Homelessness
Neighbor-to-Neighbor Pilot Project
Homelessness is a growing problem in our community.
The community has been trying to address homelessness for several years but the number of homeless individuals and families continues to grow.
We have engaged with the Community Collaborative to End Homelessness to see where we can help. We’ve worked with the La Crosse Mayor’s office to do the same. We’ve joined a team to work on a strategic plan. But the crisis always seems to derail long-term planning and effective solutions. In many ways we see broken systems serving broken people.
We have now chosen to take a different approach.
The Salvation Army is responsible for sheltering adult individuals who are homeless. The unsheltered being served are often socially isolated. If not completely isolated, their network of relationships is often either transactional or unhealthy. As they leave the structure of the Salvation Army program and services they are vulnerable to falling into old habits and relationships that cause many to return to homelessness within several months.
We have launched a pilot project to invite our First Free Family to build healthy relationships with the unsheltered as “Intentional Neighbors” as they are being placed into housing. We believe this will lead to greater success in making that transition. Our hope is that this will:
Reduce the number of people re-entering homelessness
Give those who are socially isolated a safe, healthy, and consistent person in their life.
Help those leaving homelessness to develop the skills and resourcefulness needed to be stable in their life.
Show the love of God through practical application.
This will set an example in our community.
If this concept proves effective our hope is that the Salvation Army will strongly consider:
Encouraging and supporting people of faith to pursue Mentoring (Neighbor to Neighbor) relationships as part of their overall mix of service options for their unsheltered guests.
Expanding referrals to nearby faith-based residential programs and facilities for those who are ready to make life-changing decisions and could benefit from engagement with such a facility.
Please contact Pastor Dave Konkol to learn how to get involved.