Youth homelessness is increasing in Wisconsin. One shelter hopes a new expansion will help change that

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A new laundry room, an expansive selection of clothes and a set of new computers are some of the tools a youth organization hopes will help stop youth homelessness from continuing to rise in Wisconsin.

Pathfinders held an open house Thursday for an expansion of its drop-in center near Estabrook Park. It happened to coincide with a report released Thursday by the Wisconsin Policy Forum exploring trends of youth homelessness statewide.

The report used data from the National Center for Education Statistics and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. It found the number of Wisconsin public school students experiencing homelessness increased by 9% between 2023 and 2024, going from 18,510 to 20,195.

Teness Kirnberger, the chief development officer at Pathfinders, said she was not surprised to see a statewide increase in youth homelessness.

"We know that housing costs have gone up significantly," she said. "We know that jobs aren't paying that living, family wage."

The report noted it's difficult to pin down the exact number of homeless youth at any particular point. The numbers included youth living in hotels or on campgrounds. Kirnberger agreed, noting there are many reasons a teen going through homelessness would be living in the shadows and not necessarily counted in a survey.

"Young people, in order to stay safe and decrease their vulnerability," she said, "They want to be invisible on purpose to stay safer."

Pathfinders hopes having easier access to essentials, such as computers for schoolwork or job searches, showers, a laundry room and a large room full of clothes and toiletries will bring more young people out of the shadows. 

More than just material goods, Pathfinders seeks to connect homeless youth with staff who can relate to their journey. Kathryn Yang is now a youth organizer with the organization, but she first started there as someone without a home in search of belonging.

"The first thing is to actually be in a safe place, to actually feel comfortable and express how you wanna actually feel and actually tell what you're really going through," she said. "Because every day is a crisis. To me, every day is still a crisis for me, as well."

The epicenter of youth homelessness in Wisconsin is Milwaukee. More than a quarter of the state's homeless students are from Milwaukee, and more than 40% of Wisconsin's unaccompanied homeless youth attend Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS).

"The recent MPS data for their homeless education program. They reported a 0.5% increase in those young people who are identifying as homeless in that program," Kirnberger noted.

Kirnberger added it doesn't take much to help the program, asking for donations as small as $5. She added time is also extremely valuable, noting the shelter could use people helping to serve meals or start a drive for hygiene items.

Perhaps the most valuable currency to youth experiencing homelessness, though, is comfort.

"Once you find the right people that actually want to listen to you," Yang said, "It will honestly leave a big impact in your heart."