Outreach

Community

Dane County, Wisconsin currently has over 75 organizations and agencies working to reduce homelessness. Yet, many Dane County residents aren’t aware of the full extent of homelessness in our community. Catalyst for Change believes that in order to end homelessness we must raise awareness and educate Dane County residents about homelessness in our community and what they can do about it. We believe that our passion will ignite the passion of others and our work will inspire others to join our cause of ending homelessness.

Businesses

Catalyst for Change recognizes that the vitality of Downtown Madison is essential to the health of our local economy. We acknowledge that when people experiencing homelessness are forced to gather downtown and sleep in alcoves and on the sidewalk, they may become a disturbance to small businesses attempting to attract customers and remain economically viable. We work to mediate relationships between local small businesses and people experiencing homelessness so that they can live symbiotically downtown. We survey and meet with local businesses and listen to the problems they are experiencing with our homeless community. We then utilize our relationships with people experiencing homelessness so that they can be better neighbors to their local businesses.

Law Enforcement

Catalyst for Change works with local law enforcement and people experiencing homelessness to reduce negative interactions and decrease recidivism into the criminal justice system. People experiencing homelessness face increased criminalization as a result of not having a permanent residence. We aim to minimize police interactions with our homeless individuals so they are better candidates for housing. We perform evening outreach so that we are able to mediate conflicts between people experiencing homelessness, businesses, and the community.

Homelessness

As of January 2020, there are 630 people experiencing HUD’s definition of “literal” homelessness (sleeping in a shelter, outside, or in a car or other place not meant for human habitation) on any given night in Dane County. 349 of 630 people were single adults experiencing homelessness, while 278 people were in households with children, making up 82 families. 3 of the 630 individuals were unaccompanied homeless youth. 529 of the identified homeless individuals sleep in homeless shelters in Dane County, while 101 homeless individuals were sleeping outside, in cars, or in tents. While 630 individuals were reported as experiencing “literal” homelessness on any given night in Dane County, there were over 3,000 adults and children who accessed shelter and received other homeless resources in 2019. Homelessness impacts 10 people out of every 10,000 people in Dane County. Homelessness is a solvable problem and together, we can reduce these numbers and assist our homeless community members in obtaining housing and achieving success.