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4 GROUNDCOVER NEWS HOMELESSNESS Reflection on the Daytime Warming Center MIKE JONES Groundcover vendor No. 113 The Daytime Warming Center has been advocating for the homeless and saving lives in Washtenaw County for over a decade. I would like to share my thoughts on the Warming Center as someone who went from being unhoused and utilizing their services to becoming a part-time staff member. The years before the opening of the Warming Center were some tough times for the homeless. A lot of homeless people were losing their lives to the elements. Back then, there were no daytime or overnight warming centers. The homeless were forced to suffer harsh winters; people were dying. In 2012, Peggy Lynch of Mercy House and Sheri Wander of Peace House thought to do something necessary for the unhoused in Washtenaw County; they organized daytime warming centers during winter months at Ann Arbor churches. The City of Ann Arbor also started to try to put measures in place to stop people from dying from the elements. After so many deaths, they started putting the chronically homeless in hotels and offering day and overnight warming centers if weather conditions were less than 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The unhoused could go into the Delonis Center during night time hours to sit in chairs, but would not allowed to lay down and get proper rest needed. In 2020, Delonis opened a warming center in Ypsi at the Freighthouse, but it was unpopular. The next year, the Warming Center started operating it. I would like to give a shout-out to all the churches that graciously hosted the warming centers this year. A special thanks to First Baptist for being our go-to church, enabling us to operate this winter when no other venue would allow us to hold space. Also thanks to St. Mary’s Catholic Church, First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor and Ann Arbor Friends Meeting House. We as a community say thank you for all you do. I would like to talk about the social posture of incredible staff members, my colleagues at the Warming Center. The people who operate and run things are ordinary, down to earth human beings who stand with, and not above, those who come to receive services. If you visit the Warming Center, you will see the unhoused and staff members engaged in problem-solving conversations big and small. I noticed how we as staff help to provide necessary things like bus tokens, clothing and first aid. Staff often assist in handling disputes and grievances between the unhoused, and those who have been temporarily or permanently barred from the Robert J. Delonis Center. I must say it’s no easy task to maintain order. The pandemic was the worst as far as the uptick of mental health issues in the homeless community. But only one person has been cited for official trespass from the Warming Center in 13 years. WOW! (For comparison, at the time of writing, there are 72 people trespassed from the Delonis Center.) This low number is due to how the staff handle turbulent situations. These disputes happen all the time, at a moment's notice. It can be somewhat nerve-racking to say the least. I remember during the pandemic I could not spend too much time at the Warming Center because it was off the hook (chaotic). When these moments arise, we don’t call the police; we only kick people out as a last resort. Staff members do their best to stay calm, cool and collected. We have to be calm in chaotic situations. We take the oneon-one approach and try to be that voice of reason. The Warming Center community as a whole tries to manage issues and conflict with staff to de-escalate turbulent moments. When that doesn’t work we will ask those causing problems to leave. When doing so, we do it with compassion and awareness, and in many cases we offer them a gift card, so they can enter private establishments like Starbucks to get a cup of coffee or hot chocolate to give them time to calm down and gather their thoughts. And in most cases we will see that same individual later on that very day or the next day and it's all good. We don’t kick people out and bar them indefinitely with nowhere to go. A person like myself doesn't have to look at the numbers to tell you that homelessness has been on the increase. Year after year, I see more and more unhoused people in Washtenaw County. Social and economic segregation has forced those unhoused to utilize the Warning Center service even more, because places like Starbucks won’t allow people into their place of business if they don’t purchase anything. At the Warming Center all are welcome. I received my Section 8 housing voucher in 2017, but I would still visit the Warming Center all the time just to hang out. People from all walks of life stop by to volunteer, donate or just to say hey and communicate with the community as a whole. Local businesses in Ypsilanti donate food. We say thank you to all persons and businesses that help us to help our community. Shout out to Maiz Mexican Cantina on Cross Street for donating Sheri, Amal, John and David (left to right) playing board game Tapple at the Freighthouse. Photo credit: Shihab Jackson burritos every week and Mama Pizza for donating pizzas daily! As I continue to reflect, I realize that some of the people we serve at the Warming Center are my childhood friends. I’m proud to say my friends and all of the unhoused are treated well at the Warming Center, and we hope they find permanent housing soon. I had a chance to talk to a few of my co-workers and hear their reflections on the season. I first talked to Sheri Wander. She said, “This year was very busy and more people are struggling with their mental health. So, more people are self-medicating, but it's been a good and also a chaotic year compared to other years in the past.” Matt, who has been working at the Warming Center for two years and also works at the Delonis Center, said, “The struggle got me involved ... I was once homeless and utilized services here at the Warming Center.” Caelan, who has been a staff member since 2023, shared this work has been transformative for him; the people and stories he has heard over the years have all been amazing and brought him happiness. He says it is a rewarding feeling, when conversing in order to solve problems with people, many of whom have become his friends. Fio, Julia, Katy and myself are greenhorns — this is our first year working at the Warming Center. Fio said, “It has been eye-opening and super-valuable to be with people in the community in a new way and to get to know people I never had a chance to meet before.” Julia said, “It’s been a big learning experience on how the unhoused community operates and how people communicate and get along with one another or not get along with one another.” All the coworkers I talked to expressed their deep connections and friendships they made within this community. And, all of us greenhorns agreed, we enjoy working at the Warming Center and we all plan to come back next winter to work and serve in our community. On the last day of the Warming Center I visited both locations and asked a few unhoused participants about their plans now that the Warming Centers were closing for the season. Trey Coleman who has been coming to the Warming Center for eight years said he has been thinking about leaving town and finding somewhere else to live. And another guy, who didn’t want to be named, said, “It is what it is at this point.” Paul who has been a part of this community for several years said he has a landscaping job lined up for the spring/ summer season. It was a very cold winter, and I’m happy to know the unhoused had somewhere to go under such cold and harsh conditions. A place where they could come to feel welcome and have a cup of coffee. A place to receive resources and communicate with others who might be of some help. I personally was transformed in a positive way by becoming a staff member. After being unhoused, I feel privileged to be able to serve those — many of whom I’ve known for years — like myself who have to go through this unfortunate situation. I hope my presence as a human being and friend will offer hope because these tough moments are temporary. Well, there you have it folks, see you next winter at the Warming Center! Author's note: We need a cooling center! Do you know that more people die of heat than cold weather, and it is the number one cause of weather related deaths in the United States? We need a center for all four seasons for the unhoused not only because of the weather, but also because we are now living in a society of social and economic segregation. We need a place where all can come and feel welcome, whether a person is housed or unhoused, whether you have money or no money, where one can just be themself and not be judged. We need more places like this in our community and society, overall! APRIL 4, 2025

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