Taylor House continues to work to meet housing needs

To build a future where every individual has access to safe, supportive housing through sustainable funding and trusted community partnerships.

This is the vision of The Taylor House. Located at 509 Lemke Ave. in Medford, The Taylor House has been operational for close to five years. It’s overseen by Taylor County Supportive Housing and can shelter up to 17 people at once, taking in both single people and families. Many of those individuals come from all over the state as well as different parts of the country, with many eventually settling in Taylor County.

Homelessness has long been a growing concern in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Wisconsin is 28th in the country in homelessness, with 5,049 known cases in 2024. Of those numbers, 1,913 of those were part of family units, 216 were unaccompanied homeless youth, 351 were homeless veterans and 357 were chronically homeless. In addition, HUD reports that nearly all populations reached record levels in 2024, with people in families with children experiencing the largest single-year increase.

In Wisconsin alone, these numbers have risen by almost 4% since 2023.

There are several reasons for this: HUD states that the end of an eviction moratorium set in place during the COVID-19 pandemic played a significant role in homelessness, as well as economic pressures, specifically unprecedented spikes in rental prices which saw a nearly 23% increase altogether from 2020 to late 2023. This included a large number of first-time homeless households unfamiliar to the system.

With homelessness on the rise, places that can safely house individuals experiencing this crisis are more vital than ever. Taylor County Supportive Housing board president Adam Schnabel believes there is a difference between housing that is stable and housing that is safe. His goal is to provide his residents with both.

“Stable is consistency,” he said, while Schnabel believes that a safe environment is one where an individual feels secure enough to progress and obtain their goals, whatever those may be. “Somewhere that they feel good to be themselves,” he continued.

At The Taylor House, the application process is straightforward. Residents applying on their own must be 17 years of age and cannot have a pending felony case against them. They must also complete a background check, with restrictions in place for violent offenders. “We are a family shelter, we have people with domestic violence backgrounds, so it needs to be safe for everyone,” said Colleen Welker, Taylor House director.

Residents participate in shared household chores to keep the home tidy. The Taylor House provides food, though consumers can shop and purchase their own food if they are able. The shelter boasts seven bedrooms and staff does room checks as needed for resident safety. Welker meets with her guests at least once a week to check in and provide support.

In addition, Welker and Schnabel encourage their residents to attend house board meetings. This is an opportunity to express their concerns and voice any ideas or changes. “It helps them to be empowered,” Schnabel said. Each client is also asked to participate in an exit survey that helps The Taylor House to make any necessary improvements.

But without a doubt, the objective of everyone who walks through their doors is housing. Clients have just 90 days to make the most out of their stay. “People will come to me with no job, no vehicle, nothing, sometimes even finding a job, an apartment, getting stable, it takes a while,” Schnabel said.

On top of housing, Welker and the board are excited to assist with any other goals that their residents identify, like opening up a savings account or job-hunting. Some need assistance creating a resume ´ for the first time, or learning how to budget. The Taylor House relies on volunteers who donate their time and expertise to assist with some of these goals.

The team is renovating their case management process to better identify some of those needs, with customized, measurable goals in place that clients feel more accurately represent their individual situations. Schnabel hopes this will help residents learn accountability as well, a skill necessary in the workforce.

But what if 90 days just isn’t enough time? The board will grant extensions on a case-by-case basis. “It is extremely difficult to help somebody that is waiting on disability, sometimes even finding an apartment in 90 days is a struggle,” Schnabel said.

To bolster their residents’ chances for success, Welker continues to meet with residents monthly even after they’ve left the program. Schnabel reports that trending statistics show that many of their consumers are not able to maintain safe and stable housing for longer than 12 months after leaving the shelter, with some not even making it longer than three months.

“We’re constantly aware of that, relapses,” he said. And there are other obstacles in place proving that it isn’t as simple as putting a roof over someone’s head. Some of the people that walk through the shelter doors come with mental health symptoms or drug and alcohol issues. JAMA Psychiatry is a peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association (AMA). In 2024, JAMA Psychiatry released a study showing that the current prevalence of mental health disorders among people experiencing homelessness in the United States was 67%.

“That is a huge hurdle,” Schnabel said of mental health symptoms. “Over half of homeless individuals are struggling with some major impact in their life.”

The Taylor House works to connect the people in their network with mental health and alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) resources available within Taylor County, but they can only recommend treatment, not enforce it. Welker reports that some individuals are adept at masking their mental health symptoms, which can make it difficult to offer support. She stated that since her appointment as director in December of 2024, she has seen a limited number of individuals struggling with AODA concerns. The staff relies on county’s crisis line in the event of mental health emergencies.

“Taylor County is pretty robust,” Schnabel said of the resources available for those in need. He reports that, while The Taylor House works closely with multiple organizations in the county, his goal is to have a closer relationship with Taylor County itself. He believes that by working together, his residents and those in need within the county will all benefit.

While some members of the community can be skeptical of some of the behaviors often associated with mental health or AODA disorders, Schnabel believes that The Taylor House has had a positive impact on the area. “We’ve had multiple community members that have gone through homelessness,” he said.

Board member Kim Emmerich asked people not to pass judgement. “You don’t know their background, their story,” she said.

“Give them that second chance,” said Welker. “You don’t know what’s going on in someone else’s life.” Welker, a former resident of The Taylor House herself, is a walking, talking testimony of how far people will go when given the opportunity. “A lot of people come in and they’re just so hopeless, to be able to talk to them and say, ‘I was here, I did it,’ it means something.”

Still, Schnabel and the team want to do more. He hopes to someday construct a 15-20 unit transitional shelter that people can live in for up to a year, with their rent progressively increasing so residents are able to adjust slowly. Schnabel envisions helping his clients establish a rental history and build credit for an apartment, or even towards the purchase of a home.

Until then, The Taylor House can’t battle homelessness all on their own. Their operational budget runs anywhere between $100,000-$125,000 each year, bare bones for a facility that typically keeps a waiting list. They’re funded with state and federal money and count themselves fortunate for assistance from private charities, donations, and fundraisers like food or supply drives.

You can help by supporting their events. There are also room sponsorships available, and donations that provide one day, one week, or one month of shelter. Welker encourages members of the community to follow The Taylor House on social media where she posts immediate necessities, like the scent-free laundry detergent the shelter needed recently to help a mother and her six young children.

“I always get an outpouring when we do need help,” Welker said, expressing gratitude.

There are donation options on their website, tcsupportivehousing.org, or you can set up a time to drop off a donation. The board asks community members to consider checking in with their employers who could be looking for fundraising opportunities, and to think about legacy donations. You can contact Schnabel by email at tcshboard@outlook.com.

“Some of us are one paycheck away from homelessness,” said Schnabel. “If you were to become homeless on one of the coldest nights, where would you go if this wasn’t here?”