirements that are beyond the scope of nonprofit service providers in our community. This includes increasing the wages of program participants and required mental health and addiction treatment. This is not something that can be done at a CoC level alone. Brown County service providers are working diligently to meet the needs of those in our community who are experiencing homelessness by offering opportunities for permanent housing, transitional housing and emergency shelter. They are not built to respond to a stagnant minimum wage, a housing market devoid of options and a mental health epidemic.

The current CoC project is not perfect, but it does not exist in a perfect environment. For Permanent Supportive Housing programs with full funding to succeed, we need to create that. The HUD notice puts the responsibility of making the perfect environment and running the perfect program on the regional housing coalitions, and if you are unable to meet that, too bad. 

Housing is the responsibility of our community and the people who live here. This “pay-to-play” model is harmful to our CoCs, community nonprofits and especially harmful to the neighbors they serve. 

We don’t fix our current homelessness crisis by punishing the helpers. 

We fix the problem by addressing the root causes:

• State and local governments can work to support increased development by repealing restrictive zoning rules. 
• Grants and low interest loans should be used to support development to ensure there are units available for those at 30-80% Area Median Income. In Brown County we are already doing this; many zoning changes across the community are starting to happen. 
• We need collaboration across municipalities to keep up with the demand and meet the changing needs of households in our community. 
• We need grants to help landlords and property managers make necessary repairs to our aging housing stock to keep it up to code and available for program participants. 
• We need to protect our “mom and pop” landlords from consumer act lawsuits, while increasing tenants’ rights: right to council during evictions, right to organize and the right to purchase. 

And this is just the start. We need to increase access points for mental health and addiction treatment by expanding public health care; treating these not as the cause of homelessness but as a health crisis. 

It’s not an easy pill to swallow, and addressing the root causes will require hard work and time. But we live in a community that cares and has the resources to make an impact by working together and helping our neighbors.

Josh Benti is the homeless initiative project director for the Greater Green Bay Blueprint to Prevent and End Homelessness, an initiative of the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation  that creates pathways to prevent and end homelessness in the region.

Guest opinion: New federal funding guidelines fail to address root causes of homelessness is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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After 35 years renting her home, a leaky and unkept roof forced Farina Brooks and her husband to move into a hotel.  

It wasn’t a rash decision. For three years, Brooks said, she pleaded with the property management company to fix the roof as water damage spread and conditions inside the home worsened. 

City inspectors eventually came, issuing citations and fines. Still, she said, little changed.

“We kept getting the runaround,” Brooks said.

Eventually, she and her husband entered Milwaukee’s rent abatement program. Even that failed to improve conditions, she said.

Now, she said, the couple is burning through their savings to pay for a hotel room while searching for stable housing in an increasingly expensive rental market.

Brooks said the situation was not always this way. 

“For the 30 years or so (the landlord) was good, you know, she handled things,” she said. 

But in recent years, she said she learned the woman had developed dementia and was placed under a conservatorship, a change Brooks believes coincided with the property’s decline.

Her story reflects a growing frustration shared by many Milwaukee tenants confronting deteriorating housing conditions and asking a question that local officials hear constantly: Why can’t the city force landlords to fix problems with their properties?

City response is limited

According to Milwaukee City Attorney Evan Goyke, the answer lies in a complicated mix of state law, property rights and limited local authority that has steadily narrowed the city’s oversight powers on rental housing during the past decade.

The city has powers to do certain things, but not others, Goyke said. 

“The federal government can limit what states can do, and the states can limit what municipal governments can do.”

State Sen. Dora Drake said Wisconsin law requires landlords to maintain rental properties, including making necessary structural and plumbing repairs and complying with local housing codes. But, she said, tenants often face barriers when conditions deteriorate.

“Under most circumstances, a tenant may not refuse to pay rent entirely unless the conditions are so poor as to force a tenant to move out,” Drake said. “If the conditions in the rental premises are poor where the tenant’s health or safety is affected, or the tenant is unable to use part of the premises, the tenant is entitled to reduce the amount of rent proportionately.”

Much of Milwaukee’s housing enforcement is controlled by Wisconsin state law, particularly by legislation passed between 2013 and 2017 that limited how municipalities regulate rental housing.

One major change, specifically state statute 66.0104, pushed cities into complaint-driven inspection systems – meaning inspectors cannot proactively inspect properties for violations unless someone files a complaint.

“The Department of Neighborhood Services can’t just walk up and down the street and say, ‘That house, that house, that house,’ ” Goyke said.

