8 GROUNDCOVER NEWS PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD People in the neighborhood: Vanessa This is Vanessa’s story. Glencoe Hills is a large apartment complex located in Pittsfield Township, Michigan. The complex sits on 65 acres. About 1/4 of the property is undeveloped due to three ponds. The shore of one of those ponds backs up to a strip mall. On that property-line-isthmus is a tent sheltering a woman and her daughter. Vanessa is a middle-aged woman. Her daughter Miracle is a high school student at Ypsilanti Community Schools. Vanessa came to Washtenaw County from Detroit in January 2025 and has been living in the tent since February. Vanessa was living with an older daughter when she was asked to leave in mid January. She introduces herself: “My name is Vanessa King. I'm a single mother with a special needs teenager and I'm homeless.” “What have you been doing to get housing for you and Miracle?” I asked. Vanessa replied, “I have tried with PATH, I have tried with Avalon and HAWC (Housing Access for Washtenaw County). I tried with Alpha House, I did their lottery, but nothing came of it. I don't know who to talk to or who to bypass. I don't know how to get a case manager to get these things I need. I'm not on any wait list, but I have been calling PATH for the whole month of July, and they have not I found a black and white card from Pittsfield Township police officer, Jessica Welker. Written on the card, it says, “Can't camp here. Private Property of Glencoe.” Shockingly neutral and indifferent. JIM CLARK Groundcover vendor No. 139 Vanessa has been earnestly asking the system for help, instead she gets the bum rush to nowhere. “So, how are you feeling right now?” I wanted to know. Vanessa responded, “I'm a little gotten back to me. I left them voice messages. I gave them my cell phone number. I told them where I live. I don't know if they have Section 8 available since I hear they're cutting back on it. So now I'm back to, what, square one. I’m literally busted with no help up, you hear me? No help!” Vanessa’s complaint is a common one. Many of the people experiencing homelessness in Washtenaw County are desperately trying to improve their situation. There are many resources, however they are all at capacity. There is more homelessness than the system can handle. So even if someone is doing everything possible to get help, there just isn’t any help available. And then on August 3rd, Vanessa found a message on her tent. It was a business card. Vanessa recalled, “It was a Sunday, worried. I just don't want them to, you know, damage the tent and throw all my belongings in the dumpster. That's happened before, in Pittsfield Township. I don't want that to happen. So, yeah, I feel kind of worried.” When Vanessa set camp behind the strip mall, the grounds were covered in trash. In the spring she and a friend spent hours cleaning the litter. She had this to say about the clean up, “They [Glencoe] did not take care of this property. They didn't even care about it enough to put up private property signs. We took care of it. There was poison ivy down in the bushes and stuff, my friend cut all that down. You could say that since we moved in, we have improved its value. They probably did see me coming back and forth during the cold, but they didn't call the police then. So why see VANESSA page 11 October 5th Learn about zero waste in Ann Arbor at these free, family-friendly events! Zero Waste Fall Festival Tour Recycle Ann Arbor 12:00-3:00pm 9:30am & 11:00am See how your recycling gets a second life and get answers to all your questions Michigan Stadium Tour 8:30-9:30am Get a behind-the-scenes look at Big House zero waste operations Bike Tour 7:45am-1:00pm Ride from Common Cycle to Recycle Ann Arbor and back with stops along the way Learn More and Sign Up: TrashTalkTour.Org Made Possible By: Games, doughnuts, prizes, shopping, and live music at Kiwanis Thrift Sale SEPTEMBER 5, 2025 Thank you to all who came to our 15th anniversary celebration, donated to the organization and participated in the festivities! We are commemorating this milestone all year long — continue to read the paper and follow us on social media to see what we have planned next. We look forward to the next 15 years, and the 15 after that, and hope you will be a part of it!
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