By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review

Members of the community are coming together to provide emergency shelter for those who need it in Wausau as near-blizzard conditions continue and the city braces for subzero temperatures.

But so far, the officials have announced no such efforts in Wausau or Marathon County, though other communities statewide have stepped up. Portage County, for example, will keep the front entrance to the Sheriff’s Department open 24 hours over the weekend and have partnered with a church and nonprofit agency to keep residents safe from the elements.

The storm, which forecasters described as a “once-in-a-generation” system, comes less than three weeks after a 55-year-old unhoused woman died beneath a Wausau bridge.

With no local plan in place Sandra Kelch, executive director of Marathon County Community Outreach Task Force, said she and other advocates are raising funds to provide emergency hotel rooms for people unable to stay at the shelter, which can house a maximum of 30 people overnight.

Donations are accepted at this link.

Bruce Grau, of the Wisconsin Poor People’s Campaign, said there is a heated parking ramp in Wausau that could provide lifesaving refuge. But a city ordinance, passed in 2019, prohibits loitering in the ramps. City officials continue to draw criticism from advocates who say that amounts to criminalizing homelessness.

Kelch said during those discussions in 2019, she was assured that in life-or-death situations such as these the ordinance would not be strictly enforced. She and Grau are calling on the Wausau Police Department, Mayor Katie Rosenberg and City Council President Becky McElhaney to ensure that people will not be penalized for using the ramp for shelter.

But Wausau Police Chief Ben Bliven said his department’s role is “to enforce the ordinances that are put into policy by our elected leaders.”

“In addition to that, our role at the police and fire department is to care for the life safety of individuals who are at risk – regardless of the reason for that life safety concern,” Bliven told Wausau Pilot & Review. “We will continue to address those issues as we encounter them, no different than we have in years past.”

Bliven said community nonprofits are stepping up to address the needs of the community as the storm continues. But Kelch said those efforts are not enough.

Catholic Charities, for example, was closed Thursday due to inclement weather and could not be reached for assistance. The warming shelter operated by the group, however, will be open for overnight stays.

The Salvation Army Warming Center, 202 Callon St., provides daytime warmth between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. and will be open Friday, but will not be open Saturday through Monday. A warming shelter will be also open at Bridge Street Mission 115 W. Bridge St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 23.

Kelch, Grau and other advocates say they are worried about where the city’s growing unhoused population will stay safe from the elements during daytime hours over the weekend.

Statewide, some communities have an emergency plan in place and have opened community buildings and shopping centers to allow warming areas in their spaces. Last year, the Wausau Fire Department opened its doors to the public after a major snowstorm that left thousands of people without power.

“There was shelter last year for the housed, but what are we doing this year for the unhoused?” Kelch said.

Marathon County Administrator Lance Leonhard referred questions about the county’s strategy to communications strategist Sarah Severson, who told Wausau Pilot & Review that the Health Department is actively working to identify any facilities that will be open and able to serve as a warming center throughout the holidays and sharing that information through public channels and United Way’s 2-1-1 line.

“The Health Department was successful in coordinating additional hours of service through the assistance and goodwill of local non-profit shelter providers,” Severson said, in a prepared statement.

Severson said the Office of Emergency Management stands “ready to assist municipalities in their response should we receive such a request.”

In Wausau, so far, it appears that request hasn’t been made.

Kelch and other advocates are calling on city officials to live up to their commitment to be a community for all, a declaration made in 2021 by Mayor Katie Rosenberg and approved by the Council after a robust debate.

Rosenberg did not respond to a request for comment.