Instead, the city relies heavily on tenants and neighbors to report unsafe conditions to the Department of Neighborhood Services.

Drake said the current system leaves too many renters vulnerable before problems are addressed.

“We need more accountability measures and preventative measures and standards to prevent those situations from getting so bad with tenants,” she said.

Complaint-based enforcement

When tenants report unsafe conditions, Department of Neighborhood Services inspectors investigate and may issue written orders that require repairs within a specified time frame.

If the violations are not addressed, the city can issue citations and pursue penalties in municipal court. Unpaid judgments can eventually become liens on the property.

But that process can take a long time, especially for a city balancing thousands of complaints with limited staff and funding, according to Goyke.

He said many residents get frustrated because they expect immediate intervention.

The city can escalate serious or repeated violations into lawsuits in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. In extreme cases, courts can appoint a receiver to take over management of a property.

Under receivership, a court-appointed manager can collect rent and use it to make repairs if a landlord has failed to maintain safe conditions.

“It’s a very heavy hammer for the landlord,” Goyke said. “Somebody else is going to step in and fix (the properties) for you.”

Tenant fears and limited options

Housing advocates have long argued that complaint-driven enforcement creates another problem: potential retaliation or displacement of tenants. 

Many tenants won’t report poor conditions out of fear.

Goyke said those fears are real, particularly for tenants living in severely deteriorated buildings who worry they could lose housing if the property is condemned.

“I feel terrible that people are placed in a position where they feel they need to live in unsafe conditions because it does beat living outside,” he said.

He encouraged tenants to report violations to DNS and to explore programs such as rent withholding and rent abatement.

Under Milwaukee’s rent withholding program, tenants continue paying rent, but the money is held by the Department of Neighborhood Services until repairs are completed. Rent abatement, meanwhile, allows tenants to reduce rent payments when serious conditions affect habitability.

Legal and service organizations, including the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, Legal Action of Wisconsin and Community Advocates, can help tenants understand their rights and options.

Property rights and bad landlords

Residents also frequently question why landlords with poor track records are still able to purchase additional properties, Goyke said.

Goyke said cities generally cannot interfere in private property transactions unless the city has a legal interest in the property, such as unpaid taxes or code enforcement judgments.

“If we do not have an interest in the property, we can’t stop it,” he said.

That limitation stems from long-standing American property rights protections, he added.

“It is not a shortcoming of some ordinance that could be tweaked,” Goyke said. “That question goes to core property rights in America.”

Drake said she has co-authored proposals aimed at expanding rent abatement protections and shielding renters from landlord retaliation.

 “We know it happens,” Drake said. “Whether it’s Berrada or other properties that are known to have these stories, those are things that we can do.”

Berrada Properties owns more than 8,000 units and has been named in lawsuits by both tenants and the city attorney. 

Drake also said the state should expand access to legal representation for tenants facing eviction or living in unsafe housing.

“We can create an office of civil legal aid to provide a right to appointment of counsel at the state’s expense for tenants in eviction actions,” she said.

Community action

Brooks said she was pushed to leave her home by her daughter and several local community leaders. 

“They told me you cannot live here,” she said. “The final straw for me was when water started coming in through the light fixtures.” 

Brooks said community leader Ajamou Butler shared a post about her situation that garnered support from the community and helped pay for her first several days in the hotel. 

She said local leaders including Butler, Vaun Mayes and state Rep. Sequanna Taylor have supported her through the move. Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and Community Advocates have supported her search for accountability and a new home. 

“It was hard accepting help, but it reminded me of how the community shows up,” Brooks said. “This made me worry for the people that don’t know who to call or have people to show up.” 

Goyke encouraged residents to vote and stay engaged politically and also emphasized on-the-ground organizing and collective action to address housing issues.

He pointed to local organizations like Common Ground, the Community Development Alliance and the RON Coalition as examples of groups working to improve housing conditions.

“There’s a lot more that people can do individually that make an impact,” he said.

Goyke described a boarded-up house on his own block that has sat vacant for years, saying neighbors could potentially organize fundraising efforts to help support redevelopment.

“Don’t wait for somebody else to solve your problems,” he said. “There’s a ton of energy in trying to figure out how to do this, and it’s a great time for people to get involved.” 

Drake said stronger tenant protections are part of the Wisconsin Legislative Black Caucus agenda this year.

“We know that at the state level, we need to do more to ensure that we’re protecting tenants’ rights,” she said.

