Time running out for unsheltered at Houska

Talk about waiting until the last minute. La Crosse’s Houska Park will no longer be a camping site for the homeless as it has been all summer. The campground designation ends in just ten days, but the city has yet to present a final plan for dealing with the homeless population. We know the city won’t be paying to put the unsheltered into a local motel as it did last winter. But La Crosse County seems willing to provide money for hotel vouchers for those with nowhere else to go. There have been many ideas floated and tried, but in the meantime many of those camping at Houska don’t know where they can go next as the deadline rapidly approaches. What is clear is that there are plenty of people and groups willing to help. Volunteers are at Houska daily helping residents with their daily needs. City Hall is wisely reaching out to local groups already working to solve the same problem like the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities. And the city may designate some empty buildings as shelter space, particularly when the coldest weather hits. It just seems the problem has only grown and that we are no closer to solving it, despite the hard work of so many. We’ll find out in ten days if the latest plan is the one to make a difference.