The state’s homeless veteran housing location in Bellevue will close after the finalized state budget passed July 3 did not include additional funding for the Veteran Housing and Recovery Program amidst a national housing crisis in which veterans are particularly vulnerable.
The leased space at 2500 Bel Meadow Drive will close by Sept. 30, according to a July 14 news release from Gov. Tony Evers’ office. A location in Chippewa Falls will also close. Both locations appeared to have been removed from the state Department of Veterans Affairs website; both had been listed on the website as recently as June 15. A third location in Union Grove in the state’s southeast will remain open.
A representative from the facility was not immediately available for comment by phone.
Costs associated with staffing the state’s three homeless veteran locations were “significantly higher” than in the past through the nonprofit Lutheran Social Services, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. It prompted the governor’s office to seek a $1.9 million increase to the statewide Veteran Housing and Recovery Program, which offers services for a maximum of 24 months to veterans on their way to getting a permanent home, like temporary housing through the three homeless veteran locations and substance abuse care.
The bureau’s report said that approximately two-thirds of the program’s costs have gone toward Lutheran Social Services and its case management and supportive services at the three veteran housing locations, and that without additional funding, the state Department of Veterans Affairs, “would not have sufficient resources to maintain the program’s three sites.”
The Bellevue location operated at over 70% capacity from 2023 to 2024, according to the bureau, which also noted that veterans have historically experienced homelessness at higher rates than the general population.
“We have a duty to support veterans, especially in their darkest times,” said James Bond, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs in the news release. “Even with these closures, we remain committed to assisting veterans and connecting them to resources. VHRP has been integral in helping veterans find stability and succeed in their communities, and along with our partners on the ground, we intend to still carry out that mission to the best of our ability.”
The governor’s news release said that veterans currently at the Bellevue and Chippewa Falls locations would be given “alternative placement options and will continue to receive assistance through supportive services.”
Jesse Lin is a reporter covering the community of Green Bay and its surroundings, as well as politics in northeastern Wisconsin. Contact him at 920-834-4250 or jlin@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Facility for homeless veterans in Bellevue to close after funding not included in state budget
Reporting by Jesse Lin, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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