Where they go and what’s available in our region.
Traverse City is not only the region’s population center, a new Northern Express study shows it also offers the region’s homeless the most robust facilities and services.
From the number of beds available in shelters to the frequency of soup kitchen meals to the availability of places to talk to people about getting help, nowhere in northern Michigan are there more services for the homeless than in Traverse City.
Advocates for the homeless say despite all of the steps taken, the lack of affordable housing means the homeless problem is not going away. Until there are more affordable places to live around Traverse City, the problem will persist.
That’s led to the controversial proposal to establish a permanent home for Safe Harbor, the decade-old, church-run winter shelter that was created in response to homeless people dying of exposure around Traverse City.
Amid the debate, the Northern Express decided to look at whether providing better services could draw more homeless to an area, why the problem has gotten so bad recently and what services for the homeless are offered in other communities in our region.
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