Housing Taskforce Video
Ben Lee, our Community Impact Director of Financial Stability and Health, shares what a positive impact the Marathon County Housing Task Force has made. As an initial action step from the Task Force, Wausau PD and North Central Health Care reassigned staff from each of the agencies to start providing full-time care and attention to this population, with the goal of building relationships and helping them achieve stable housing. The objective is to not apply a one-size-fits-all approach to intervention with this group, but rather to spend significant time gathering information from these individuals to understand their unique stories and needs.
This team conducts individualized outreach to accomplish this objective, to earn their trust that we will continue to be there for them in a journey to recovery and a stable home. Our partnership has facilitated more immediate access to treatment options and housing, giving our team more tangible options to offer people when they tell us they are ready for a change. The Wausau Police Department and North Central Health Care have recognized that untreated substance abuse and mental health disorders are the primary common factors present with individuals in the downtown Wausau area who are chronically homeless. Please watch the video here.
