Brief update on proposed harm reduction drop-in center/day shelter in District 17

Hi there, 

Yesterday, Alders Derek Field (District 3), Julia Matthews (District 12), and I jointly sent a formal letter to Public Health Madison & Dane County, the Board of Health, and County leadership outlining our concerns about the process, siting, and operational readiness of the proposal. Our districts already host—or are preparing to host—multiple high-impact services, and we believe it is essential that any additional programming be planned thoughtfully and with the needed infrastructure in place for success. 

You can read the full letter here.

To be clear: we support harm reduction as an essential public health strategy. Our concerns are not about whether harm reduction is needed, but whether this specific proposal—and the way it was advanced—adequately accounts for existing capacity, staffing needs, emergency response impacts, housing connections, and meaningful community engagement

In our joint letter we formally requested the following: 

1. Immediate Release of All Applications

2. Collaborative Engagement Before Reintroduction

3. Substantive Conditions for Any Future Proposal

• EMS, Fire, and MPD funding offsets
• Housing investments tied directly to the program
• Multiple culturally specific providers onsite and employed in a leadership capacity
• Shelter-level operational and security planning
• Onsite full-time mental health clinician
• Rebalancing of services across districts countywide

I also want to thank Alder Field and Alder Matthews for their partnership and leadership on this issue. I’m equally grateful to Madison Fire Department, Madison Police Department, and Public Health Madison & Dane County staff who worked quickly to provide us additional data and context in an extremely short window—between my Wednesday afternoon meeting and the Board of Health meeting on Friday. 

The next Board of Health meeting is scheduled for January 14, and it will be held in person at: 

Meeting Location Address:

• Water Utility Building
• Conference Rooms A & B
• 119 E. Olin Ave.
• Madison, WI 53713

Alder Field, Alder Matthews, and I look forward to hearing back from the County, Board of Public Health, and Public Health Madison & Dane County leadership and continuing this conversation. 

In community,
Alder Sabrina Madison
District 17