TRAVERSE CITY — Leaders in Traverse City are still searching for a more permanent solution to their homelessness problem.
After allowing the Safe Harbor Shelter to be open year-round. The Traverse City Commission passed a Special Land Use Permit.
It was needed for Safe Harbor to operate 365 days a year. The homeless shelter was originally open from October to May, but will now open its doors immediately for the summer.
John Sonnemann lives in the neighborhood close to Safe Harbor Emergency Shelter. He and his wife were volunteers before Safe Harbor moved to its location on Wellington Street. He says this is a step the city needed to take.
“Well, I think it’s one of the things we have to do, says John, “Obviously, we’d like to have everybody with a permanent home, and that’s not going to happen. But this is an alternative. And I think it’s very important that people feel safe at a facility like this.”
Safe Harbor will be going through a two-year pilot program, giving the new Housing and Homelessness Task Force time to find a more permanent solution. The shelter running year-round has been a conversation for 12 to 15 months and the people at Safe Harbor are happy to see the plans come to life.
“It felt like a huge accomplishment. You know, it felt like the community really came together,” says Josh Brandt, Spokesperson for Safe Harbor, “This is a, a big moment for, for certainly Safe Harbor, but also for the community in engaging truly in a real conversation about addressing homelessness.”
During the summer, the shelter will not have dinner, but people will still have access to showers, internet, and other resources. This comes as the Traverse City Police Department was given the green light to begin enforcing the city’s no camping ordinance at the pines in the area of Eleventh and Division.
“It was getting to a point where it just wasn’t livable for humans,” said Amy Shamroe, Traverse City Mayor. “We deserve to treat everyone in our community and everyone around us with basic human dignity.
The goal of the enforcement is to help people at the pines either find permanent housing or detox.
Traverse City has had community officers and social workers in the pines to help the homeless with their next steps.
“We practice community policing in the city of Traverse City. We have for over ten years now, and that is something that we continue to do,” Shamroe said. “I only know that in some areas of our country, you know, a lot of people will talk about making homelessness criminal. We do not want to do that here. ”
For information on how to volunteer at Safe Harbor Emergency Shelter, click here.