Photo by Ales Dusa, Unsplash
THE STRUGGLE IS REAL — AND GETTING HARDER COVID-19, unusable housing vouchers, and a growing need amid growing competition for limited resources. A look at what Up North’s homeless population and the agencies trying to help are facing now. By Victor Skinner Across the northwest Lower Peninsula, hundreds of Michiganders are struggling to find shelter this winter. It’s not a new situation, but the problem is steadily getting worse for a variety of reasons, from the global health pandemic sapping already limited resources to unprecedented demand driving up the cost of homes. From Traverse City to Charlevoix, Cadillac to Leelanau County, folks from all different backgrounds and ethnicities are out on their own. But there’s one thing they all have in common, a shared thread that defines their lives. Unhoused residents come from “varying levels of life experience, support and world views, and sometimes culture,” says Ryan Hannon, community engagement officer at Goodwill Northern Michigan, “but basically you have a lack of choice.” “Lack of choice is a big thing,” he says.
“You stay in a shelter if you qualify and they have room,” and community meals are available daily in many places, served on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, Hannon says. But no one is going in by choice, and it’s the cycle of desperation and the struggle to survive that keeps many coming back. “People are kind of stuck in flight or fight mode to get their basic needs met,” he tells Northern Express. “It’s a grim outlook to get out of homelessness. “The longer you’ve experienced homelessness, the harder it is to get out,” Hannon said. “There’s a lot of negative stigmas attached.” Many homeless struggle with mental health issues or substance abuse, often in addition to domestic problems and unemployment. Most don’t have transportation. But there are no specific circumstances that lead to life on the street, which is why understanding each person’s individual needs is essential to turning
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things around. Help for the homeless is futile and fleeting “if we don’t meet them where they’re at,” Hannon says. “The big picture bottom line is we have to provide support and work with the community to help people get out of homelessness as quickly as possible.” A BAD SITUATION GETTING WORSE Ashley Halladay-Schmandt, director of the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness, is responsible for coordinating that work. The coalition, which covers 10 counties in the northwest Lower Peninsula, works with local shelters, service providers, health professionals, property developers and others to help the homeless navigate the labyrinth of state and federal aid programs to maximize those resources, both for individuals and the communities struggling to help them. It’s a daunting task that’s only become more intense amid the coronavirus pandemic, and there’s currently little relief in sight.
“In the past year, we’ve seen about a 10 percent increase in people experiencing homelessness,” she says. “Marginalized groups are seeing the effects of that tenfold.” “In the 10-county region right now, there are about 350 people experiencing homelessness and about 260 of those are in the Grand Traverse region,” HalladaySchmandt says. About 30 homeless reside in Wexford and Missaukee counties, and another 30 in Charlevoix and Wexford counties. In Manistee, there’s about 10, she says. Traverse City boasts the highest number due to its status as a regional population hub, but also because of the city’s competitive housing market and higher cost of living. “The cost of housing is the primary factor” driving homelessness, HalladaySchmandt says, and the skyrocketing prices for homes and apartments over the last year is dumping fuel on the fire. “On average, we’re seeing one-bedrooms
