A place that every Detroiter can call home

Posted on November 2, 2010. Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Compuware, COTS, Denise Starr, Detroit, Geneva Williams, HAND, homelessness, Neighborhood Service Organization, Yvette Bing |

According to the National HealthCare for the Homeless Council , young adults ages 18 – 24 are the new face of homelessness. As many age out of foster care and encounter a tough economy, they find themselves falling between the gaps in the safety net.

First Lady Yvette Bing (right) came to City Connect to talk about homelessness.

The Detroit Collaborative to End Homelessness Together faciliated by City Connect Detroit has long been concerned about the plight of the homeless, which has largely affected women and their children. With the problem growing among the nation’s young adults, I was pleased that two of Detroit’s community leaders are meeting to figure out how to bring more awareness to the issue: Detroit First Lady Yvette Bing and Compuware Chief Administrative Officer Denise Starr.

Recently, the First Lady and Ms. Starr came to talk about the homeless issue and what they could do to help. In 2007, the McGregor Fund supported the establishment of the Detroit Collaborative to End Homelessness Together. Facilitated by City Connect Detroit, the collaborative is focused upon providing permanent supportive housing. Too often, homeless initiatives have been targeted at the causes of homelessness, including  chronic unemployment, substance abuse and poor education. However, we have learned that the homeless need to be stabilized in a home first—supportive services can be wrapped around the families once they have their basic needs met.

In order to produce more permanent supportive housing, the collaboration hopes to  turn existing vacant and/or foreclosed homes into supportive housing or even build new housing for the homeless. The initiative is called Project HOME.

Compuware Chief Administrative Officer Denise Starr is committed to enlisting the private sector in ending homelessness.

Despite the daunting scope of the problem—now exacerbated by a recession and record foreclosures—lead collaborative partners including the Homeless Action Network in Detroit (HAND), the Coalition on Temporary Shelter (COTS), and the Michigan Department of Community Health, are all helping  Project HOME raise much-needed public and private dollars. In October 2010, lead collaborator Neighborhood Service Organization announced that it will conduct a $50 million renovation of the Michigan Bell Building on Oakman Boulevard. The project will house 155 one-bedroom apartments for single occupants, and serve as the new headquarters for NSO and its 200 staff members.

Both the First Lady and Ms. Starr are heartened by these efforts and hope that Detroit’s public and private sectors can join hands to end homelessness.

“Everyone has a right to have somewhere to live,” said First Lady Bing. “If government can’t completely address the problem, then we as citizens must do it. It’s an unacceptable plight for someone not to have a home.”

Compuware’s Denise Starr agreed: “So many of us have warm food and are cozy in our homes, but we don’t realize that a crisis could put us one step away from being homeless. Those of us who are blessed to have a home can’t take it for granted and forget those left behind.”

The collaboration wants to end homelessness in the next decade. With the support and leadership of women like First Lady Bing and Ms. Denise Starr to galvanize public-private partnerships, I know it’s possible.