Chippewa Valley sees Sharp Rise in Homelessness in Six Months

Chippewa Valley counties have seen a dramatic rise in the number of identified unhoused individuals in the bi-annual point in time survey.

The point in time survey is conducted every six months, and tracks the number of identified unhoused individuals by county. In January’s survey, Eau Claire, Buffalo, Trempealeau, and Jackson counties had a combined 52 identified unhoused individuals.

In the July survey, that number doubled to 104 identified unhoused individuals. The number of identified unhoused individuals with children also more than tripled from 10 in January to 33 in July.

Eau Claire County had the highest percentage of the unhoused population with 82 individuals in total. Of those 82, 72 of them are adults and 10 of them are children.

Officials have sited a lack of affordable housing in the Chippewa Valley as the main cause of the dramatic increase. According to a WEAU report, the City of Eau Claire has a vacancy rate of just 3.7%, far below the statewide average of 11% and the target of 8% which allows for low income housing options.

Officials also say that while the dramatic increase in the number of identified unhoused individuals is concerning enough, the true number is likely even higher. Officials from Western Dairyland, one of the organizations involved in conducting the survey, said Buffalo and Trempealeau Counties probably didn’t even have enough volunteers to accurately track the unhoused population. They say the survey isn’t the best tool to measure the unhoused population but it’s the only tool they have to work with currently.