Bridge Street Mission
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – The community owes the Bridge Street Mission a debt of thanks.
As of this week, they are the new site of Wausau’s year-round homeless shelter. After months of construction, they opened on Monday.
It’s thought that Wausau has about 250 chronically homeless people. They are difficult to count. More people sought shelter this winter, as the city operated its own shelter in the basement of the First United Methodist Church. That was always intended to be temporary until a long-term shelter could be started.
Homeless numbers appear to go down during the warmer months. Not really; more of the unhoused try to live outdoors when the weather is nicer. They don’t have to be sober or follow shelter rules when they are outside. We also get reports from Wausau’s Health and Public Safety committee from one month to the next that 6, or 7 or 8 people, on average, find permanent housing. Those are successes we should celebrate. I’d like to hear more of their stories to see if their situations can be duplicated for others.
I’m very hopeful for the Bridge Street Mission. They already have a robust program for people in need. For years they’ve served a community lunch for the unfed. They’ve run an addiction recovery program for men. As they’ve taken over the community’s homeless shelter needs, more programs for homeless and addicted women have been added. Substance abuse is the number one cause of homelessness; it is almost impossible for an addict to maintain housing. The Bridge Street Mission has more of a holistic approach, and a better chance of success. I know some of the people who work at the Mission. They are skilled and compassionate – the right people for this kind of work.
We should all pray for their success and support this new endeavor however we can.
Chris Conley
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