Sheboygan County housing coalition tells Plymouth committee homelessness and rent unaffordability are rising

At a Committee of the Whole meeting of the Plymouth Joint School District, Lyric Lynn, chair of the Sheboygan County Housing Coalition and supportive housing program director for Lakeshore CAP, and Susan Kenter, secretary of the coalition and a staff member at Pathways to a Better Life, presented county homelessness and housing-affordability data and urged cross-jurisdiction coordination.

The presenters said point-in-time counts and shelter usage in January show sharp increases and that many households seeking help report very low incomes. Lynn said the coalition received 554 deduplicated supportive-housing applications in 2024 and that the average reported household income for applicants was $12,657. "We received 554 applications in 2024. These are deduplicated," Lynn said.

Why it matters: the presenters said vacancy rates and rental costs make housing unaffordable for many long-term residents and that, despite housing vouchers and grant-funded programs, local capacity and access barriers are preventing people from moving into permanent housing. Kenter asked committee members to see people affected by the statistics and to consider volunteering at local services to better understand the problem. "But remember that our whole housing issue is not just unhoused people. We're looking at a large portion of people getting to the point where they cannot afford the housing that's out there right now," Kenter said.

Presentation highlights

- Point-in-time and shelter counts: Presenters reported that unsheltered homelessness in the area rose from 2 people (in a prior January count) to 14 in January 2025, and emergency shelter use rose from 51 to 96 in the same comparison.

- Demand and incomes: Lakeshore CAP logged 554 supportive-housing applications in 2024; the average income among applicants was reported as $12,657. More than half of applicants were single adults; roughly 60% of applicants were identified as female.

- Chronic homelessness in Plymouth: Presenters said that individuals from Plymouth who were counted as unsheltered or in emergency shelter in the most recent count met the definition of chronic homelessness used in the community intake system (multiple episodes or long-term homelessness plus a disabling condition).

- Vouchers and placements: The presenters said about 50 housing vouchers had been offered to date and that none of those offers had resulted in permanent housing placements for the people the coalition serves.

- Local services and seasonal changes: The warming center — described as the county—s only low-barrier shelter for single adults — houses roughly 50 people a night but was scheduled to close for the season the day after the meeting. The community cafe provides free lunches Monday through Saturday; Salvation Army, Safe Harbor, Ridgeway (transitional housing) and other local organizations provide additional options for specific populations.

Barriers and causes presented

Presenters attributed the increases and continuing need to a mix of cost and access issues: limited local transit for second- or third-shift workers, high rental costs, lack of refrigeration or facilities for people without housing (which raises day-to-day costs), job loss or medical bills causing nonpayment of rent, and stigma that can hinder reentry into stable housing and employment.

Community response and recommendations

Lynn and Kenter described coalition and nonprofit efforts: outreach, low-barrier shelter operations, transitional housing, and oversight of state and federal housing grants. They urged local leaders to pursue countywide coordination rather than siloed city-by-city responses and recommended that elected officials and staff volunteer at local services to better understand the population the statistics represent. "I encourage you whenever you can to take a time and work at the community cafe and meet part of that community," Kenter said.

The presenters provided an exercise during the meeting asking attendees to calculate 30% of their gross income to demonstrate how rental affordability is typically measured and to prompt discussion of what constitutes a healthy, safe living space.

What the presentation did not resolve

Presenters described trends and gaps and recommended coordinated county action but did not present a specific, funded plan that the committee adopted during the meeting. No formal directive to staff, allocation of funds, or ordinance was made on the housing items during this session.

Ending

Coalition leaders asked the committee to consider county-level task-force work and cross-jurisdictional collaboration, and they urged more local engagement with service providers to inform future policy and program decisions.