New Men’s Shelter Scheduled to Open September 1

For Immediate Release
July 21, 2026

Leaders from Dane County, Porchlight, and the City of Madison are proud to announce that the new purpose-built shelter will open on September 1.

The opening will mark the culmination of a 6-year collaboration that began with the COVID-era closure of church-based shelters that served the community for decades. The new shelter will serve unhoused men in Dane County.

"In opening this facility, we take a big step forward in improving how our community responds to homelessness," Dane County Executive Melissa Agard said. "For the first time ever, our community has a purpose-built shelter that will meet the needs of its residents with compassion and with better access to services. This speaks volumes about our commitment to serve unhoused individuals across Dane County with dignity and with an eye toward resolving their housing situations."

Built at a cost of $27 million, the shelter was made possible primarily through capital investments from Dane County and the City of Madison, with additional support coming from federal sources.

Unlike previous shelter settings in Madison that have relied on converted spaces built for other uses, the new facility is designed specifically to function as a shelter focused on returning guests to stable housing. The building includes trauma-informed features that promote safety, privacy, accessibility, and efficient service delivery, creating a more welcoming environment for both guests and staff.

The shelter is located on Madison's east side at 1904 Bartillon Drive and will be operated by Porchlight, Inc., the local non-profit organization that has provided shelter and supportive services to men experiencing homelessness in Dane County for decades.

"For more than 40 years, Porchlight has helped men move from homelessness to housing," Porchlight Executive Director Karla Thennes said. "This purpose-built shelter will enable us to strengthen that work. It will allow us to offer not just a safe place to stay, but also the means to help every guest take meaningful steps toward housing and greater stability through case management and housing navigation services and connections to behavioral health and other community resources."

The new shelter not only brings improved physical space, but its opening will also fundamentally alter how the shelter functions. The shelter is planned to open initially on an overnight basis but was designed and built to operate 24 hours a day, a model that will facilitate providing housing-focused services.

"The promise of this shelter lies in its potential to better connect its users to the services they need to return to housing, and that requires it to operate on a 24-hour basis," Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said.

Mayor Rhodes-Conway is reiterating the need for private sector help to make a 24/7 operation a reality, noting that local officials consulted with shelter operators around the country.

"We learned that most shelters fund their operations primarily from non-government sources," said Mayor Rhodes-Conway. "In the 35 years before COVID-19 emerged, our community was fortunate to have Porchlight shouldering much of the cost of serving unhoused men and we owe them a debt of gratitude. The City of Madison and Dane County are making substantial investments to ensure the shelter is successful. But it's time to acknowledge that housing instability is a community challenge, and it demands a community response."

A local group, Shelter Friends of Dane County, was formed to raise private sector funds for daytime operations and is being led by Kristin Rucinski, the former executive director of The Road Home.

"We share the vision of a shelter that not only provides a safe place to sleep but also improves access to an array of resources that build a path toward permanent housing. We're grateful to everyone who has helped bring this vision to life and look forward to continuing our work to raise funds for daytime operations," Rucinski said.

People interested in helping this effort can visit the Shelter Friends of Dane County's website to learn more.

Plans are pending to provide an opportunity for the public to see the facility before it opens on September 1.