While periods of extreme cold are not unusual in southeastern Wisconsin, prolonged cold can test the durability of the region’s social safety net.
Heavy snow beginning on Jan. 12, followed by frigid temperatures the following week, led to spikes in requests for emergency services in Milwaukee County and the surrounding area. Data shared by IMPACT 211 showed that out of nearly 3,000 calls during the week of Jan. 15 and the weekend prior, 840 were seeking emergency housing for extreme weather, an over 400% increase from a random week in December. Power outages, broken furnaces and requests for emergency FoodShare also spiked.
IMPACT 211 is a central access point for people looking for social services, including emergency housing, food pantries and mental health resources. By texting your ZIP code to 898-211, IMPACT will connect you to the resources you’re looking for in your area.
Emily Kenney, director of systems change at IMPACT 211, says that many entities are involved in meeting emergency housing needs, including municipal and county government, Red Cross of Wisconsin and We Energies, as well as local nonprofits that open their doors for emergency shelter at night.
Kenney says that this multi-entity coordination is ongoing throughout the year, in part to better respond to sudden spikes in need for emergency housing.
“That went into hyperdrive [during] the week of Jan. 15 and the weekend prior, because it was so cold and at the same time we had power outages throughout Milwaukee and Waukesha counties,” she says.
While a spike in demand isn’t surprising during periods of extreme cold, it can put stress on these systems at times when they are needed most. Kenney says that emergency responses to housing needs, while important in a crisis, are not a sustainable solution to chronic houselessness.
“It’s good to have that emergency response for anybody to be able to walk in, but what really resolves people’s housing issues, surprise surprise, is housing,” Kenney says.
