Dane County Sharing $2M With Agencies To Combat Homelessness

There are more than 2,000 homeless people living in Madison, and now Dane County is spending $2 million to make affordable housing more accessible.

Dean Loumos, the director of Housing Initiatives, said his organization provides housing for 200 people, many of whom are veterans or suffer from mental illness. He said Dane County is in the middle of an affordable housing crisis.

“We need probably 1,500 to 2,000 units developed a year for the next 10 years just to keep up,” he said.

Dane County divided $2 million among four groups to develop more affordable housing in the area. Loumos said Housing Initiatives received $500,000.

“We expect to develop 30 permanent housing units with that money,” he said. “We’re going to buy buildings, manage them and run them on our own.”

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi included another $1 million for affordable housing in his proposed budget for next year. Loumos said this continued financial support will make a dent in the county’s housing shortage.