Spring cannot come soon enough for residents living near the Daytime Resource Center, a temporary homeless shelter located on East Washington Avenue.
A collection of complaints have been voiced by the community regarding homeless people wandering streets in the residential area and causing conflicts, Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, said.
“I’ve heard from a number of neighbors who do not feel comfortable in the neighborhood or the park,” Maniaci said. “I’ve had to convince a friend of mine not to move out of her apartment.”
The Daytime Resource Center is a project launched by Porchlight, a nonprofit organization dedicated to decreasing homelessness. The center was created in November to offer shelter to those who are homeless in the frigid winter months.
Maniaci said the plan was developed after two places regularly housing the homeless during the day restricted their access. The Capitol building barred public entrance to its basement, and the Central Library is currently under renovation.
The shelter offers access to the Internet, telephones, housing, assistance with employment and a limited supply of food every day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to Porchlight’s website.
The problem in the neighborhood is the people who are not properly using the shelter to seek help and are instead roaming the neighborhood intoxicated, Maniaci said.
Richard Freihoefer, an area representative for the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood, said unseasonably warm weather has made intoxicated shelter residents a cause for concern in the neighborhood.
“It’s been a problem pretty much since it opened,” Freihoefer said. “But the main problem is that it hasn’t gotten cold here, and when the temperature is high, people hang out, get drunk and cause problems.”
Freihoefer said owners of businesses in the area have called the police because intoxicated citizens from the shelter come into their store, disrupting the business and customers.
Maniaci said these occurrences have demonstrated there is a need for Dane County Board of Supervisors to work with homeless service providers to create a more “legitimate” homeless shelter for Dane County.
“I’m definitely hearing from residents that they want to be accommodating, but the overflow issues that have arisen have shown that the residential area is not the appropriate location for this,” Maniaci said.
She suggested one solution to the problem would be to move the shelter to a more commercial location, as opposed to the residential area where it currently resides.
Freihoefer said the shelter will never reopen in the same neighborhood again.
Madison Police Department Lt. Dave McCaw said there has been an increase in calls for service in the area near the East Washington Street shelter. Complaints have been made by area residents about possessions stolen out of cars, houses and porches. There have also been complaints regarding noise, fights, public urination and trespassing, he added.
According to McCaw, opinions on the homeless shelter are varied among the community. Some residents are upset because they did not intend to live near a homeless shelter when they purchased their homes, but others are tolerant and understanding of the situation.
Although there likely will not be any immediate changes, as the shelter closes on March 15, discussions on homeless accommodations will be a recurring theme when winter weather returns in November, Maniaci said.