Why Milwaukee is giving homeless people free apartments

MILWAUKEE—John “Grizzly” Affayroux had been living outside for 24 years when a friend drove up to his shack by the Kinnickinnic River a couple months ago and told him he could get a free apartment.

At first he didn’t believe it. His friend said Milwaukee County was putting homeless people into permanent apartments, not shelters. And unlike most housing programs, there were no hoops to jump through—you didn’t have to stay sober or have a clean criminal record or even agree to see a counselor.

So Affayroux signed up and filled out some paperwork. And now he has his own one-bedroom, ground-floor apartment: spacious and very messy, with clothes and blankets and food scattered around. But it’s his. “I’m getting a second chance,” he told me, sitting on a donated couch with a big American flag above him. “It took a while to get used to.” He looks exactly like what you’d expect for someone nicknamed Grizzly: a long, scraggly grey beard, stained blue overalls, and an oversized brown pullover.

Affayroux, 60, is one of dozens of formerly homeless people who have benefited from the county’s aggressive push to end chronic homelessness. Since September, officials have been giving permanent housing vouchers to anyone who’s been homeless for more than a year or on multiple occasions in the past couple years.

“The biggest need for a homeless person is housing,” said James Mathy, the county’s housing administrator. “We just offer them housing right off the street. It sounds simple, but a lot of communities don’t do it.”

The program, called Housing First, follows similar efforts in Salt Lake City, Seattle, and other cities around the country. Research has shown that permanent vouchers are more effective and, in the long run, more cost-efficient than the typical approach of sending homeless people to shelters or giving them temporary rental assistance. People in the program contribute 30% of their income toward the rent. Most, like Affayroux, don’t have a job, so they get free housing. They’re placed into regular apartment buildings around the city, and the landlord receives the same rent they would from any other tenant, except from vouchers.

So far, Milwaukee’s program has found housing for 64 people, some who have been living outside for decades. Officials estimate that there are about 300 chronically homeless people in the county. Everyone has a different story about how they ended up on the streets. Affayroux lost a job working for the local parks department in the ’90s and ended up living under bridges, by railroad tracks, and eventually in a riverside eight-foot-by-four-foot wood-and-tarpaulin shack he built himself. He spiraled into alcoholism. “I went off the deep end,” he said.

A cop he knew told him about the Housing First program a few months ago, and he moved into the apartment October 1. “I just got tired of being out there,” he said. He likes that he doesn’t have to worry about getting robbed or beat up or “taking a shit in the woods,” and that he can shower whenever he wants. He also has a fully stocked kitchen—at a recent church Thanksgiving meal, he ate one serving and took three home with him.

Beyond housing, Milwaukee’s program also offers clients case managers who help them apply for benefits and find individualized treatment. Many residents suffer from mental health issues, but there’s no requirement that they go through any specific treatment programs. The case managers also help them navigate the mundane challenges that come with living between four walls, from doing laundry to getting a toilet fixed to dealing with noisy neighbors.