Policies make it harder for Milwaukee tenants to demand repairs is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Milwaukee’s homelessness crisis is growing more visible, but advocates say there are still signs of progress. 

A few years ago, Milwaukee leaders said the city was on track to end family homelessness. Since then, the number of people who are homeless has grown. Organizations on the front lines and others working on the issue still say Milwaukee has quietly become an example of how coordinated prevention efforts can work during a larger national crisis. 

“When we talk about ending family homelessness, it doesn’t mean no family will ever experience homelessness,” said Krystina Kohler, impact manager at United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. “It means we’ve built a system that can respond quickly, prevent homelessness when possible, and rapidly connect families back to stable housing.”

Rising homelessness

Data collected through the Milwaukee Coalition on Housing and Homelessness shows more people are entering Milwaukee’s homeless service programs than exit it.

The 765 people who entered homeless service programs in 2025  had been without stable housing for an average of 88 days; 77% were homeless for the first time.

Ten percent became homeless again within a year.

According to David Nelson, chair of the Milwaukee Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, the totals include people living in shelters and those sleeping in cars, abandoned buildings or other places not meant for habitation. 

“On any given day, we have 750 shelter beds in our city,” Nelson said. “Beginning in November through the end of March, we have an additional approximate 250 shelter beds, which (are) our winter warming rooms.”

Even with the extra capacity, he said beds are almost always full. 

Nelson said official homelessness figures fail to capture the full scope of housing instability because many people who temporarily stay with friends or relatives are not counted until those arrangements end.

“What we don’t count (are) people who are doubling up,” he explained. “If you let me stay on your couch through the winter, it’s not counted as homelessness. But the minute you say, ‘You gotta go,’ suddenly I become homeless.”

Sister MacCanon Brown is president and CEO of MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary. She said her organization’s welcome center at 2461 W. Center St., which distributes clothing, food and household necessities and offers showers to people in need, saw 4,600 people in 2025.

Why homelessness is increasing

Most people leaving homeless service programs have no documented housing destination, making it difficult to know whether they are securing stable housing or eventually returning to homelessness, Nelson said. The percentage of people transitioning into permanent or temporary housing remains mostly unchanged.

Nelson said the end of pandemic-era federal housing assistance contributed to the rise in homelessness.

“During the Biden-Harris administration, we were sheltering people in hotels, and that was paid for by the federal government,” he said. “That funding is no longer there, and so you can see this gradual increase and then the spike in the number of people having to go back to homelessness.”

Other economic pressures are pushing more residents toward instability, especially low-income renters already struggling with rising housing costs.

“The people who are most squeezed are the people who are most vulnerable,” Nelson said. “Those at the lower ends of the economic spectrum are sometimes paying 50% and 60% of their income just to keep an apartment.”

People over 65 are now the fastest-growing age group entering Milwaukee’s homeless services system.

“It’s the fastest growing population in the country,” Nelson said. “If they go on Social Security, they are suddenly on a fixed income. The numbers don’t meet.”

Kohler said senior homelessness is becoming a major concern for local providers.

“Older adults experiencing homelessness for the first time in their lives is something that should never happen in our community,” she said. “They’re often widowed, on fixed incomes and one emergency away from losing housing.”

NNS has reported on housing crises among younger adults and families and seniors recently. 

Kohler said she hopes homelessness initiatives expand beyond families to include seniors, single adults and people exiting facilities.

Nelson added that eviction records can trap people in long-term instability.

“The eviction stays on their record for a long time,” Nelson said. “Landlords can use CCAP and see there was a legal proceeding against them. Suddenly they’re charged first, last and middle month’s rent.”

Brown said that many of the housing unstable people she sees were renters. 

“The lack of landlord regulation, the evictions and the prices have a lot to do with increased homelessness,” she said. “Some type of landlord regulation is crucial in keeping people housed.”

There have been assumptions by some that homelessness may be tied to migration from outside the city. But nearly everyone enrolled in Milwaukee’s homeless services programs during 2024 and 2025 was from Milwaukee County, according to local data.

Prevention efforts have worked

Kohler said Milwaukee’s prevention efforts increasingly focus on helping families before they lose housing entirely.

“We’re trying to get ahead of the trauma of homelessness,” she said. “Sometimes a family just needs help with a car repair, utility bill or mediation with a landlord before a housing crisis begins.”

She pointed to partnerships with schools and even animal welfare organizations as part of Milwaukee’s early intervention strategy.

“If a family is surrendering a pet because of housing instability, we can now connect them to services immediately,” Kohler said. “That’s a unique approach here.”

