Pathways Home Is Working—And We're Building on It

By Tina Tryggestad, La Crosse County Board Chair, and Shaundel Washington-Spivey, Mayor of La Crosse

Pathways Home, the joint city-county plan to end long-term homelessness, has made remarkable strides in just one year—and we’re not slowing down.

Together, we've built a new homelessness response system from the ground up, strengthened partnerships across our community, unlocked new sources of funding, and helped 147 individuals move into housing. As leaders of the City and County of La Crosse, we are proud to say the partnership at the heart of Pathways Home remains strong.

There’s still a tremendous amount of work ahead, but for the first time, we have a coordinated, data-informed system to meet the challenge.

Some of the most exciting progress in 2025 includes the launch of The Collective on Fourth, a new affordable housing development that will include 13 units specifically for people exiting homelessness. It’s a great example of what’s possible when state, city, and private partners collaborate. We hope it will serve as a model for our region.

Later this year, La Crosse County will open 10 units of transitional housing at Hillview Health Care Center, in a previously unused wing of the nursing home. These units will serve individuals facing complex challenges that make traditional rental housing difficult to access.

In addition, two local nonprofit partners—backed by city funding—are working to open 28 more units of specialized housing. Altogether, these three projects will bring around 50 new units of supportive housing online—a solid start, though still short of what our community needs.

That’s why city and county staff will soon release a specialized housing plan that, for the first time, quantifies exactly how many units—and what types—we need to end long-term homelessness in La Crosse. With that data in hand, we can better target the funding and partnerships needed to build lasting solutions.

But housing is only part of the equation. At La Crosse County Human Services, as part of Pathways Home, a new specialized team focused on connecting people experiencing homelessness with mental health and substance use recovery services, while also helping them access housing, has been launched.

One of our core goals is to break the cycle of homelessness. Too often, individuals move from shelter to housing and back again. Through consistent case management and access to services—from mental health support to FoodShare enrollment—Pathways Home is designed to disrupt that cycle and create lasting stability.

Another major recent success occurred when the Pathways Home team was approved for a new kind of Medicaid funding from the state, which will provide financial assistance for security deposits and utility activation, along with funding for support to find housing. This will bring significant new resources to our community.

We are, however, deeply concerned about the possibility of major reductions in funding for Medicaid, FoodShare, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Cuts to these federal programs would significantly hinder the progress of Pathways Home by reducing vital support for our most vulnerable neighbors. If you can, please use your voice to speak out against those cutbacks.

We also want to acknowledge the city and county staff who have brought Pathways Home to life. Their often behind-the-scenes work not only created the plan but is the reason we’re confident in its continued success.

As we look ahead, our message is clear: City and County leadership are serious about ending long-term homelessness, and we’re investing in solutions that work—with a focus on lasting impact. As we continue to advance Pathways Home, we know this effort will benefit everyone in our community. But we’ll need your support.