MILWAUKEE -- As the temperature drops, the number of people in need of emergency shelter rises. As of Monday night, all shelters for women and families are at capacity in Milwaukee County.
While it's hard to measure how many homeless people there are on any given night in Milwaukee, the most recent count put the number at about 1,200.
"We are literally going to be out on the streets," says Taqeila Hilliard. "What do we do from here?"
Using the last of her money, Hilliard brought her children to a motel for the night. She tried finding a shelter that would take them in, but they were all full.
"It's really hard," Hilliard says. "I lost my job, and it's been hard finding another one. I'm just trying to keep my head above water as much as I can."
The sad reality is that Hilliard is one of many woman in our area facing this challenge.
According to Impact 2-1-1 - an organization that matches people in need with emergency shelter- there are 67 rooms in Milwaukee County shelters, that allow women and their children to stay together. All of those rooms are taken.
"We're desperate, and we're invested emotionally with them to try and get them housed," says John Hyatt, the President & CEO of Impact 2-1-1. "We want everyone safe and well-taken care of. We're constantly trying to add options, and come up with solutions any way that we can."
Hyatt says shelters and affordable housing options are severely underfunded, keeping supply from meeting demand.
In Milwaukee County, shelter beds for single women are also all taken. There are some available shelters in the area that will take in children, but many mothers refuse to separate from their kids.
If you'd like to help Taqeila Hilliard and her family, a friend set up this GoFundMe account for them.
Be sure and try our new SNOWCAST APP! It is the "snow equivalent to STORM SHIELD" - a great new product that gives you high resolution snow forecasts for any part of the nation! It has just been introduced for iPhones, but we are working on the Android version! Just search SNOWCAST in the App Store or click here.
