The City of Eau Claire's Strategic Plan contains our Vision, Mission, and Values.  This plan is focused on the long-term success and sustainability of the City, is flexible and adaptive to an ever-changing world, and is grounded in our shared values.  The Strategic Plan can be seen at EauClaireWI.gov/StrategicPlan 

Our Strategic Values

• We believe in making Eau Claire a great city.

• We believe that local government is a stewardship.

• We believe in sustainability.

• We believe in equity.

Homelessness

We help residents meet their needs and help the community solve problems. We cannot always do this on our own; we need and value partners who can help.

Homelessness is not a new problem and not one that is unique to Eau Claire. There are no easy answers, and the causes of homelessness are numerous and varied.   

We are fortunate that Eau Claire has a number of groups who work to support our neighbors experiencing homelessness and we work closely with them to help support them, but as the saying goes "many hands make light work" and community groups and the City could use even more bright minds and caring hearts working with us.

Below you will see a list of community groups we work with and ways that the City has worked to support them and steps we have taken ourselves to work toward answers.

STREET AMBASSADOR RFP - The City of Eau Claire is seeking proposals for organizational support from qualified and experienced companies to establish a new Street Ambassador program within the City of Eau Claire and to provide said organizational support with financial assistance through the City of Eau Claire Street Ambassador American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation and grant funds. Street Ambassador services would include homeless outreach, cleaning, and safety. Proposals are due Friday September 20, 12pm. More information is included in the above linked document. 

Day Resource Center

Campaign Readiness Study

>> Take the Community Survey << 

Planning has begun to identify philanthropic interest and capacity, volunteer leadership, the area's financial environment, and the importance community residents place on the facility. A community survey will be available from June 25 through July 20.

When this study is completed in August, Western Dairyland and Hope Gospel Mission will make a decision about the future of this project and a potential fundraising campaign. Read the Mini Case Executive Summary, the Committee Job Descriptions and the Gift Table for additional information.

FAQ

The following FAQ has been created to provide clarity and insight into the location selection criteria, community impact, and timeline for the establishment of a Day Resource Center to assist individuals experiencing homelessness in the City of Eau Claire.  

To see our most recent update on the project, visit: https://www.westerndairyland.org/DRC/