Though homelessness overall has risen, Kohler said Milwaukee has seen family homelessness remain relatively stable, or even decline, compared with many similar cities nationwide.

“Nationwide, family homelessness has increased dramatically, but Milwaukee is one of the only peer cities that has stayed relatively flat or even slightly decreased,” she said. “That’s because of intentional investments in prevention services and rapid rehousing.”

Working together to address homelessness

Organizations across the city continue working together through the Milwaukee Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, which includes nonprofits, universities, faith organizations, outreach teams and local government agencies coordinating resources and services.

“We have a really rich and robust system in our city,” Nelson said. “Homelessness is not a choice. It’s not something people choose to be in.”

Kohler said Milwaukee’s coordinated response system has become a model for other communities.

“Right now, there are no families on the literal homelessness list searching for shelter,” she said. “If a family is identified as needing emergency shelter, they should have immediate access to beds.”

She said Milwaukee’s collaborative approach deserves more recognition.

“The providers here are doing amazing work,” Kohler said. “Other communities are reaching out to Milwaukee to model what we’re doing.”

Kohler said Milwaukee’s response shows progress is possible even during a growing national housing crisis.

“Milwaukee is actually an example of success inside a larger crisis,” she said. “There’s still tremendous need, but we’ve shown that prevention and rapid response can work.”

She encouraged residents facing housing instability to seek help early by calling 211 and connecting with local support services before a crisis escalates.

“Keep calling and keep advocating for yourself,” Kohler said. “Sometimes resources open up quickly, and that early connection can prevent homelessness entirely.”

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Milwaukee homelessness rises despite some prevention successes is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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More older residents in Milwaukee are facing homelessness, according to findings from a yearlong study funded through a grant from the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment, which included Community Advocates Public Policy Institute and the Medical College of Wisconsin. 

Community Advocates is a social service agency that provides a number of services, including those related to housing. 

Researchers examined why older people are at risk for homelessness and what changes need to be made to keep them housed. 

“Older adults used to be stable and now there’s instability,” said Erin Cronn, director of nursing for the City of Milwaukee Health Department. 

The breakdown

The study showed that the majority of Milwaukee’s homeless older adults are Black males between 55 and 65, who have a high school diploma or some college. 

According to Community Advocates Public Policy Institute and the Medical College of Wisconsin, their homelessness was due to a loss of income, family conflict or health challenges. 

Matt Raymond, supportive housing programs director for Community Advocates, said intakes of people 62 and older have doubled and sometimes tripled over the last 10 or so years.  

Raymond said that many of the older adults had never been homeless and that accessibility to resources for them can be difficult. 

“This is many of their first time experiencing homelessness and having to navigate a system that can be complex and nuanced,” Raymond said. 

To help get older adults the housing resources they need, Cronn said, there needs to be a better way of sharing important information. 

“A lot of information is disseminated in electronic ways and there’s a lot of isolation, so word of mouth doesn’t always work,” Cronn said. 

The study also revealed that many older adults would prefer for all services to be in one place and have better transportation and more places to stay.

Understanding the hard truth

Although the study highlighted promising solutions, Emily Kenney, director of strategic initiatives and transformation at the Milwaukee County Department of Health & Human Services, said there’s still no housing system, which is why older adults struggle. 

She believes that homeless shelters, housing programs and landlords should be functioning under one system instead of operating separately. 

“When you think about the criminal justice system, health or behavioral system, those systems work together with you from beginning to end, but not for housing,” she said. 

She said this gap causes a lack in prevention support for older adults and only assists people when they’re already homeless. 

“When I was running a coordinated entry system, what I heard all day was people were on the brink of losing their housing and needing resources, and the only solution was to come into a homeless system first,” Kenney said.

Homelessness and the health care system

Family medicine specialist Dr. William Calawerts said he’s received older patients with high blood pressure, diabetes and other health challenges but can’t help if they don’t have stable housing.

Without a home, older adults can’t take their medicine or attend doctor appointments, which will make them more ill, he said. 

“Their health issues are usually extremely complex and serious, but oftentimes we’re not able to address that adequately in the outpatient setting,” he said. 

Cronn said health can mean different things to homeless older adults compared with health care professionals.

For older adults, it means having safe housing, clipped nails, ability to wash their hands or having clean and dry clothes, but professionals may see health as traditional doctor visits, he said.

“As a practitioner, it’s hard to prioritize health and the folks we’re seeing because their version of what their needs are is different than what we’re seeing,” Cronn said.

