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Community Development

Dairy Drive Temporary Campground

Temporary shelters at the Dairy Drive campground

For the past five years, our community has relied on federal pandemic aid to fund local shelter services, which has now expired. That not only makes it challenging to fully support the new permanent men's shelter, but the funding loss also forces curtailment of other initiatives it supported, including the Dairy Drive campground.

Dairy Drive was expected to operate for two years when it opened it 2021. It will have operated for nearly twice that when operations end in September. That closure date was communicated last year to the campground operator and has prompted heightened efforts to help campground users find housing alternatives. Those efforts continue.

Facts and Figures

  • The Dairy Drive campground opened as an emergency measure

    The Dairy Drive campground opened in November 2021 as an emergency measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was at a time when traditional shelter operations in Madison had been disrupted by public health recommendations while unsafe, and illegal, encampments had sprung up in City parks.  

  • Dairy Drive has been funded by expiring federal pandemic aid

    The majority of the Dairy Drive temporary campground's funding came from federal COVID relief funds, which are expiring and have been depleted. The cost to operate the campground and fund support services for its users is about $70,000 per month.

  • Dairy Drive contains 29 shelters

    The shelters are in various states of repair. Since the campground was a temporary measure, there is no long-term plan for maintenance. 

  • Dairy Drive has operated twice as long as planned

    The Dairy Drive temporary campground was always intended to be an emergency initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, originally planned to operate for two years. It has been able to remain operational for twice as long only through the availability of feeral funds.

  • Dozens of people have transitioned to permanent housing

    Since the Dairy Drive temporary campground was created in 2021, dozens of people who lived there have moved into permanent housing. This work has been continuous throughout the campground's existence and will continue until the campground's closure.

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