Last fall, the Eau Claire City Council sought proposals to establish a new Street Ambassador program, which will be funded through the end of 2026 from the American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARPA) one-time allocation of $200,000.
The council eventually secured a contract with Block by Block, a nationwide company focusing on customer service, cleaning, outreach, grounds maintenance and transit within partnering communities.
On March 1, a team of four street ambassadors began working in Eau Claire’s downtown area and have been engaging with unhoused individuals to direct them towards available services, cleaning public spaces and being available as guides for visitors and residents.
Billie Hufford, the city’s neighborhood services manager, worked with Block by Block to establish the program in Eau Claire after witnessing its impact in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“I saw how positive they were towards individuals who were unsheltered, not acting like an authoritarian figure but more with that relationship building,” Hufford said. “But also being firm and making sure people are accountable for behaviors.”
The street ambassadors help connect people who are unhoused with local services such as the Community Haven House, The Community Table, Western Dairyland, C.C. We Adapt and others.
Stephney Brick, the operations manager of the program, has experienced being unhoused herself in the downtown area of Eau Claire. She said her involvement in the program feels like a “calling.”
“I can understand the scaredness or the assistance you can need,” Brick said. “We’re all people. We’re equal. Just because they may be in a different state in their life or they may have an illness … They just want to feel somewhere where they’re home.”
Brick said they have serviced about 70 individuals during the first month of the program. They also assist people with getting bus passes, filling out paperwork, attending appointments and finding other resources.
According to the “Point-in-Time Homeless Count” conducted in July 2024 by Western Dairyland staff and local volunteers, Eau Claire counted a total of 82 people who were unhoused. This number had doubled from the previous count in January 2024.
The most recent count in late January found 26 unhoused individuals in Eau Claire County. Although this appears to be a significant decrease from last July, these numbers do not include every unhoused person in Eau Claire.
Western Dairyland staff said that colder weather likely resulted in a lower count. There were other unhoused individuals observed who did not provide enough information to be counted, and the total did not include the 175 people who stayed in local homeless shelters and transitional units that night.
Lisa Leazott is the manager of Community Haven House in Eau Claire. She said the unhoused population has “definitely increased,” as their organization is helping an average of 65 to 75 people per day.
Leazott said the community feedback regarding the new Street Ambassador program has been mixed. She personally wishes the program had vehicles to be able to transport people.
“Some people aren’t really sold on the program yet since they’re just getting up and running, so they haven’t really seen much presence,” Leazott said. “A lot of people think that it’s mostly for the downtown businesses.”
One of the street ambassadors’ many goals is to assist downtown businesses with deescalating situations that don’t necessarily require police involvement.
According to Hufford, about 15 percent of calls to the Eau Claire Police Department deal with unsheltered situations because people don’t always know who else to contact.
Erin Klaus is the co-owner of Tangled Up in Hue, a local art gallery and gift shop downtown, and executive director of Downtown Eau Claire, Inc. (DECI). She worked with Hufford to establish the ambassador program.
“It’s someone else to turn to when our police department wouldn’t be handling it,” Klaus said. “It really alleviates some of the pressure on business owners as well as the city to make sure that we have clean streets and safe streets.”
Another large focus of the program is improving cleanliness in the downtown area. Peyton Bunce and Jeremy Hampton are the cleaning ambassadors of the team.
Hampton knew of the program while living in Minneapolis, Minn.
“I wanted to work for them because when I was growing up, they always helped me, pointed people in the right direction, and I like helping people make sure they get where they need to be,” Hampton said.
The ambassadors pick up garbage, safely remove sharps and needles, shovel and salt sidewalks, clean the parking ramps, remove graffiti and have “Wash-down Wednesdays” where they sanitize benches and other frequently-touched surfaces every week.
According to Eau Claire City Council member Jessica Schoen, some concerns regarding the two-year program include the cost and long-term sustainability.
“What happens after the end of year two?” Schoen said. “The city is in a really challenging position financially … I don’t know that we have additional funds, at least not readily accessible, to continue this program after that one-time federal funding goes away.”
Brick said she is hoping to continue the program beyond two years. Although they primarily work downtown right now, the ambassadors would like to eventually expand to other areas of Eau Claire.
Amy Sell is the current outreach ambassador of the team. She said the historical aspect of downtown makes it important to begin the work there.
“When you are greeted, it’s clean, you see people picking things up and you see people talking to the people that aren’t necessarily ‘wanted’ there, it’s more inviting,” Sell said. “People feel safer. People feel more welcomed. With the downtown being the core of the city, starting there is how we bring Eau Claire together.”
To contact the street ambassador team, reach out to Sell at 720-334-8515 or email her at employeeblockbyblock@gmail.com.
Matczak can be reached at matczaij9603@uwec.edu.
Editor’s note: This story was first written for class – CJ 222: Beginning Journalism, taught by Professor Pechulano Ngwe Ali in the spring of 2025.
