Newcap closes deal on Lakeland Center

Newcap Inc. has purchased the Lakeland Center, taking it off the Shawano County government’s hands.

Once the headquarters for the county’s community service programs, which are now housed at the new human services complex in the Town of Wescott, Newcap plans to provide short-term housing, mental health counseling, a health clinic and more from the facility, located at 504 Lakeland Road. The deal closed Sept. 30, according to James Davel, the county’s administrative coordinator.

Cheryl Dietrich, chief executive officer for Newcap, laid out the plans for the facility on Sept. 29 during a public hearing for the Shawano Plan Commission, which gave its recommendation for a conditional use permit. That permit must still gain final approval from the Shawano Common Council when it meets Oct. 13.

“Community action embodies the spirit of hope, improves the community and makes America a better place to live,” Dietrich said. “We care about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other.”

She added that has been the promise that Newcap has upheld since its founding 55 years ago. The goal is to help people move out of poverty into a position of economic security.

The short-term housing will be a year-round program, Dietrich said, and there are a number of people who need help any given day of the week. She said the facility will be able to help six families at a time, up to 24 people total in the building.

“What we know is that, for people who are homeless and have children, is that we must get them housed first,” Dietrich said. “If we weren’t housing first, we can’t move people out of poverty if they’re living on the street. All they’re thinking about is, ‘Where am I and my children going to sleep tonight?’”

Once the external needs are taken care of, Newcap then shifts its attention to other needs. Many of the people the agency helps have mental health issues — the most common of them being anxiety, depression and trauma, according to Dietrich.

“We have a mental health counselor who can work with them, and we can provide psychiatric medication, if necessary,” she said. “Then we work with them on alcohol and drug addictions, if that is an issue with that family, to help get their internal environment taken care of.”

Newcap works with families to gain permanent housing, and then helps in other areas — such as finding employment, helping with transportation and job skills training, Dietrich said.

“We have a business development program where we work with people who are low- or moderate-income and help them to start a business,” she said. “I ran a chamber of commerce for 15 years, and what I know is, if you want to change the trajectory of a family, you need two things: help to buy a house and help to start a business.”

Dietrich said that Newcap has a financial coach to help people learn to budget, to maintain their credit and to fix their credit if their rating is in bad shape.

The community health clinic Newcap plans to operate will help folks with everything from reproductive health services to basic care. Dietrich said many of the clients helped are either uninsured or underinsured, which she defined as people who have a high deductible, usually in the $15,000 range.

“If they get sick, and they’re looking at about a $1,000 bill by the time you go to a doctor and get lab work done and get your medications, that is out of reach for most families,” Dietrich said. “We also provide chronic care management, and we are open from Monday through Thursday during daytime hours.”

Dietrich estimated that the Shawano facility would have 15 employees to start, but noted Newcap can adapt to grow its program.

There was concern that Newcap would be duplicating services already provided in the community by Shawano Area Matthew 25, which operates a homeless shelter from November through April. However Muffy Culhane, one of SAM25’s founders, told the commission that would not be the case at all. She noted that SAM25’s shelter is an emergency shelter and is not open year-round.

“We want to make sure that everybody in our community has a meal and a safe place to sleep every night,” Culhane said, noting that SAM25 has been partnering with Newcap since opening its shelter. “We want to make sure people in our area have medical care that they can afford.”

The program is also not expected to conflict with Safe Haven, which provides emergency housing for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and has a facility on the same road as the new Newcap facility.

Shawano County Supervisor Gene Hoppe expressed his support for Newcap, also serving on the agency’s board of directors. He served as the bridge between the county and the agency in bringing the deal to the county board.

“I’ve been trying for the last few years to get Newcap into Shawano,” Hoppe said. “Newcap works great all over. There’s a home weatherization program that’s just fantastic. For those who can’t get to their job, we take care of that by supplying a car. We work for the people.”

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com