Detroit has put $9.2 million dollars toward a new "Homeless to Housed" initiative, Mayor Mary Sheffield announced Wednesday. Sheffield said the money will help about 140 households and 500 Detroiters each year for three years.
The program will prioritize families with minor children living in emergency shelters, Sheffield said.
The city is funding rent assistance for people in the program, and Sheffield said Detroit is also partnering with organizations, including Community and Home Supports, Wayne Metro Community Action Agency, and the Neighborhood Service Organization, to provide "all-around" support that Sheffield said is necessary for lasting change.
“This initiative is built around two proven strategies: rapid rehousing and tenant-based assistance,” she said. “Together, these services will provide families with six to 12 months of rental assistance paired with intensive case management and wrap-around support.”
Rapid rehousing provides help with security deposits and paying the rent, while tenant-based rental assistance provides families with case management and works to make rental housing more affordable.
Sheffield said the investment represents a 500% increase in funding compared to what the city has allocated to similar projects in the past.
“Our goal isn’t simply to help families leave shelters,” she said. “Our goal is to help them build lasting, long, stable lives and achieve self-sufficiency and ensure that they never return to homelessness again.”
Sheffield said the initiative will also open beds in emergency shelters for new families once others are housed. Detroit’s shelter system has been operating near capacity and this initiative may relieve some of that stress, officials said.
Luke Shaefer, Detroit's chief executive of health, human services, and poverty solutions, said research has shown these strategies work.
“Rapid rehousing reduces families' reliance on homelessness services by 25%,” he said. “Families who receive housing assistance have fewer than half as many episodes of homelessness compared to families receiving standard services. They’re more food secure. They experience less financial strain and achieve greater housing ability.”
The project has already begun. Two of the families in the program spoke at the news conference announcing it Wednesday. Danielle McCoy said her family has been homeless for 11 months but they will be getting the keys to a home on Friday.
“I wanted to give up so many times,” McCoy said. “My son said ‘Mom, don’t give up. We’re going to get through this’ and we got through it. As a single mother of two, it was really hard. This is a new beginning for me.”