Calawerts said when he’s training medical students about homeless patients, he teaches them to take their time, have compassion and treat them beyond their illness.

“We try to tell them that you’re a human first and a physician second,” Calawerts said. “I think we’ve lost the humanism component in a lot of things we do.”

Affordable housing challenges

Kenney raised concerns about housing programs that give out vouchers to help with paying rent but have been a contributing factor to older adult homelessness.

She said developers are using loans to build houses, and the way the loans get paid off is through rent. 

“Developers can’t offer rent at a price people need because the tax credits they get aren’t enough,” Kenney said. “The people who get the vouchers have already entered the homeless system.” 

As a result, Raymond said some older adults have been moving into permanent supportive housing. These programs help homeless individuals get their own long-term place and additional services to help.

Community Advocates refers some of its intakes to Autumn West Safe Haven, an apartment on Milwaukee’s North Side that gives homeless or mentally ill individuals a place to stay short term until they find stability.

According to Community Advocates, 36 individuals who were homeless or mentally ill received services and housing through Autumn West Safe Haven, while 101 individuals who were chronically homeless and living with a disability received immediate help in 2025.

“Over the last few years at Autumn West Safe Haven, we’ve gone into outreach community centers to offer on-site telepsychiatry care to our residents and established a relationship with Advocate Aurora to bring in their mobile clinic on a monthly basis,” Raymond said. 

Hopes for the future

Overall, community leaders want people to know that existing organizations need to make their population broader and do a better job at synthesizing resources, even though it may take time. 

“There’s no reason for Milwaukee not to be at the forefront fighting this nationally,” Kenney said. 

Calawerts also mentioned the resilience of older adults, having heard many success stories of them getting through mental health, homelessness, unemployment and other challenges. 

“Those stories are the ones that give me hope, and with more robust services that are connected in these spaces, we can see more of those successfully,” Calawerts said.

Health care professionals and leaders want change as more older Milwaukee residents become homeless  is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Housing instability for young adults in Milwaukee is a growing problem. Looking for solutions, young adults, residents and leaders gathered at Wellpoint Care Network in late April to discuss systemic gaps and realities young adults face with renting and homeownership. 

“Homeownership is a privilege when it shouldn’t be,” Tamia Abney, youth-coordinated entry liaison at Pathfinders, said.

The convening challenged members to think of possible solutions to the young adult housing crisis.

Basic needs aren’t being met

A 2024 Wisconsin Policy Forum study revealed that half of Milwaukee renters are using at least 30% of their income to keep a roof over their heads. 

In 2024, the average monthly rent in Milwaukee was $1,177. Workers in common jobs like fast food, retail, nursing assistants and other occupations earn between $28,000 and $44,000 a year and can only afford approximately $720 to $1,100 in rent, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum. 

“Those are important jobs that make up most of our society,” Abney said. “The income isn’t meeting the needs to pay for their living.” 

During the convening at Wellpoint Care Network, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said there are young people who have decent jobs and still struggle with affordable housing.

“When you make that first good job out of college and make a certain dollar amount, everybody thinks you have it when that’s not the case,” Johnson said. “I lived it, too.”

Milwaukee housing shortage

One reason for the high rent prices in Milwaukee is that the number of people needing homes is growing faster than the number of housing units available. 

According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, Milwaukee’s households increased by 17,335 between 2010 and 2024, but only 11,038 housing units were available, leaving an underproduction of 6,297 units. 

“There’s a shortage for low-income families because somebody else has already snatched it away from them,” said Carl Mueller, founder and chairman of Mueller Communications.

The mayor, who declared 2026 the year of housing in Milwaukee, said the city is working to increase housing supply so rent can become cheaper and change how tax dollars are being used to support young professionals.

“We still invest in affordable housing, but what we’ve done now is open it up to make investments in workforce housing, so young professionals don’t end up in situations where they’re spending 30% of their income, too,” Johnson said. 

Mueller and other community members suggested the city build developments similar to NeuVue and ThriveOn King, which bring housing and community resources together. 

Additional challenges

Another reason for the local housing shortage is that residential projects take the longest to get approved.

According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the median time it takes for a Milwaukee building project to go from zoning to final building permit approval is 145 days, but for residential projects it takes about 224 days. 

Johnson said when he came into office, he challenged the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services to speed up the permit process.

“I think if we had been more aggressive and if we had cut more red tape over the years, then a lot of the development that’s happening in some of the surrounding communities would have happened in the city,” Johnson said. 

