4 GROUNDCOVER NEWS HOMELESSNESS Ypsilanti demands shelters and solutions On August 23 at the Growing Hope Marketplace Hall, the Ypsilanti Police Department was dispatched to forcibly remove people experiencing homelessness who were seeking shelter under the awning at 16 S. Washington (aka Black Lives Matter Dr.) — as reported in the September 8, 2023 issue of Groundcover News. The people sleeping under the awning had been doing so for about two months before the sweep. The eviction was due to a disruptive drug culture that emerged at night, carried on by people not sleeping there. Business owners, homeowners and landlords all conspired to ask Growing Hope and the police to do something about the “eyesore” and “litter,” referring to the people and their property. At the Ypsilanti City Council meeting, the County Commissioners meeting and a meeting of the board of Avalon Housing, two things occurred to me. One, everyone, social justice activists and property owners alike, were demanding a solution. Two, no one had a solid plan. The ad hoc group “Shelter Now” has come up with solutions in the form of demands. This article lists those demands and provides a reasonable route to meet them. The demands are to: 1) Create and fund a dignified 24/7 shelter in Ypsilanti before spring 2024. 2) Open a temporary shelter immediately. Fund and do not interfere with unofficial and temporary shelter spaces. End street sweeps and camp sweeps. 3) Ensure that the houseless and housing-insecure communities have decision-making and veto power in all Ypsilanti shelter spaces, and in their creation. Here are some of my thoughts on how to meet those demands. Regarding the first demand: Open the Ypsilanti Freighthouse immediately. Staff can be pooled from governments, agencies and grassroots coalitions. These should be the guidelines for the use of the facility as an emergency shelter: 1) No intoxicated or threatening behavior will be tolerated. 2) First come first serve. If there is no space available, the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) team of Community Mental Health will work with the guests to find a suitable camping site. 3) Personal property storage is not available. The facility would provide food, shelter, transportation, and social work planning from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. This planning could include reaching out to Continuum of Care organizations, setting goals for employment of the solution. Everyone has a voice, everyone has a vote. This section proposes a long-term JIM CLARK Groundcover vendor No. 139 and self-sufficiency, and monitoring progress on their current situation. Regarding the second demand: The building at 10 S. Prospect, Ypsilanti, could be purchased by the county for approximately $300,000 (the current list price). This building would serve as a permanent emergency shelter. The building would be remodeled with sleeping areas, showers, toilets and a kitchenette. The facility can be staffed by county employees or be contracted out to Avalon Housing or the like. If Avalon were to staff it, they could use it to directly pipeline people into their system, thus cutting time on the waitlist. All of this would be done by the spring. The county also would purchase houses or rent them at a reduced rental fee. The houses would be run as Community-funded Hospitality Houses. Each house is capable of providing short-term to long-term housing for up to seven people. The houses would be large enough to expand into emergency shelters. Hospitality Houses would provide wrap-around care in the form of transportation to and from the daytime warming center, jobs, or care continuum sources and may also work with PATH and grassroots coalitions as local campsite supports (eg. tents, bags, propane). A short-term 90-day residency program would allow applicants to work with a peer support specialist to find rehabilitation resources, housing and employment. The county will be responsible for: • Procuring funding via public sourcing, taxes, reallocation and grants. • Sourcing labor and property management through professional, nonprofit, grassroots homelessness organizations, the faith community, neighborhood associations and community organizing groups such as the Washtenaw General Defense Committee. • Securing and managing property. • Incentivizing neighborhood cooperation in which the neighbors of a hospitality house may actively participate in the operations as volunteers and peer resources. The community at large, including business owners, would have an opportunity to be part solution in which cohorts may apply for permanent communal housing with other members. This is accomplished by establishing the house as an intentional community and allowing that community to purchase the house. The property would be held in a community land trust. Given the decision-making power available to the applicant cohort, this would satisfy demand number three. Why This Will Work: Hospitality Houses Fulfill Family and Growth Needs Psychologist Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs states that every human has “deficiency” and “growth” needs. The lack of meeting deficiency needs will cause a person to fatally deteriorate. Community-funded hospitality houses provide for all human needs such as water, toilets, showers, laundry, medicine and harm reduction supplies. They would be a means to acquire alternative shelter supplies and provide safe overnight shelter and safety. With the understanding that being given the opportunity to bond with others is as essential to survival as food and shelter, hospitality houses provide for the emotional needs of their guests. Housemates and guests are trained in conflict resolution, communal living norms, and co-counseling techniques. Growth needs are the natural pull humans have for learning and experiencing their empowerment. The need to grow and evolve is hardwired into us. We must be given opportunities to develop our skills, talents and curiosity in order to reach our full potential. Life skills and enhancement programs can be offered to residents that would include problem-solving, social skills and enhancement courses. Community-funded hospitality houses do that. Each facet of this proposal is connected to a program that exists in Washtenaw County. Putting them together under one umbrella program is an efficient way to deliver various individual services. The current system is constantly putting out fires and applying bandages and in general, wasting funding. Community-funded hospitality houses provide a base of operation for an economical, organized and effective system. To learn more about the group "Shelter Now" and support their demands, visit linktr.ee/shelternow OCTOBER 6, 2023 On the night of Wednesday September 22, signs were placed in front of empty commercial spaces across downtown Ypsilanti, highlighting their misuse.
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