Earlier this week, the Haven in Manitowoc held an event to celebrate five years of serving homeless men on the lakeshore. We sat down with Michael Ethridge from the Haven, who spoke about the event saying that he “got together with our board members, volunteers, staff, community members, the mayor was there,” and he spoke to the group about the impact the Haven has had on the community.
The Haven offers a 90-day program to homeless men, to try and help them get back on their feet. They can house up to 20 men at a time, and average around 65 a year. Doing some simple math would indicate that they are very rarely filled up. Michael explained that they go through an “intensive case management plan conducive to the individual. Based off that case management plan, and getting to know each individual, we can begin to build a plan that builds a good foundation for men to execute, realistically, their goal.”
We asked Michael to tell us about his favorite success story from the Haven. He explained that his daughter asked to go on a playdate with a friend, which Michael agreed to as long as he could meet her parents. He reminisced that the father came out and “here comes a gentleman that was a former member of the Haven, whose doing well, owns his own home, owns his business, is gonna get married soon, and I’m sitting in his living room. That’s when I knew it came full circle.”
As far as what’s in the plans for the next five years, this past winter with the near record-setting cold may have been an inspiration. He said that they have talked about putting up an emergency warming shelter for men that need to escape the cold immediately during the winter months.
Michael pointed out the importance of the Haven by saying that in the United States, “there are 80% more emergency services to help a German Sheppard than there is to help a single man in the cold.” If you know someone that could use the help offered by The Haven, they are located at 1003 Marshal Street, or you can call them at 920-652-9110.
