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Houska Park ready for homeless again for spring and summer

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Winter housing for homeless people in La Crosse will run out at a north-side motel at the end of April.  After that, for the next six months, Houska Park will again be open to the homeless as a “safe space.” 

City and county officials have been working with the Coulee Collaborative to End Homelessness to provide support at Houska through the last week of October.  More information about the summer camping at Houska Park will be discussed at a City Hall event on Wednesday.        

A release from the mayor’s office says Houska Park will be available to unsheltered people until October 30th. 

The city’s winter contract to house local homeless at the Econo Lodge in La Crosse runs out in less than two weeks. 

As part of the Houska Park plan, dog park facilities are being moved to Wittenberg Park and Hass Park for the coming months.  

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.

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6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. R head

    April 19, 2022 at 7:53 am

    Better get the general strip ready for them , maybe a cram lipid so you can give it to them so they don’t OD in the city park.

  2. Diane schultz

    April 19, 2022 at 1:13 pm

    Why doesn’t the city try to buy the Econo Lodge to house the homeless

  3. Bill

    April 19, 2022 at 2:55 pm

    This is great, makes me happy that La Crosse is doing this free for people.
    Does the campground have water & electric?
    Are there restrictions and do you need to check in so the city can keep track of individuals there?
    Is there a limit on the number of days to camp?
    How do I make reservations for a waterfront site?

  4. Kent Porter

    April 20, 2022 at 8:04 pm

    Houska is a PARK , Not a open area for HOMELESS ADDICTS to do drugs , the reason THE HOMELESS can’t go to the Salvation Army for help is , The Salvation Army has a rule for residents that will not permit people HIGH ON HEROIN and ALCOHOL to be able to stay there , that is why these HOMELESS FOLKS chose to live in a park , so they can continue to abuse drugs and alcohol , by the way Houska Park is paid for by City of La Crosse TAX PAYERS , NOT MAYOR MITCH , we should be able to decide as TAX PAYERS if WE want the ADDICTS TO STAY IN OUR PARK !!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Jay Defo

      April 23, 2022 at 4:23 pm

      Wow Kent glad to know your parents raised you the right way on dealing with every situation in life. You know some of those “homeless folks” who are “choosing to be homeless” really aren’t choosing? You know how many people are one life’s misfortune away from being homeless? Imagine your car gets in a wreck and you slide off the road, you didn’t have insurance because you had to pay rent and you make “too much” to get food stamps. You drive 35 minutes one way to work. Now your cars wrecked and you can’t get to work which means you can’t pay your rent which means – HOMELESS.
      Those scumbag alcoholics and heroin addicts you speak so highly of? Ever heard of childhood trauma? Some of us have others haven’t. Some of us learned how to deal with that childhood trauma through other means, some of us experienced a prescription at a young age for pain pills and realized, this stuff works for mentally and physically. Before you judge, just know all of us have a past, some of us have escaped it, others it still haunts.

      • Jay Defo

        April 23, 2022 at 4:25 pm

        Wow Kent glad to know your parents raised you the right way on dealing with every situation in life. You know some of those “homeless folks” who are “choosing to be homeless” really aren’t choosing? You know how many people are one life’s misfortune away from being homeless? Imagine your car gets in a wreck and you slide off the road, you didn’t have insurance because you had to pay rent and you make “too much” to get food stamps. You drive 35 minutes one way to work. Now your cars wrecked and you can’t get to work which means you can’t pay your rent which means – HOMELESS.
        Those scumbag alcoholics and heroin addicts you speak so highly of? Ever heard of childhood trauma? Some of us have others haven’t. Some of us learned how to deal with that childhood trauma through other means, some of us experienced a prescription at a young age for pain pills and realized, this stuff works for mentally and physically. Before you judge, just know all of us have a past, some of us have escaped it, others it still haunts.

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