November 6, 2002

Homelessness hits home in TC

Church concert, Silhouette Project highlight Homeless Awareness Week

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

      "But are there really any homeless people in Traverse City?"
      That is a question Lois Lannin fields all the time. The manager of the Goodwill Inn in Traverse City, Lannin said it is an ongoing challenge to make people aware that homelessness affects individuals and families in the region.
      "Here, we have mostly the hidden homeless, you don't see them on the street, they don't fit the stereotype," Lannin said. "What we've seen is continuing increase in the need for shelter, the need escalates a little bit every year."
      Lannin noted that the Goodwill Inn, which can sleep 50 people, is at capacity most every night, year round. Both single people and families are staying, many squeezed out of the housing market by high prices in this resort area. In fact, the five counties around Traverse City have around 975 homeless people - many of them families with children whose needs are more complex.
      "One of the biggest trends is that families have to stay longer," she noted. "It may look like there's fewer people we're serving but there's more services needed for families."
      Lannin hopes that this year's Homeless Awareness Week will help spread the word about all these issues and also help recruit volunteers and find funding for services. She said the variety of events associated with Homeless Awareness Week, some this year generated by the community, are very encouraging.
      "I think we're doing a little bit better job of getting people in the community to help us and host more events," she said. "It is hard for us to find the time and personnel to do the awareness events, but it is very important not to skip it because that's how we get the help we need."
      Homeless Awareness Week is a state-wide effort initiated by executive declaration by Governor John Engler. This year's theme is "Doing More to End Homelessness" and outreach efforts focus on educating the public about the reasons for homelessness, the shortage of affordable housing for low income people and the work that a variety of human service agencies do to help.
      Locally, agencies including the Women's Resource Center, Northwest Michigan Human Services Agency and Addiction Treatment Services, the Salvation Army and Community Mental Health are partners in the fight against homelessness.
      Area high school students have participated in Homeless Awareness Week outreach efforts for the past three years by making homeless silhouettes. These stark outlines of human forms, both adult and child sized, are cut from cardboard and painted black. Students then post a real story about homelessness onto the silhouettes, which volunteers distribute around the region.
      This year, students from Traverse City Central High School's Art Club are joining in the effort, thrilled to be able to participate.
      "Kind of one of the basic foundations of art is to express yourself and make a statement," said Meghan Bye, a senior at Central High School and vice president of the school's Art Club. "As students, we can show we do care about the community."
      Homeless Awareness Week also provides an array of opportunities for other individuals and groups to assist the homeless.
      - An awareness and fundraising concert, Hope for the Homeless, will be held on behalf of the Goodwill Inn on Sunday, November 10, at 3:30 p.m. at the St. Francis Church. Praise teams from St. Francis, First Congregational Church, Christ United Methodist Church and the Harbor Light Christian Center will sing at the concert.
      - The Silhouette Project will post silhouettes made by students from five area schools around the area. Each silhouette includes a story of a real homeless person or family. The Greater Grand Traverse Area Continuum of Care Committee coordinates this project.
      - The Greater Grand Traverse Area Continuum of Care Committee will hold their annual meeting at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, November 20. For more information, call Kris Brady at 947-3780.
      - Local landlords will be honored at a breakfast held at the Community Mental Health Building from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 21. For more information, call Laura Sabat at 935-3687.
      - The Goodwill Inn will host an open house from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, November 22. For more information, call Lois Lannin at 922-4890.