GREEN BAY - Leaders in homeless aid agencies have been working to make the public more aware of the desperate situation Green Bay's homeless population is in.
Alexia Wood with the Micah Center in Green Bay says the general community doesn't recognize how prevalent homelessness is.
Just two months ago, a homeless man fell asleep in a garbage bin, when he was picked up with the trash by a garbage truck. Green Bay Police say the man died later at the hospital.
The man is the fourth homeless man to die on the streets in Green Bay alone.
"We ties to all four. so at st.johns we work on the motto of family so it was four family members that we lost." said Alexia Wood.
Police report three men died between January and March when all five shelters in Green Bay would have been open. The fourth died in May.
" The problem is not going away by ignoring it, we do need to address it and addressing it in a real way that we are in providing a continuum of care is the only way." said Officer Paul Van Handel with Green Bay Community Police.
Van Handel says the Green Bay Police Department spent 479 hours on the most chronic homeless population in Green Bay.
According to organizers with the Micah Center, the homeless population being serviced when all five shelters are open is about 500 people, with 200 of them being children.
Multiple sources we spoke with say the lack of affordable housing, mental illness and addiction are key factors in preventing someone experiencing homelessness to get back on their feet.
Wood says homelessness is a complex issue.
" In Brown County an individual making minimum wage would need to work 87 hours per week to afford a basic one bedroom apartment."said Wood.
Earlier this month at an "Understanding Homelessness Panel" the Green Bay community came together to hear from leaders in the community and shelters, about how we can understand the complex issue and to work towards improving the situation.
One speaker from the panel said the cost to house a homeless person for a year is considerably less than the cost to the community to have someone on the streets.
"Often times they don't have insurance and so they're going through a lot of those resources. It also is a lot of time for those police officers that have interaction with them. A lot of community dollars are spent when the homeless aren't connected to the services they should be." said Tami Frea with New Community Shelter.
A committee called 'Basic Needs' which started in 2013 found that the Green Bay community spend an estimated $750,000 dollars on the chronic homeless. Last year, the same study showed the community has spent more than $1M.
"ER services, hospital services, crisis intervention services, counseling services, it's a tremendous amount." said Van Handel.
A new program with Darjune is looking to take a new more affective approach.
"Darjune will provide a recovery coach, there will be crisis intervention and hospital social workers who will also be involved so three different aspects in working on this all at once." Said Van Handel.
Solving the problem is half the battle, the other leaders say is to crush stereotypes and misconceptions about the homeless.
"Some of these individuals are working two, three jobs and they're willing to work the jobs many are not willing to work. It's a daily fight for your survival and it truly is a fight." said Wood.
St. Johns Shelter says 44% of their guests had a job at the point of intake.
Sometimes trying to understand the homeless in our community can have a simple approach.
"Come down to the shelter and share a meal and hear their stories themselves and i don't think it's possible to hear a story first hand from someone who is struggling with homelessness and poverty and use the word lazy to describe them." said Wood.
