TRAVERSE CITY -- Traverse city leaders and community partners are now looking at more ways they can support people experiencing homelessness, after the Safe Harbor Shelter shut down for the season earlier this week.
City manager, Liz Vogel said two portable restrooms, two sinks, and two benches with solar power charging stations will be installed near ‘The Pines’, a homeless encampment near the Village at Grand Traverse Commons.
The new amenities are being funded by a $50,000 grant from several area organizations, including The Community Foundation, rotaries charities, and The Oleson Foundation.
And that’s not the only local support. Just last week Munson Healthcare contributed $300,000 to enhance The TC Street Medicine healthcare program run by the Traverse Health Clinic, Munson Healthcare, and Goodwill of Northern Michigan.
Medicine Outreach Physician, Dr. David K. Klee, with the Tc Street Medicine Program said this will be a lifesaver for the program.
“That’s going to be super important for us for helping our operational expenses, of being able to run our mobile medical unit, as well as adding a new care manager position that’s going to help link our patients when they’re in the hospital or in the E.R. back to our outpatient and street medicine team,” said Klee.
The TC Street Medicine Program started up back in 2020.
While short term solutions can help right now, Traverse City leaders are drawing up plans to help in the long term.
City Manager Liz Vogel said the board of commissioners voted on a resolution to make a formal request for $ 360,000 to help support people experiencing homelessness.
“Why wait 13 months to get people into permanent supportive housing when we can help them today?” said Vogel.
Part of those funds will help get people into Goodwill’s recently acquired East Bay Flats.
“I was approached by Dan Brown, the director of Goodwill Industries, and he said, Liz, we have LIHTC funding and it’s coming through in June, but June of next year,” said Vogel.
LIHTC Funding is a low-income housing tax credit. Vogel said they have the units and the staff to provide permanent supportive housing right now, just not the funding.
“We’re kind of fast tracking something that could be delayed until next year, but we’re hoping to get people 3 to 5 at a time per month into that facility,” said Vogel.
Vogel said they are also looking at other long-term solutions like getting another community police officer and another case worker at the request of the Police Chief, Matthew Richmond.
“I’m ecstatic that it’s being considered and being presented to the city commission. I think it’ll help out our community policing way of policing here in Traverse City. Building trust with community members,” said Richmond.
The chief said it also helps connect the un-housed with critical resources and has other benefits for his department.
“It goes a long way into reducing calls for service for our department. It allows our regular road patrol officers to be available to conduct traffic enforcement or respond to 911 calls if they can,” said Richmond.
Ryan Hannon with Goodwill said all the moves that the city and community partners are doing is a step in the right direction.
“I’m really glad that the city is looking at all angles of homelessness and really making sure they take a focus on the solution to homelessness, which is housing. And then to have the city looking at ways that they can improve the living situations of people who are living unsheltered is also exciting,” said Hannon.
He said shelters and accommodations are temporary solutions so it’s a promising movement taking more action.
“Having the city look at the root cause of not enough housing and the lack of housing for the people that are homeless, it’s really exciting to see the work towards the solution to homelessness,” said Hannon.
The city commission will discuss the amendment at their meeting on Monday, May 6th.