Greetings folks, and welcome to summer, in all its joys and frustrations. 

 

For the past week, those with housing or income insufficient to properly stay cool have been struggling. The heat, humidity, and thunderstorms become easy to forget from inside a well air-conditioned space. In a tent or uncooled home, the pressure of such weather is a constant amplifier of daily life’s stresses.

 

I was proud to represent Homelessness Solidarity Network in supporting the community-Cooling Center on Tuesday and Thursday in Growing Hope's Marketplace Hall. FedUp Ministries pivoted to serving meals in the air conditioned space while volunteers came together to make sure guests had their needs met and that Growing Hope's daily operations continued unimpeded.

 

Peace House and Washtenaw Camp Outreach have been leading the fundraising push to secure temporary shelter in area hotels for impacted community members. You can still donate to their efforts via the following platforms. 

 

Venmo: @Sheri-Wander or @WashtenawCampOutreach

CashApp: $SheriWander

 

I’d like to thank County Commissioner Annie Sommerville for answering the call and stepping into action to help secure hotel rooms from county funds for many of those at risk from the current temperatures. Her actions made a meaningful difference in people’s lives this week.

We can expect further periods of this intensity as summer rolls on. As with winter, we must be prepared to support the demands of unhoused life in our increasingly varied seasons. And though some new extremes have come to our weather, our community should resist being caught off-guard by something as routine as Michigan’s number one subject for small talk and dad jokes.

 

As we seek to be ready for the next wave of crises, we recognize the development-oriented solutions needed to the current rates of homelessness will take decades to implement. People need shelter (as you may have heard)  now.

 

While the calls for an additional 24/7 emergency facility in Ypsilanti have taken a backseat as progress with our elected officials stalled and other pressures in the service landscape continue to roll on, I hope that the scramble to meet the community's needs during this time highlights to all our continuing need for further permanent safe, dignified, accessible shelter in eastern Washtenaw County. 

 

I believe that our government's duty to the health and safety of their citizens includes providing options for shelter for those who are not able to provide it for themselves. If there are buildings sitting empty, if there are dollars going toward anything other than what is essential to human life, it seems unthinkable that we should allow our neighbors continue to needlessly suffer the impacts of exposure considered illegally inhumane for companion animals. 

 

But I acknowledge that our government - at every level - has heard the ask and so far given a heartbreaking answer, made clear through the budgets that put their values to action - they  would rather prioritize the funding of armed force to manage crime than create social welfare programs to increase safety. "Criminals" are more deserving of punishment than citizens are of shelter.

 

Never one to shy away from picking up a ball that has been dropped, I experience the need for our community to take up this cause directly as a moral imperative. I hope that you feel the same. 

Homelessness Solidarity Network is launching a new program, Neighbors Sheltering Neighbors. This effort brings together residents with spare dwelling space, unhoused guests, and experienced volunteers to answer the essential question of homelessness - “Do I have a safe place to sleep tonight?”

 

Neighbors Sheltering Neighbors will match guests and hosts based on compatible needs and boundaries that make sharing domestic space with others possible. We'll offer training on how to navigate this novel housing situation with skills and grace. Our volunteers will establish shared expectations by facilitating structured, informed agreements between guests and sheltering households. And from there, we'll follow up with support these miniature houses of hospitality through additional resource connection, transition planning, and crisis response.

If you'd like to join the team creating the policies, procedures, and structures that will make Neighbors Sheltering Neighbors a safe, effective shelter option, please reach out to me directly to join our committee. I anticipate onboarding hosts and guests this fall in preparation for the winter season.

 

Please watch this space for updates as we prepare to launch services. Thank you for continuing to be part of this work. With your help, we will make Washtenaw county a model for homelessness response for the nation.

 

In partnership,

KJ Pedri

Network Facilitator