New Wausau shelter opens May 1; city, county and charities report early usage and summer services

Wausau’s temporary shelter, which opened May 1, has served 85 unduplicated individuals through mid‑May, outreach staff told the Public Health and Safety Committee on May 19. Staff and partner charities described strong community support, volunteer involvement, and a plan for summer hygiene services.

Tracy Durante, the city outreach coordinator, told the committee the shelter had seen 85 unduplicated guests since opening, with women comprising about 35 percent of guests and roughly 16 percent of guests employed. Durante said volunteers and donations have supported operations and that the shelter has had minimal removals: staff asked one person to leave for a night but otherwise “nobody [was] kicked out.” She said several guests and outside employers reported positive feedback about the expanded space and the ability to separate by gender for safety.

Committee members discussed whether to organize group tours; staff recommended individual scheduled visits rather than large public tours to avoid disrupting shelter operations. The chair also mentioned the possibility of a future volunteer night for council members.

Gary Feltis of Catholic Charities provided complementary data drawn from the Balance of State Continuum of Care coordinated entry reports (Clarity). For April, Good Shepherd Shelter served 89 unduplicated individuals with a daily census of 28.6 guests and average daily turnaways of 1.7. Feltis noted that Good Shepherd reserves beds for working individuals and that bed‑save no‑shows can reduce a shelter’s nightly census; he also said Catholic Charities will offer summer laundry and shower services on Mondays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., using a sign-up system.

Durante thanked dozens of community partners and donors by name for initial shelter support, including Greeby’s Furniture and Appliance Mart, local restaurants, Abbey Bank, CoVantage, People’s State Bank, The Home Depot, Incredible Bank, Saint Andrew Lutheran Church, Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, and Saint Vincent de Paul. She said the shelter maintains a Facebook presence listing current donation needs and volunteer opportunities.

Committee members asked about impacts on nearby organizations such as the YMCA. The police chief acknowledged some behavioral issues involving a small portion of shelter guests and said the department has reallocated staff and increased daytime presence to respond; he said the YMCA and other neighbors stay in regular contact with police to report concerns. Committee members said they want the shelter to be a place of help and suggested scheduled individual tours and potential volunteer opportunities for council members.

Catholic Charities’ summer hygiene operations and the continuing coordinated-entry data will be reported to the committee monthly, Feltis said. The committee placed the outreach and charity reports on file.