WAUKESHA, Wis.— Shani Hackett is trying to remain positive around her two kids. The Milwaukee mother says she lost her home last year when a car accident left her unable to work. 

Hackett is still recovering, and with her children enrolled in fully-virtual school, she has not been able to find work. Unable to pay her mortgage, Hackett recently lost her home to foreclosure.

“I’m trying to do the best I can to get out of my situation,” Hackett said. “This is the first [time], so this really has been hard for me. I’m used to living a different life.”

The financial wreckage caused by the pandemic led to many Wisconsinites experiencing homelessness for the first time. Upon losing her house, Hackett searched for temporary shelters online, and was relieved to learn Hebron Housing Services had a room available for her family in Waukesha.

Executive director Maureen Atwell says federal community development block grant funding, along with support from local churches and individual donors allowed Hebron House to make significant updates to its three shelters this- winter.

“People really understand the need right now,” Atwell said. “They’re really willing to say, ‘Let’s step up and help.’”

Converting a basement storage room into an on-site case management office freed up an additional bedroom for a mother and kids in the flagship Hebron House shelter. The men’s shelter, the Siena House, got a much-needed roof replacement and renovated kitchen. These renovations are encouraging developments, but Atwell says in her line of work, she always wishes she could do more, especially in the winter.

“It feels really, really scary knowing that if we’re not here or if we don’t have a room, then there’s not a place for someone to go,” she said. “And if people go outside, it’s really scary right now.”

The original Hebron House has provided emergency shelter since Bernie Juno founded it in 1982. She passed away last year, but in a key cosmetic update, the flagship shelter has a new name: Juno House.