CLICK BELOW TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH CHELSIE WILKINSON, ROOM AN THE INN
While overall homeless numbers increased by only 2% statewide, the Upper Peninsula has experienced an 18% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness in 2023 according to the Annual Report on Homelessness published by the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness.
“Unfortunately, I think that 2024 will see about the same size increase,” said Chelsie Wilkinson, executive director of the Room at the Inn, the homeless shelter in downtown Marquette. “So it’s really important for us to get out there and talk about the causes of homelessness so we can get the whole community involved in finding solutions to the problem.” Room at the Inn is a 30-bed, adult only shelter, which serves the Central U.P. Even before the weather turned cold, it was over capacity on any given night.
“A month ago we had 41 people seeking shelter and we were forced to put cots any where we could find space,” she added.
“This underscores the need to begin working now to both intervene effectively in ways that reduce the number of people who need emergency shelter in the future, but also to begin planning and working together as a community to find solutions and address the underlying causes of homelessness,” said Brent Clark, executive director of the Janzen House.
Along with providing affordable housing for very low-income residents, the Janzen House operates a seven-bed emergency shelter as well. In addition to the Room at the Inn and the Janzen House, there is also Harbor House, the Women Center’s emergency family shelter for survivors fleeing domestic violence.
The Annual Report on homelessness, due to be released officially next week, provides detailed demographic information on homelessness by region and sub-population, but the root causes of homelessness are well known and long standing with disabilities being the largest contributing factor.
Almost 30% of people experiencing homelessness in Michigan report having one or more disabling conditions, much of those mental health and cognitive impairments. That increases to 50% of people who considered chronically homeless, and 55% of veterans experiencing homelessness.
As the numbers of people needing shelter has climbed, so has the support structure needed to address the problem.
“Four years ago, there were 5 official bed spaces in one facility dedicated to sheltering homeless individuals in the official State of Michigan Emergency Shelter Program in our Region,” said Clark. “That has been increased to a total of 38 bed spaces (with an additional 10 spill-over beds) managed by 2 facilities, vastly scaled up housing services with focused case management, and increased sophistication of coordinating the entry of individuals experiencing homelessness into shelter or motel stays across multiple agencies.”
Room at the Inn had previously operated for more than ten years as a seasonal, rotating, faith-based shelter that could house 20 persons each night, but it received no support from the state of Michigan, and was not counted, as it was considered a high-barrier shelter.
Room at the Inn has a street outreach team serving individuals and families in Alger and Marquette Counties and has recently received grant funding to operate a private location shelter program for the families needing shelter who are not fleeing domestic violence. Community Action Alger-Marquette also manages a motel-based shelter program in the Central Upper Peninsula.
“While it would appear that homelessness has and will increase, local service agencies have continued to add services and work together,” added Clark. “But part of the solution is increasing public awareness to ensure that we have the necessary safety nets in place for the most vulnerable members of our community.”
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