Residents and advocates urge Kenosha officials to expand shelter capacity as winter demand spikes

Speakers at the Kenosha Common Council meeting on Feb. 2 urged city leaders to adopt a coordinated emergency response after advocates and volunteers reported unusually high winter shelter demand.

Byron Wright said the city saw a night with 155 people sheltered and traced the increase to a shortage of affordable housing and the loss of rooming-house capacity in previous years. “We cleaned it up,” he said of earlier shelter efforts, and warned that shelters are strained this winter.

Janet Hogan, citing the same counts, asked the council to “come together as an entire community” and consider a systemwide approach that could include an emergency declaration allowing shelters to expand capacity and temporarily permit unlicensed facilities to operate during extreme weather. She said private and public providers are not sustaining the current need.

Peter Power, speaking for Support is a Shelter, outlined a three-part strategy: expand emergency shelter and outreach so people in crisis have a safe place; invest in long-term affordable and supportive housing; and increase prevention programs such as short-term rental or utility assistance and eviction mediation. “When people have stable housing, we see less strain on emergency rooms and law enforcement,” Power said.

Speakers noted local programs and gaps: the Shalom Center is past capacity, the Motel Voucher Program is housing 65 people in 38 rooms, and county funding for motel vouchers may be exhausted soon. Commenters asked faith communities and volunteers to open space temporarily and requested financial support and material goods.

What happens next: councilors heard multiple calls for immediate action and for staff to coordinate with county and nonprofit partners; no emergency declaration or formal policy was adopted during the meeting.