Day Resource Center (DRC) Potential Location at Main and Farwell FAQ

• What is a DRC?
  • A DRC will be a one-stop shop to allow more effective and efficient services to the community. It will include a day shelter, free flex space for all providers, house Western Dairyland’s Housing Division, and potentially have permanent space for additional providers to be located on site.
• Who will operate the DRC?
  • The plan is for Hope Gospel Mission to operate the DRC. Western Dairyland will move their Housing Division into the building and will be the owning partner. Other agencies will have the ability to have flex space to provide services at the DRC.
• Won’t providing more services bring more people experiencing homelessness to Eau Claire?
  • Eau Claire is welcoming to all. With that, the DRC is not providing more services. It will consolidate already existing services to more effectively and efficiently assist people with housing and other needs.
• What locations were considered?
  • 50 locations were reviewed with about half of the locations suggested by community members after the church housing the warming center sold and a new location was needed.
• Why does the DRC need to be downtown?
  • There are multiple reasons a downtown location is needed with transportation being the primary reason. A location needs to have a reasonable walking distance and consider accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
• Why the parking lot at Main and Farwell?
  • After reviewing many locations, the lot at Main and Farwell was the only available location that met the needed criteria. Other options will still be considered.
• What does declaring the parking lot excess land mean?
  • The parking lot is currently owned by the City. Before the City could sale/donate the property, it has to be declared excess land. This is a first step in many that will occur before potentially building.
• Where will patrons of Offbeats park?
  • If the DRC would move forward, users of Offbeats can park on Grand Avenue and after 5pm, the City Hall parking lot is available for public parking. People may also choose to park in nearby parking ramps. The Offbeats building also has five parking spaces behind their building. Conversations on other possible solutions will continue.
• Isn’t Main and Farwell a safety risk for those utilizing the DRC?
  • We currently have multiple locations accessed by our homeless community daily that requires crossing Farwell. The Library, he current Transit station, and the current warming center/day shelter. Main and Farwell is a light controlled intersection and safer than many of the crossings that occur going to other locations. The City can also set the lights to remain all red when the button to cross is activated. This would stop all traffic when the crossing light is active.
• Is this a compatible use with adjacent owners?
  • We understand this is a concern. We can mitigate potential concerns with building design. Hope Gospel Mission plans to operate the DRC and they have a Good Neighbor policy that will apply to this location and address many concerns raised including smoking and loitering on the sidewalks outside of the DRC. Conversations with the owner of Offbeats are occurring and will continue to help mitigate potential concerns.
• When will the DRC open?
  • There are many steps before the DRC will potentially be built on this site. If the land is declared excess land, an agreement with Western Dairyland would be the next step and require approval by City Council. There is currently a Campaign Readiness Study underway with an anticipated report date in August. Depending on the results of the Campaign Readiness Study, the next step would be fundraising. We anticipate if this location is the final location for the DRC, construction would not begin until 2025. Partners will continue to review any potential locations that may become available during this time.
• What does the Comprehensive Plan say about this proposed project.
  • The Compressive Plan includes a sentence that service providers should not all be located downtown. We have service providers throughout the community. Accessibility is an important criterion for the location of the DRC.  
• How will safety be addressed?
  • If this location would move forward, during the design phase we will work with adjacent properties to mitigate concerns. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) concepts will be utilized. Conversations are already occurring to address concerns including an enclosed, ventilated smoking area that is not accessible from outside the building, a large lobby area to allow people to wait inside during the check-in process, cameras throughout the inside and outside of the building (and there is a camera on the new Transit Station that is directed to the Main and Farwell intersection and also captures the sidewalks that would be adjacent to the potential DRC). Regular communication with adjacent property owners will occur to quickly address any concerns that may arise.
• Will individuals with criminal records utilize the DRC?
  • Yes, potentially the DRC could have individuals with past criminal records using services. There are individuals with past criminal records living throughout our community. For example, currently, there are zero individuals on the sex offender registry registered at Sojourner House. There are 258 individuals on the sex offender registry in the City of Eau Claire.
• How will concerns with drug and alcohol use be addressed?
  • There is drug use throughout our community, but we understand the concerns that occur with our homeless community. The DRC will be able to focus on finding healthy solutions for everyone including treatment options.
• What other solutions are being considered to help people experiencing homelessness, downtown businesses, residents, and visitors?
  • A street ambassador program that will have individuals in various roles throughout downtown. Ambassadors can help respond to needs that may occur and Police will be contacted when needed. Ambassadors will also provide outreach to individuals extending the services offered at the DRC throughout downtown. We also anticipate roles that would focus on helping keep the downtown clean. We have been in discussions with a company that provides this service nationwide. They collect a tremendous amount of data, documenting all activities. This will help the City and providers focus on areas downtown that may be experiencing higher incidents of different needs. Daily interactions by street ambassadors will help develop relationships that will be beneficial to helping individuals in need. The street ambassadors will also be available to help visitors downtown find places, answer questions, etc.
• There has been conversation about a housing first model. Shouldn’t this be explored instead of a Day Resource Center?
  • Housing agencies already utilize a housing first model, this is not a new concept. For example, Western Dairyland has operated a Housing First program in the Eau Claire area since 2015 and currently provides 33 apartments to chronically homeless clients. For a housing first model to work, there has to be available low-income housing. The Coordinated Entry list which includes homeless and housing insecure people currently has 443 people (281 households) on it. The Housing Authority has 465 households in need of housing. A DRC will provide a place for individuals to be while housing catches up to demand. If, in the future, there would be a significant drop in our homeless populations, the DRC can be utilized for other programs, but there will always be a need for a Day Resource Center and safe place for individuals as evidenced by Eau Claire having a day shelter for over 25 years.

Housing

We have multiple housing initiatives and work with the community to help identify and solve housing needs.

Housing Study
In 2023, we partnered with the City of Altoona, and Eau Claire County to undertake a Regional Housing Study.  The study conveys to the Eau Claire County community past and current housing market trends and conditions, in the process identifying resulting challenges and opportunities that have arisen and, likewise, ways in which the public sector might intervene to obtain any number of publicly articulated housing goals. The study is used to help inform policy initiatives.

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