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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – You’ve probably never heard of Garrick Dixon.
He’s one of the unknown… and unhoused in Wausau.
On a cold night last month when temperatures dropped into the single-digits, he froze to death in Marathon Park. He was sleeping on a bench in one of the park shelters, and never woke up. His body was found by a passer-by the morning of November 30th.
I don’t know anything about Garrick Dixon. I do know that he did not have a criminal record. There are records that he did seek a place to sleep on some nights at the city’s warming shelter.
Many of the homeless have individual struggles that keep them from a roof over their heads. Many are addicted, and until those problems are addressed they can’t keep a job to pay for rent. It appears that Garrick Dixon had alcohol in his system. He probably wasn’t a chronic drunk; it’s more likely he was trying to keep himself warm. Those who work with the homeless say that Garrick wasn’t a menace to anyone. He appears to be a quiet person who kept to himself.
You may not know this – but there isn’t enough space at the shelter at the Community Partner’s Campus. Each night people line up at the back door and they’re given a number. A lottery determines who get food and a warm bed. If their number is not called, they’re left to wander the streets at night.
You may also not know that there is empty housing space just a few steps from where Garrick Dixon died. UW Stevens Point at Wausau no longer offers dormitory housing at the Wausau campus. One of the buildings, Marathon Hall, was turned over to Marathon County in 2021. It is morally bankrupt to have people freezing to death while there are empty rooms are available nearby.
Tonight it will be -5.
Chris Conley
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