After sitting vacant for 30 years, a former hospital is reborn as a resource center for the homeless | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Mark Doremus
March 19, 2019
Supporters of St. Anthony place celebrate its grand opening. (Photo by Mark Doremus)
St. Anthony Place is part of an ambitious effort to house and care for Milwaukee’s homeless population.
The Housing First initiative seeks to end chronic homelessness in Milwaukee County. The program recognizes that a safe place to live is the essential first step for recovery and re-entry into the community.
Housing First took a big step forward March 15 with the addition of 60 affordable apartments at the corner of North Tenth and West State streets.
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St. Anthony Place is located at 1004 N. 10th St. It includes an outreach center, a warming space and a medical clinic. An evening meal is served six days a week. A barber shop, showers, a free laundry, and an eye-glass dispensary are all located on-site.
Clients can also get local bus tickets, clothing, hygiene products, birth certificates and IDs, education and employment services and resource referrals. There is also a check-in center for persons who have been diverted from jail into the community.
Saint Anthony Place is a partnership of Heartland Housing, Capuchin Community Services and Ascension Wisconsin, which will operate St. Ben’s Clinic in the building. The project was financed with federal and state tax credits, a grant from Milwaukee County and funds from Enterprise Community Investment, US Bank, the Zilber Family Foundation, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and Capuchin Milwaukee. Lead partners included the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
To learn more, contact Housing First at (414) 278-4678.