MILWAUKEE — With bitter cold temperatures just days away, Milwaukee's unhoused population is facing life-threatening conditions as local organizations scramble to provide shelter and essential supplies.
At Repairs of the Breach, a shelter and warming center serving people experiencing homelessness, staff say they're already seeing a surge in people seeking warmth and safety.
"People need us," said James West Jr., executive director of Repairs of the Breach.
The increase comes as a nearby homeless encampment was cleared by city workers earlier today, pushing even more people toward shelters and warming centers across the city.
"We're seeing an overflow, all three levels are filled with people coming in to get warm, then we're doing double duty, we have our emergency warming room, and it's at capacity," West said.
“People are so down because of their situation, pride will cause them to try to sleep outside — and it’s just too dangerous," West said.
Out on the streets, grassroots groups are trying to fill the gaps. Street Angels relies entirely on community donations, heading directly into neighborhoods to distribute essential life-saving supplies.
Watch: Shelter staff and outreach teams warn of life‑threatening cold for Milwaukee’s unhoused
"Our warming rooms are at capacity, over capacity. Last night, our teams served about 100 people who were unsheltered," said Shelly Sarasin, a Street Angels representative.
They say every layer matters, especially when temperatures fall below zero.
"Making sure everyone's taking care of, we'll have sleeping bags, jackets, gloves, hand warmers, toe warmers, anything to keep people as safe as we can," Sarasin said.
The Street Angels have been out in the streets nightly offering resources and shelter to the most vulnerable in the community.
“So we have been letting our friends know every outreach night that the temperatures are going to get worse than they were even this past weekend. We were out on MLK Day checking on people, seeing if they wanted rides. We’ll be doing the same tomorrow night, encouraging everybody to go in and get to safety, that there are warming spaces that are open that we’re actually supporting as well… just making sure that everybody’s taken care of," Sarasin said.
Meanwhile, the city's homeless outreach teams are working around the clock. Outreach workers are traveling through neighborhoods, checking encampments, offering resources, and urging people to come inside before conditions turn deadly.
"Our team always gets out of the car, and our team always follows through," said Lindsey Krchma, a city homeless outreach worker.
Krchma is doing check-ins and helping people get licenses and birth certificates — two items nearly impossible to attain when homeless.
“Once you get into a traditional shelter, it’s a lot easier again to kind of hit up those other barriers — so vital docs, getting on the right housing lists. Because it does take a lot of work, and it’s very hard to do, especially if you have a disability, when you don’t have a place to lay your head,” Krchma said.
Lindsey Krchma took TMJ4's Gideon Verdin to local encampments to provide resources and urge folks to come inside. After her rounds Wednesday, she will be handing apartment keys over to a recently homeless man whom her team has been helping to get on his feet.
"Oftentimes, it's a ride to a warming center. Certainly, we have hats, gloves, all those things, but most importantly, we're getting them inside to keep them safe," Krchma said.
Outreach teams say extreme cold exposes just how fragile housing stability can be. Many of the people they meet are only a missed paycheck or medical setback away from homelessness, facing layers of barriers that compound quickly without a safe place to sleep.
“We have moved a couple of families from the warming centers into traditional shelter, and once they’re in a traditional shelter space, there are additional resources there — case management, filling out applications. Once they’re stabilized, they can continue to work forward with permanent housing options,” Krchma said.
Warming centers are open, and outreach teams will continue pushing resources as the cold stretch moves in. The message from everyone working on the ground is the same — no one should try to ride out this cold alone.
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