La Crosse presenters report progress on Pathways Home plan, outline housing and services to reduce homelessness

Jason Witt, director of the La Crosse County Human Services Department, and project staff presented a 20-month status update on Pathways Home — a joint city–county initiative launched in January 2024 aimed at ending outdoor homelessness in La Crosse.

The session, billed as an informational presentation, laid out the initiative’s two core goals: eliminate visible street homelessness and reach a “functional zero” by creating a system that quickly connects people to shelter, housing and supportive services. "Each number up here represents a human being," said Brian Sampson, a Pathways Home presenter, summarizing the project’s emphasis on by-name data and individualized case planning.

Pathways staff described several elements they say are already producing results. They created a by-name list to track people experiencing homelessness and a public data dashboard on lacrossecounty.com/pathwayshome; Sampson said that monthly updates and narrative posts accompany the posted metrics to increase transparency. He said the team’s "pathways conferencing," a weekly coordination meeting with more than a…