Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-WI) | legis.wisconsin.gov/
Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-WI) | legis.wisconsin.gov/
Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-WI) recently reminded her followers through Twitter that there are services available to help individuals in need during the winter months.
Racine County currently has 21 designated warming centers for people in need when temperatures hit 25 degrees or below. A complete list of these shelters, including their locations and hours of operation, may be found on the official Racine County website.
“As the weather gets colder and temperatures reach dangerous levels, make sure you know where you can stay warm this winter in Racine," Neubauer stated on Twitter. "People in need of shelter, heating assistance or warm clothing can call 211 for resources available across the state.”
Effective Feb. 15, the City of Racine's RYDE transit system will provide free transportation to the warming shelters.
Anyone seeking to utilize these shelters must inform the bus driver that they are homeless and in need of shelter.
The city's transit system will also assist in transporting these individuals from the shelters to a final destination.
The warming shelters are an essential service for Racine County, which has a greater rate of homelessness than other locations in southeastern Wisconsin, according to a report by the Journal Times.
In 2018, the homeless population in Racine County increased from 194 to 275, marking a 42% increase approximately three times the rate of neighboring counties.
“It’s still a local thing,” HOPES Center Executive Director Scott Metzel told the Journal Times. “The people who we find out on the street, they’re not from out of state. They’re from Racine.”
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has estimated that over 4,500 individuals would be homeless in Wisconsin by 2020, according to data provided by the U.S Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Five hundred and fifty-eight of this total were families, 337 were veterans, 193 were unaccompanied young adults (ages 18-24) and 611 were people who had been homeless for an extended period of time.
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