Area homeless shelters see record numbers in extreme weather

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – Homeless shelters in Madison are feeling the strain as extreme winter weather brings more people inside the shelters. 

Last Tuesday saw the first of two snow storms last week, which combined dropped over a foot of snow across Madison. Once those storms moved through, bitter cold temperatures moved in behind them, with temperatures dropping to -9 degrees Fahrenheit Monday night. 

The nonprofit Porchlight operates the temporary men’s homeless shelter on Zeier Road on the east side of Madison. Executive Director Karla Thennes says that, starting last Tuesday, they’ve seen a sharp increase in people coming into the shelter. Monday night, 311 people stayed at the shelter, an all-time high. They broke that record again the next night, with 315 people staying at their shelter.

But Thennes says that it’s a good thing that they’re breaking records. 

“We do not want people outside in this weather, you would not survive the night,” Thennes says. “So if somebody is truly outside or in their car, we want that to change, we want to get them in our shelters, even if it’s just to get through the night and survive the evening.”

Porchlight only has 250 cots on site, which means that when they go over that number, they need to put mattresses on the ground. The record-breaking people staying can also put a strain on the staff, Thennes says. Managing everyone can also be a challenge, and last month they hired a third person to stay overnight at the shelter and help keep everyone safe and organized.

The increased number of people can also put a strain on their pocket books, Thennes says. “They are all per-person costs, so you serve an extra 65 people, I mean that’s every night. We budgeted for 2024 for 250 people, because that’s our numbers.”

The higher need at the shelter did not just start with last week’s winter storm. Thennes says that, since the beginning of the pandemic, they’ve had around 150 people staying at the shelter during the summer months. Before the pandemic, she says that they would usually have around 65 people staying during the summer. 

As to what’s driving the increase in need since the pandemic, Thennes says that there is no clear answer, other than people simply aren’t able to afford rent in Madison. She says that around 30-40% of the people staying at the shelter have jobs, and still can’t afford a place to live in Madison.

She adds that what Madison considers “affordable housing” is not actually affordable for the people who stay at the shelter. Affordable housing is considered to cost less than 30% of someone’s monthly income for someone making 30% of the median income, which is around $37,000 in Dane County. That comes out to a maximum monthly rent of $925. Thennes says that price, combined with a security deposit and first-month’s rent up front, can make it difficult to find a place to stay even with a job.

According to Apartments.com, the average Madison rent is $1,352 a month.

Porchlight will also operate the permanent men’s homeless shelter on Bartillon Drive once it opens at the end of 2025. While the permanent men’s shelter will also only have 250 beds on site, they will still have room to put down mattresses if they go over capacity. Plus, the shelter is being designed to eventually become a 24 hour shelter, instead of just an overnight shelter. Thennes says that this will help them to place people in permanent housing faster, decreasing the strain put on them from being over capacity.

While Thennes says that, yes, they are over capacity almost every night, the generosity of the community has helped them to continue to smoothly operate the temporary men’s shelter. She says that, after the holidays, they’ve had to stop accepting donations of winter clothes, because they’ve gotten so many they’re still trying to find room for what they have. 

She says their biggest need right now is financial help. Not only will that help the day-to-day operations, but it will also go toward helping people staying at the shelter afford a security deposit and first-month’s rent to move into permanent housing. Thennes says that, when they are in urgent need of something like coats or blankets, she will put out a call on the Porchlight Facebook page.