MADISON, Wis. – Less than 12 hours after Madison’s Common Council voted to table a final decision on a permanent men’s shelter location, Alder Samba Baldeh says the city is trying to move forward with an incomplete plan.
“The city has no plan,” the District 17 Alder said. “They’ll tell you they’ll bring resources here. Last night, I asked them, when will this place be a fully serviced homeless shelter? They couldn’t answer that question. That’s the biggest problem.”
The city has been searching for a permanent location for nearly a year. Last summer, COVID-19 precautions forced services out of church basements in downtown Madison due to a lack of space. In Oct 2020, the owner of a proposed site backed out one day after the city announced plans to move there.
In late Jan 2021, Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway announced the new proposed location for a permanent site, 2002 Zeier Road.
“It’s in some ways a good thing that the pandemic made us understand that the conditions in the basement of Grace Episcopal are really not the solution in the long term,” said Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway. “I think it’s really important that we take this momentum and we use it to push us towards a real solution.”
Baldeh says while he agrees a permanent shelter is necessary, the proposed location on Madison’s northeast side is too far away from other services to justify putting it there.
“This is at the outskirt of the city, so out of sight, out of mind,” he said. “Homeless shelters generally around the United States are around downtown, where they have access to services, for employment, to do laundry, food, things of that nature. Services that are helpful. This is at the outskirt of the city, so it’s very far from all of those resources.”
Mayor Rhodes Conway says the city doesn’t have many other options.
“We are facing some real constraints, both in the type of site we need, but also in the type of building that we need,” she said. “I am fairly set on this site, yes. Obviously if something magically dropped into our laps that was perfect, would I say no? Of course not. I would be open to looking at other options. I really feel like staff have done an incredible amount of work, to evaluate a number of sites across the city. This one is where we landed.”
The temporary men’s shelter site at the Fleet Services Building in Madison is slated to become the Madison Public Market. Under the current plan, work would begin in 2021. Should the city not find a permanent site, the plan could be put in jeopardy.
“I just think it’s important to understand that that really is the choice,” Rhodes-Conway said. “There is not an opportunity to move the public market to another location, so if people are still committed to that project, we have to find a way to move the temporary shelter out of the First Street location.”
Baldeh says that’s not a suitable reason to pick, in his mind, an unsuitable option.
“When the mayor said there’s no plan B, that speaks to how she’s not willing to listen to anybody,” Baldeh said.
Public comment at Tuesday night’s common council meeting lasted well past midnight and into the morning hours.
“It is our duty to take care of those are our most vulnerable and most impacted,” said Dana Pellebon, a former Porchlight director. “People who are unhoused are some of the most vulnerable in our society. They deserve humane treatment. They deserve safe housing, they deserve safe shelter.”
Pellebon says she understands there will never be a universally agreed upon option.
“Those who are saying that it can’t happen on the east side, really are talking out of fear,” she said. “It’s unfortunate that this fear and those flames have been flamed by people on the council and other community members.”
Mayor Rhodes-Conway says she’s hopeful the next group of alders will support the plan.
“This is not something that Madison has seen before,” she said. “A purpose-built shelter that co-locates both shelter, and services, and potential pay to stay beds and perhaps more. This is not something that exists today in Madison. It exists and works quite well in other cities.”
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