Catholic Charities, neighborhood social worker and New Horizons report HUD‑funded outcomes; CAPER accepted
June 24, 2026 | La Crosse, La Crosse County, Wisconsin
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La Crosse city staff and three HUD/CDBG subrecipients presented program outcomes and service highlights to the ECDC during the June 24 meeting as part of the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) review.
Michael Musgrove, grants coordinator for Catholic Charities, said that over the previous grant period his organization served 335 unduplicated individuals and provided 5,883 bed nights. Musgrove told commissioners that running the six‑month warming center costs on the order of a half‑million dollars and that funding limits prevent year‑round operations at some sites.
Carla Hein, introduced as Catholic Charities’ shelter coordinator for the La Crosse Warming Center, shared a client success story: a woman who, after accessing shelter services and attending twelve‑step meetings provided on site, secured part‑time work, entered treatment and had been clean for more than nine months. Hein emphasized the role of consistent staff and seasonal employees who know guests by name.
Isaac Hoffman, director of the La Crosse Area Family Collaborative, presented the neighborhood social worker model funded with CDBG and county support in the Shumullen neighborhood. He said 88% of households served through that neighborhood site qualified as extremely low income (for 2026, roughly under $33,000 for a family of four). Hoffman reported 66 households received direct case management and described metrics showing the program meeting roughly 80% of presented needs at the time of reporting.
Heidi Spie, Director of Programming and Personnel at New Horizons Shelter and Outreach Centers, said her program provided thousands of service interactions in 2025, sheltered 133 victims of abuse (75 of whom came from the City of La Crosse), and logged about 4,700 calls to its crisis line. Spie said New Horizons turned away 618 calls for shelter last year because of capacity limits.
Staff opened the CAPER public hearing as required by HUD; there was no public comment. The commission then moved to accept and file the 2025 CAPER; the motion passed, and staff said it would submit the report to HUD this week.
Why it matters: the presentations documented unmet demand for shelter and behavioral health supports, described neighborhood prevention work aimed at reducing deeper child welfare involvement and highlighted how city CDBG investments leverage county and nonprofit partners. Several presenters said data and confidentiality constraints limit cross‑agency reporting and that improving shared data systems is a future priority.
Next steps: staff will submit the CAPER to HUD and continue program monitoring and reporting; commission discussion signaled continuing attention to shelter capacity and neighborhood prevention funding.
Michael Musgrove, grants coordinator for Catholic Charities, said that over the previous grant period his organization served 335 unduplicated individuals and provided 5,883 bed nights. Musgrove told commissioners that running the six‑month warming center costs on the order of a half‑million dollars and that funding limits prevent year‑round operations at some sites.
Carla Hein, introduced as Catholic Charities’ shelter coordinator for the La Crosse Warming Center, shared a client success story: a woman who, after accessing shelter services and attending twelve‑step meetings provided on site, secured part‑time work, entered treatment and had been clean for more than nine months. Hein emphasized the role of consistent staff and seasonal employees who know guests by name.
Isaac Hoffman, director of the La Crosse Area Family Collaborative, presented the neighborhood social worker model funded with CDBG and county support in the Shumullen neighborhood. He said 88% of households served through that neighborhood site qualified as extremely low income (for 2026, roughly under $33,000 for a family of four). Hoffman reported 66 households received direct case management and described metrics showing the program meeting roughly 80% of presented needs at the time of reporting.
Heidi Spie, Director of Programming and Personnel at New Horizons Shelter and Outreach Centers, said her program provided thousands of service interactions in 2025, sheltered 133 victims of abuse (75 of whom came from the City of La Crosse), and logged about 4,700 calls to its crisis line. Spie said New Horizons turned away 618 calls for shelter last year because of capacity limits.
Staff opened the CAPER public hearing as required by HUD; there was no public comment. The commission then moved to accept and file the 2025 CAPER; the motion passed, and staff said it would submit the report to HUD this week.
Why it matters: the presentations documented unmet demand for shelter and behavioral health supports, described neighborhood prevention work aimed at reducing deeper child welfare involvement and highlighted how city CDBG investments leverage county and nonprofit partners. Several presenters said data and confidentiality constraints limit cross‑agency reporting and that improving shared data systems is a future priority.
Next steps: staff will submit the CAPER to HUD and continue program monitoring and reporting; commission discussion signaled continuing attention to shelter capacity and neighborhood prevention funding.
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