Detroit homeless report finds most were newly unsheltered in 2022, faced violence and overcrowding
DETROIT (FOX 2) - More than a thousand families and nearly 5,000 other adults experienced homelessness in Detroit last year.
The city is working to fill the affordable housing gap to give more impoverished families a place to stay, but It's still struggling to keep families from falling into homelessness for the first time. The vast majority of those who went a night without proper shelter in 2022 did so for the first time in their life.
And once someone does fall into homelessness, the emergency shelters waiting for house them lacked beds, contained aggressive people inside, and inequitable treatment for clients.
And the documented cases are likely only a fraction of the total number of experiences of homelessness in Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck, a new report released from the Detroit Housing and Revitalization Department stated.
The report includes both data on the number and kind of people who experienced homelessness last year, as well as personal stories from clients about what they saw while staying at an emergency shelter.
Those interviewed for the 36-page report also said staff need better training and complained about not being connected with better housing resources once inside.
"I asked for services every day but was told by case managers that they didn't have any services," one participant told staff.
Macomb's new emergency shelter prepares for busy season this winter
The group running the shelter is made up with volunteers who used to be homeless themselves. They talked to FOX 2 about their experiences and why the shelter is badly needed ahead of the winter.
With the pandemic in the rearview mirror, the city attempting to bolster the number of subsidized housing options, and a large infusion of money through the federal government, the interim report attempts to best define the state of homelessness in Detroit.
The report also concluded "all elements of homelessness response system" need to be improved, from outreach and engagement with vulnerable populations to the quality of shelters, as well as strengthening the partnerships with agencies that provide resources to those who don't have a home.