Homelessness is not a new problem in Oshkosh. However, for a number of citizens, the problem has recently become more apparent and troubling.
Oshkosh has the Day by Day Warming Shelter, which provides overnight housing to 50 people per night, but does not provide daytime shelter for guests. The shelter moved from the basement of the Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Parish on High Avenue to a larger, new facility on Ceape Avenue in May of 2023.
A handful of community members have expressed concern about the unhoused gathering during the day on Ceape Avenue near the Leach Amphitheater and Riverside Park.
“If a person sees all these people sitting there and they don’t notice that the building across the street is a shelter, then all they see is that Oshkosh has a lot of homelessness and doesn’t do anything about it,” Brook Besant, resident of Oshkosh, said. Besant responded to a request for comments via the Nextdoor local neighborhood app. “I know we can’t move a building, but it’s unfortunate that the location of it is right next to [the Leach, which] draws in people from outside of Oshkosh.”
Another resident, Machaela Jackson said, she likes the idea of the shelter, but has her own concerns.
“It’s a great concept, but I have walked or driven past several times with my children and been yelled at by individuals outside the shelter,” she said. “They yelled anything from ‘hi’ to ‘help’ to ‘stop the car.’”
Day by Day Executive Director Molly Yatso Butz said the mission of the shelter has always been to “provide basic overnight shelter.” She said that the shelter does, however, offer daytime programs that the guests are encouraged to partake in.
“Where, or how, or what people choose to do during the day is really not, unfortunately, in our control,” Yatso Butz said. “So, we are trying to incentivize and motivate people to take advantage of our programs, because we do have so many things happening during the day in the shelter that are so beneficial to people living in crisis.”
Yatso Butz says Day by Day is working to be a part of the solution to the growing homeless population and reminding Oshkosh residents that the nation is stricken with this problem, not just Oshkosh. Yatso Butz hopes Day by Day will continue changing one life at a time.
“I know that every day, we make a difference,” Yatso Butz said. “And even if we’re changing just one life, it’s one less person who has to sleep on the street. So yeah, I see it; I see what happens here. And I know that we’re helping people out of really hard situations. We are trying to be part of the solution, but we are not the whole solution. Going back to our mission, we can help 50 people a night, and that keeps 50 people off the streets.”
She goes on to say that “hiding” these people will not do the community (or those experiencing homelessness) any good. Rather than stowing away this issue, it is best to get down to the root of it and fix it from the inside out.
Community member and volunteer at the Day by Day Shelter Carmen Leal explained that she hasn’t noticed any drastic changes in the unhoused population of the city and says she doesn’t feel her safety is at risk; however, she acknowledges community member concerns about the unhoused being on main streets of the city.
“I think there are problems with any location,” Leal said. “There’s always going to be people who say ‘It’s not in my neighborhood, we think it’s great,’ and I do think it’s great, but I did not foresee that the homeless would camp out on Ceape Avenue. I think that’s a problem – as pro shelter as I am.”
Leal added that the problem with homelessness in the public eye is not new, it’s just more noticeable at the Leach Amphitheater — a huge source of entertainment and tourism in the city — and Riverside Park.
“I do not feel unsafe at all. I walk my dog daily and stop and chat with the group on Ceape, and there has not been any violence to my knowledge,” she said. “When they were at the church on High [Avenue], I would drive by and I would see lines of people waiting to get in. I would see everything that is now seen on Ceape.”
Leal encourages people to treat the unhoused with compassion. She reminds us that these are people who, a lot of times, have education past high school. “We have no idea when something bad will happen,” Leal said.
“I can tell many of them have an education beyond high school,” Leal said. “I look at people and I think, ‘You were once someone’s little baby.’ I’m blessed because my kids are going to have a better life than I did. That’s the American dream; your kids will be better than you were in terms of getting through life. These people were somebody’s dream. No one has a kid and wishes they grow up homeless.”
Ben Bernier, 37, and Brianna Zarling, 19, are guests at Day by Day.
“I’ve been in Oshkosh for about a year now. I’ve been homeless for about maybe two, three months,” Zarling said. “I fled from my domestic abuser. I was in a mental facility for about three weeks, and then once I got out of that facility, I went over to Harbor House in Appleton. When I got to Oshkosh, I stayed with a friend and she kicked me out. That’s how I ended up in this situation.”
Bernier has been at Day by Day for approximately two and a half months. He is over half blind and diabetic which he said resulted in him not being able to continue to work. Seeking more help than his family could provide, Bernier has been at Day by Day since July.
Both Bernier and Zarling said the bond they’ve created with other guests of the shelter and the staff has been a tremendous comfort, going as far as referring to members of the shelter as “family.”
“It’s nice having, you know, other people around out there going through the same thing that all can relate to,” Bernier said. “We all help each other with everything, even if we’re trying to get stuff filled out for housing or something like that. If we don’t know how to do it, somebody will always help out that’s trying to do the same thing.”
“I just want to say that Day by Day staff, everybody here, has been amazing when it comes to support,” Zarling said. “If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am now. I’m so, so happy that there is a place like this for people to come to get back on their feet. There’s not enough words for me to say how happy I am and how much I appreciate it. You know, Day by Day really, really means a lot to me. They’re my chosen family.”
The shelter offers men’s and women’s health classes, job programming and financial classes, individual and/or group counseling sessions, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous support, and fun opportunities for guests to partake in – like “crafty corner.”
In addition to daytime activities and resources, Day by Day offers a 30-60-90 day program, teaching guests how to be financially independent as well as develop important life skills. If guests choose to enroll in this program (limited to 35), they are guaranteed a bed each night until they complete the 90-day period. They must, however, complete all required tasks by each 30 day milestone in order to maintain their guaranteed bed at the shelter. Tasks include (but are not limited to) completing housing applications, 10 job applications, Rent Smart classes, attending Men’s and Women’s Health series that emphasize mental health and healthy relationships and 30-day check-ins with social workers.
Day by Day helps roughly 90 unique individuals secure housing, employment and/or education annually. On a monthly basis, the shelter serves over 1,500 meals and does about 1,200 loads of laundry.
Bernier is grateful for Day by Day Shelter. “I think a lot of people don’t understand how hard it is being on the street every day not being able to have a home to be in and sleep in or to just have a secure spot for yourself,” he said. “When you’re on the street you don’t have a lot of options.”
For more information on how you can get involved, visit daybydayshelter.org.
