Harboring Hope

by Lucy Poppleton layout editor

Near the Woodmere Branch of the Traverse Area District Library and the Boardman River is Safe Harbor, tucked away behind Eighth Street shops and businesses. At six o’clock each winter night, the doors open wide, welcoming guests inside after a day spent out in the cold. They check in at stations where staff and volunteers wait to receive them. Some are regulars who stay at Safe Harbor every night. Others are first timers there or at an emergency shelter in general. The guests roam over to the dining area, where volunteers are waiting to dish out delicious, hearty meals. After eating, guests can access a number of services from showers to laundry to the internet. They can also visit the heated yurt right outside for entertainment. In the morning, breakfast is provided to guests before they have to return to the streets.

Started in 2003 as a collaboration between various area churches, Safe Harbor has grown in scope and size, opening its physical location in 2017. Their goal is to care for homeless individuals in our community during the cold winter months from October to April. On any given night, around 200 people in the Grand Traverse area are experiencing homelessness. This number is too high for the size of the community we live in, but Safe Harbor has certainly helped. “This last year…we served over 290 different individuals throughout the season,” tallies longtime Safe Harbor board member and volunteer Joshua Brandt. “We had over 10,000 bed nights. We had over

22,000 meals served.” Beginning this winter season, Safe Harbor has expanded to be open all day Saturday and Sunday. Most important to service at Safe Harbor, though, is an emphasis on the word “guest.” The shelter aims to create an environment where people experiencing homelessness are treated with as much dignity as possible, as they might not be awarded that same dignity in other areas of their lives. “They have somewhere to sleep where they can get a good night’s rest and hopefully wake up the next morning rejuvenated and ready to face whatever they have to face that day,” says Brandt kindheartedly.

Safe Harbor is just one part of a complex homeless response system in the Traverse City area. They are a part of the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness (NWCEH), a group of organizations and agencies that helps those without homes. Their goal, outlines director Ashley Hallady-Schmandt, is to make “homelessness rare (so it doesn’t happen very often), brief (so if it does happen for people, they can quickly get out of it), and one-time (so if someone becomes homeless, they never become homeless again).” The NWCEH works together to connect homeless people with resources to transition to more permanent homes. The Coalition includes bottom level safety nets such as Safe Harbor, housing resources, and meals throughout the day when shelters are closed. Collaboration is an essential part of the solution to homelessness. “[Safe Harbor is] trying, always, to do a better job of making information about the certain services that are available in town—other agencies and other organizations—available to the guests,” describes Brandt.

A complex response is necessary for homelessness because homelessness is a complex issue. “There are different degrees of homelessness,” describes community volunteer and former Missions Pastor Randy Burgess. Some people sleep outdoors, while others may stay in one of the emergency shelters in the area. “With youth, there are kids who surf around from friend’s house to friend’s house, and they’re not in a tent out in the woods, but they don’t have any stability,” continues Burgess. Furthermore, Brandt explains that the idea that homelessness is more complicated than people might realize. “My personal awareness of the issue of homelessness and my personal compassion for folks that are experiencing homelessness [has increased],” reflects Brandt upon his service at Safe Harbor. “[I have] a deepening understanding that it really can happen…a lot more easily than people realize.” In addition, once someone arrives in housing, they still need support. “[Exiting] homeless[ness] doesn’t always solve all the problems. It’s an important step, but the issues related to homelessness often continue even when people get housing,” expresses Burgess. “[I] learned that these weren’t just a few odd people in our community, but these people were our neighbors, and they’re people, and they’re people who have feelings and hopes and dreams,” reflects Burgess. “I now have many of these individuals [as] lifelong friends.”

For many high school students, homelessness is a complicated topic that we might not know much about. “I would want you to know that nobody is homeless on purpose. It’s not that anybody sets out to say ‘today, I’m going to leave my home and live this crazy life,’” Burgess advises. “There are always circumstances that have something to do with [homelessness], and a lot of times, those circumstances are out of people’s control, and so they’re finding themselves in a pretty chaotic time.” The best way to approach the topic is to be compassionate, a friend who cares, and someone who can be present to others. If you would like to learn more about homelessness in the area or volunteer, you can contact an organization such as Safe Harbor. Everyone, even high school students, can be a part of the solution.

If you or someone you know is experiencing homelessness, you can reach out to the homeless response hotline at +1 (844) 900-0500. //