Johnson added that Milwaukee’s zoning policies need to be updated so more properties can be built. 

“We haven’t had a whole-scale zoning policy since John Norquist was mayor,” he said.

A need for a better quality of living

Al Smith, chief operating officer at Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, said youths, families and young adults are living in places with high rent prices but are experiencing poor conditions – lead issues and infestations among them. 

“Some are paying up to $1,500 a month for places they don’t want to live in, but it was the only option they were left with,” Smith said. “We need a better quality of housing stock.”

Iasia Sawyer, 21, a member of the Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council and participant of the Youth Transitioning to Adulthood program, said she’s already in her second apartment and has faced ongoing challenges with her landlord over mold and pipes.

Smith said more young adults and families in stable housing would bring an increase in graduation rates and other benefits. 

“When I think about education or even kids having to switch schools constantly, there’s no stability in that,” he said. 

Johnson recalled how traumatizing it felt when he had to attend six Milwaukee Public Schools throughout his childhood because of housing instability. 

“As mayor, I’m working to make sure that more kids in Milwaukee have the stability that I didn’t have growing up,” Johnson said. “It’s not just about housing support; you guys are also providing the foundation for everything else in life.”

Homeownership can be attainable for young adults

Smith said he found it disheartening to know there are some who have no desire to become a homeowner. 

“If you’ve seen multiple generations of your family that were only renters and never owned a home, they don’t think homeownership is a possibility for them,” he said. 

He said the best way to encourage young adults into homeownership is through community support to address credit, bankruptcies and other barriers so they can make the adjustments to become eligible to buy a home.

Smith said Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity is teaching individuals how to financially prepare for homeownership. 

According to Smith, it takes about $275,000 for the organization to build a home, and families who participate in the program only pay about $150,000 for their first mortgage. The program provides additional financial support to help keep monthly payments affordable.

“You’ll also get the benefit of building wealth and equity into that,” Smith said. 

Sawyer said she wants young people navigating adulthood to know that although finding stable and quality housing is a challenge, it can be attainable. 

“There are people who are ready to give up because they don’t have the right support around them for their situation,” she said. “Now it’s about moving forward.”

Milwaukee’s housing crisis leaves younger adults and families struggling to find stability is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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The median price of a Wisconsin home has increased significantly in the past few years, but it has not doubled.

Median means half the sale prices were higher and half were lower.

The latest full-year figures: 

2025: $325,000

2024: $310,000

2023: $285,000

2022: $265,000

The 2025 median was 23% higher than in 2022.

In each of the first three months of 2026, the median price was higher year-over-year compared with 2025.

The last time the median decreased was in 2011.

Experts say the COVID-19 pandemic and a 2022 interest rate spike in 2022 caused homeowners to postpone or cancel plans to sell. The smaller supply pushed prices higher.

Also, construction costs have risen and new home building has not kept pace with population increases.

In 2023, the Republican-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers allocated $500 million toward loan programs aimed at creating affordable housing.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Wisconsin Realtors Association: Wisconsin Housing Statistics, as of April 27, 2026
• Wisconsin Policy Forum: Home Prices Outpace Incomes
• Wisconsin Watch: Wisconsin faces a housing affordability crisis. Here’s how lawmakers and candidates for governor plan to address it.
• Kurt Paulsen, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of urban planning Email

Have Wisconsin home prices doubled in the last three years? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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A 2023 report found Wisconsin needs around 200,000 new housing units to meet demand by 2030.

Forward Analytics, the nonpartisan research arm of the Wisconsin Counties Association, said in the 2023 report that Wisconsin needs between 140,000 and 227,000 new housing units.

Those differing estimates are based on population changes, migration to Wisconsin and other trends, such as whether young adults choose to live with parents. Forward Analytics concluded the total need is “200,000 or more” units.

The League of Wisconsin Municipalities, Wisconsin Realtors Association and Wisconsin Builders Association cite that 200,000 estimate as part of their joint effort to address the shortage.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2026 housing profile for Wisconsin found the state needs to make 118,000 more homes available and affordable for the lowest-income households.

The needed housing represents about 7% of the state’s 2.8 million housing units, according to Census figures.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Forward Analytics A Housing Hurdle: Demographics Drive Need for More Homes
• League of Wisconsin Municipalities More Wisconsin Housing
• National Low Income Housing Coalition Housing Needs by State: Wisconsin
• U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts: Wisconsin (2024)

Is Wisconsin projected to need 200,000 more homes to meet demand by 2030? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.