Summer 2026 Blueprint Newsletter

Greetings,

Thank you for your time supporting our local organizations that are serving those in need. Please connect with any of the opportunities below.

With this newsletter we aim to educate and inform our community about the Greater Green Bay Blueprint to Prevent & End Homelessness, its strategic impact and stories of the meaningful work being done by our community partners towards preventing and reducing homelessness.

This month you’ll find:

• July Point-in-Time Count: Volunteers Needed!

• Celebrate HUD Transfer of Funds & Advocacy Wins

• 2026 State of Homelessness: Trends To Watch

• Medical Respite

• Summer Podcast Recommendations

Volunteers Needed:

July Point-In-Time Count

Volunteers are needed for the July Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, which will take place the evening of July 22 and through the overnight hours.

During the PIT count, people will be split into groups and assigned routes to assist with finding unhoused people in Brown County and collecting basic demographics. This count is an important tool for us to better understand local trends and gain important insights about the people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Brown County.

To sign up for one or more volunteer shifts, please fill out the form at https://bit.ly/4flr9e9 or scan the QR code.

Celebrate HUD Transfer of Funds & Advocacy Wins

This Spring our community faced the loss of funding through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program grants. These grants provide critical housing and supportive services to 134 formerly homeless households across the state, primarily in rural communities.

In Brown County, this would have left 61 people in the Permanent Supportive Housing Program at risk of losing their housing due solely to administrative delays – not because of any failure on the individual’s part.

Thanks in part to a strong collective effort to advocate for the resources needed to sustain our neighbor’s housing, we were able to secure the successful transfer of funds to another Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition member to continue to provide services.

Read More Here

However, the work does not end there. If you would like to learn more about opportunities to use your voice and advocate for our neighbors, please connect with us using the form below.

Connect With Us!

State of Homelessness:

Trends To Watch

This April we welcomed Ryan Graham, from the Wisconsin Balance of State, to present at the Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition's first State of Homelessness Summit. Brown County's most recent Point-In-Time (PIT) data showed an 8% decrease in homelessness on the night of the PIT count. This marks the third year of an overall decrease in homelessness experienced.

Trends continue to show that individuals are spending more time homeless - an indicator that housing demand remains high with a lack of available units to meet the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors. There are positive trends that also show an ability to maintain housing once receiving service with a decrease in returns to homelessness.

Breakout session at the Coalition's State of Homelessness Summit allowed participants to discuss the challenges that currently face Brown County, and the information presented with specific focus areas on:

• Street Outreach

• Medical Respite

• Landlord Engagement

• Housing Development

A continued need for collaboration and communication are important to addressing the ongoing housing crisis in our community.

Learn More About the Data Here

Medical Respite: What Is It & Who Needs It

Medical Respite is a short-term shelter option for individuals experiencing homelessness to recover and heal from post-acute care at one of the partnering health care providers.

The Blueprint to Prevent and End Homelessness and the Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition convene bi-monthly with a Medical Respite Steering Committee.

This steering committee is made up of staff from multiple health care providers including: Emplify Health by Bellin, Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS), and Aurora Health Care. These members have identified an increased need in our community for a response to our aging and high-need neighbors experiencing homelessness and accessing health care.

Learn More About Medical Respite Here

Summer Podcast Recommendations

Below is a collection of podcasts and resources that explore the realities of homelessness. These creators go beyond the headlines to offer raw, ground-level perspectives, expert policy analysis, and actionable solutions to the housing crisis.

Ground-Level Perspectives & Lived Experience

• We the Unhoused: Hosted by Theo Henderson, this show offers an intimate, essential look at the unhoused experience. Having experienced homelessness himself, Henderson focuses on uplifting the voices of those often silenced by mainstream media.

• Homeless Unfiltered: Created by Invisible People, this podcast pairs the stories of people with lived experience with deep-dive insights from service providers and advocates to expose the systemic failures—and successes—in the fight against homelessness.

Regional & Local Focus

• UnHoused & UnFiltered | MCAH’s Podcast: For a localized Midwest perspective, the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness provides an invaluable look at housing insecurity across the state. The hosts explore both the systemic causes and the practical responses being implemented at the community level.

• Young, Unhoused and Unseen: Produced by NPR/WHYY, this series provides a gripping, localized look at housing insecurity among young people in the greater Philadelphia region, examining the intersection of foster care, poverty, and the rising cost of housing.

Policy & Evidence-Based Solutions

• Listen.Up.People: Ending Homelessness (YouTube): Brought to you by the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, this resource is perfect for those interested in the research behind the crisis. It highlights how policymakers and social workers are utilizing data-driven approaches to create effective, scalable solutions.

Share right with the Blueprint Media Kit

Are you doing work related to the Greater Green Bay Blueprint to Prevent & End Homelessness? Help bring awareness to your impact with the Blueprint's Media Kit. This kit are suggested ways to share your work and the significance it has in our community’s collective effort to address housing and homelessness. 

Please consider forwarding this newsletter on to someone in your network.

We need you to help spread the word about the great work being done in our community to prevent and end homelessness. Subscribe here to get this newsletter straight to your inbox.

Every Greater Green Bay community member has the potential to bring solutions, expertise and energy to the work to prevent and end homelessness in the Greater Green Bay Region. The insight, wisdom, perspective and connections different members of a community bring creates the momentum, new solutions, power, and push needed to respond to the complex, multi-faceted community issue that is homelessness and housing instability.