July 11, 2025 3:45p
(WGTD)---The new director of Racine’s largest homeless shelter can empathize with the people she serves.
Yvonne MacDonald-Hames of the Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization, or HALO for short, was Greg Berg’s guest on The Morning Show this week. "I have been in this boat as a child and I know what it feels like to not have a home and hop from one family member to family member, which many of our residents do before they exhaust those resources and have to come to us," MacDonald-Hames said.
She continued: "And it's not fun to be in a homeless shelter. It's not a hotel. People don't want to stay in the shelter because it is difficult. You're in a congregant living space. You eat your meals with people you don't know. You don't know what the person's situation is sitting next to you."
Last year HALO housed 450 individuals—including 82 kids.
About half of the adult residents had incomes, but three-quarters of those made less than $1,500 per month.
HALO offers various classes and assistance programs designed to make residents self-sufficient or return them to that status.
McDonald-Hames and others who work with the homeless population are waiting to assess the impact of federal budget cuts.
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