MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The two adults that were arrested Tuesday for child abuse and neglect have been booked in the Milwaukee County Jail.
Milwaukee police now confirm that family was unhoused when authorities found six children locked in a storage unit.
A national expert told us it's not uncommon for people to live in storage units as they cope with a lack of housing.
Donald Whitehead is the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. He blamed a housing crisis, saying, "It's a dire situation. And we have to do better as a country."
Whitehead said data show there are more evictions now than during COVID. "The number one cause, take everything else aside, is the lack of affordable housing."
He said federal guidelines recommend people spend 30% of their income on housing.
But that's not possible for everyone. "So, people have to rely on whatever's available. Sometimes that's a vehicle, sometimes that's a tent, unfortunately, sometimes that's even a storage unit," Whitehead said.
There is not yet confirmation the Milwaukee family was living in the storage unit.
But after the arrests, a woman who lived near the facility told us she saw the family there for months, saying Tuesday, "They run around in the back. One day I saw them walking, the whole family."
Here's a comparison of costs:
- The cheapest apartment we found in Milwaukee is 200 square feet and goes for $465 a month.
- A 200 square foot storage unit at the location where the children were found costs $126 a month.
A growing trend of videos online shows how people do it.
In one video, a man says, "I live in a storage unit because it's cheap in comparison to an apartment."
In another, a commenter says, "Now I feel, lowkey, he has a solution to homelessness."
With both adults currently in custody, it's unclear who is caring for the six children that were found in the storage unit.
On top of the child abuse and neglect concerns, it's not legal to live in a storage unit.
But Whitehead said the housing crisis is not solved by putting people who are already struggling through the court system. "Once that person leaves that setting, they are still homeless. And you've made the journey out of homelessness just that much tougher."
We asked the District Attorney's office several questions about whether a charging decision could be impacted by the family being unhoused.
They said they could not comment on the ongoing case.
But a charging decision is expected to be made Friday.