Staff shortages nearly closed Waukesha homeless shelters, so a nonprofit director moved into one

Jim Riccioli
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Maureen Atwell, executive director for Hebron Housing Services, works from her makeshift living area in the basement of Jeremy House, one of Hebron's three facilities serving Waukesha's homeless population. Atwell is living there to better manage a housing and staffing shortage crisis related to the coronavirus pandemic.

WAUKESHA - Maureen Atwell found little comfort in the idea that homeless shelters were merely available for some needing a place to "stay home" in the face of the coronavirus threat.

The recently named executive director of Hebron Housing Services knew the walls and beds alone weren't enough to accommodate the local homeless population. Circumstances tied to the growing COVID-19 outbreak had also generated a staffing shortage at Hebron's three shelters, at a time when people needed them most.

So she decided to move in.

Atwell will play a leadership role while residing in Jeremy House, intended for those struggling with homelessness and mental illness, while also serving Siena House for single men and Juno House for women, children and families, as needed.

In doing so, she temporarily left behind her family in Whitefish Bay, knowing the demands on the job outweighed other obligations for now.

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Difficult, now more so

COVID-19 added to what's normally a difficult task already: Finding reliable shelter for people who have no place to live or who simply cannot because of their mental state.

"We found out on (March 13) that major resources for the homeless would be closing, and I knew we were in trouble," Atwell said. "Services for the homeless in Waukesha come together like a net: the shelters, the Hope Center, James Place, NAMI, even our public library are all part of a tightly-woven safety net for people in trouble. If that net gets a hole, people fall through."

COVID-19 presented an unexpected challenge by prompting the March 16 closure of The Hope Center, a shelter and service center run by a separate nonprofit organization made up of dozens of religious congregations and whose anti-poverty efforts includes the homeless.

Homeless men often end up in The Hope Center, on East Avenue, when the Siena house is closed each day. The loss of that center's resources only added to the problems of sheltering the homeless, and fell in line with decisions directly attributed to the virus and efforts to control it.

"Salvation Army also closes during the day, and now the Hope Center, the public library, the bus station — basically all public places are closed," Atwell noted.

The "hole" became a bigger problem given the plea by state and federal health officials, who urged residents to stay at home as part of an effort to reduce the feared rapid transmission of the novel respiratory virus. 

To give more homeless residents a place to stay, Hebron expanded its operations at all three houses. In Siena, that meant remaining open round-the-clock, instead of closing daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and increasing capacity by four, to 19 occupants.

In addition, all three houses expanded the amount of time the more transient "drop-ins" can stay — now 30 days instead of five.

Living in a crisis

Naturally, the expanded hours and services created a staffing shortage, which is where Atwell decided to step in — or more accurately, slept in. She saw it as a way to work on the front lines, so to speak, in managing the problem and also lending a hand.

That includes working shifts in two of the houses while living in the third.

"The staffing shortage is very tough right now," she said. "Not only do we need more staff to address our expanded hours, we’ve temporarily lost staff to the crisis. Some of our workers have preexisting health conditions or a family member with a health condition that makes it too dangerous for them to come to work right now."

The risk of too few staff is too great for the population she is trying to serve, Atwell added.

"If a shelter can’t be staffed, it has to be closed, which I want to avoid at all costs. That is why I moved into the basement of Jeremy House, to make sure we can keep the doors of all three shelters open," she said.

Atwell, saying she would never ask her team to do something she isn't willing to do herself, also recognized that she had to demonstrate to staff just how important their efforts are.

“In times of crisis, we have an incredible opportunity to do the right thing, to show courage and kindness and humanity, and maybe even inspire others to do the same,” she said.

There were practical considerations, like turning the basement space — initially envisioned as an overflow shelter beneath Jeremy House and primarily used for storage — into a makeshift apartment complete with a bed, sofa, small refrigerator and microwave.

"I came down here and cleaned it up," Atwell said. "I'm still cleaning up. It's an ongoing project."

The decision to stay with the population she was serving also protected her family. Commuting between Waukesha and Whitefish Bay daily, as she has done since relocating from Waukesha County several years ago, presented a risk, she acknowledged.

"My family has been very very understanding. I think they understand I tend to be passionate," she said, listing separate concerns about her husband and daughter. "I can just generally and vaguely say there were some health concerns I didn't want to bring home to them."

Praise-worthy efforts

Still, her colleagues viewed her decision as pure selflessness.

"This is who she is,” said Keith Harenda, vice president of Hebron Housing Services board of directors. "Maureen sees a need and immediately springs into action to address it. She cares about people at a level that is extraordinary."

For board president Ildiko Huppertz, Atwell's decision was consistent with her recent accomplishments revamping Hebron's operations.

"Maureen joined Hebron Housing Services when the organization was in transition,” Huppertz said. "And based on her incredible dedication and tremendous accomplishments in a short period of time, we were thrilled she accepted the role of executive director. I cannot get over how fully dedicated she is to our mission and this community."

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Atwell, who was formally hired as executive director March 1 but served as acting director since September 2019, is credited with carefully selecting new staff members to serve in the various Hebron houses. She also oversaw what Hebron officials called "the most successful year-end fund appeal in a decade."

Her efforts included teaming with former Green Bay Packer LeRoy Butler to help raise awareness of homelessness in Waukesha County beyond the city itself.

Just hours after The Hope Center closure was announced, Atwell reportedly reached out to the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County for funding to keep Siena House open 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

Huppertz said Atwell's background itself has been an asset to achieve such results. She previously worked as the director of the Waukesha County Child Support Division (from 2015 until 2019) and as a Milwaukee County assistant district attorney (2008-2015).

"Maureen’s reputation and relationships with community leaders, government and elected officials has already proved effective in furthering the mission of Hebron Housing Services," Huppertz said.

Like a storm on the horizon, Atwell sees an already chronic problem that can soon grow worse.

"We are already seeing and hearing about an increase in homelessness as people who are living on the very edge of poverty lose their source of income because of the crisis," she said. "At the same time, many organizations that serve the homeless are temporarily shutting down."

If nothing else, Atwell hopes residents and businesses who are still secure financially continue to donate what funds and resources they can to help her manage the crisis.

"During times of crisis, people don’t always think to donate, and this could seriously impact the services we are able to offer going forward," she said. "We are pursuing funding from every source we can find right now."

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.