After William “Billy” DeHart, a local man, passed away from exposure in an Antigo park in January, community members vowed to create a shelter so that homelessness would no longer be a barrier to achieving one’s potential.
They created William’s House of Hope, which has been operating for the past few months.
Nicole Barron is the organization’s president.
“The need in our area has increased,” explained Barron.
Even though they haven’t opened the shelter yet, she said they’re currently servicing around 150 people that are homeless or at risk of losing their home.
“Our numbers would actually be higher, but because of the purchase of the building, we put a pause on our monetary assistance, so we were referring individuals out for assistance, but we are going to open that back up again, so those numbers will definitely increase,” said Barron.
William’s House of Hope provides emergency housing, vocational training to enhance people’s employability and they connect folks with resources like mental health providers or substance abuse counselors.
People on probation can’t stay at the physical shelter once it’s up and running, but they can still find assistance with hotel vouchers, case managers, and wrap-around services.
They are hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony for their physical shelter on October 22nd.
Their shelter and new thrift store are projected to open on November 1st, but Barron said the thrift store might open earlier since they’ve received so many donations.
“The goal is for us to take the profits, proceeds and funnel them back into the shelter so that it's sustainable and to keep it going. But we also want to get to a point that we're able to help out local nonprofits as well, so we would look at creating a foundation to support local nonprofits in our area to make sure that they are successful and we are part of their journey and their growth,” she explained.
There has been some opposition to the shelter. Karl’s Transportation, a trucking company in Antigo, put up a sign that said “no homeless shelter.”
We reached out to Karl’s but did not hear back before publication.
Barron said she welcomes the opposition.
She said “its intentions are malicious but it has been a blessing in disguise.”
Barron said that opposition has brought new donors from across the country to the organization.
If you want to donate to the thrift store or the shelter, Barron encourages you to reach out to William’s House of Hope.
