June 4, 2003
Survey shows stark data
24-hour homeless street count finds 73 people in five-county area
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Seventy-three - and counting.
That is the number of homeless people found during last weekend's 24-hour homeless street count conducted in the five-county area around Traverse City. With some churches and police departments still expected to weigh in with numbers, volunteers and staff from area human services agencies now have a figure to illustrate the scope of homeless people living below the radar of the safety net.
"Now we have actually numbers to help us," said Todd Salisbury, human service program manager for Goodwill Industries of the count conducted Friday evening through Saturday evening.
Salisbury noted that having hard numbers will help a range of agencies in the Grand Traverse Continuum of Care - from the Goodwill Inn to the Women's Resource Center to Addiction Treatment Services - obtain more funds for services. The homeless street count fulfills a Housing and Urban Development requirement that will qualify local agencies for more grant money.
The count was another step toward the Continuum of Care's ultimate goal: ending homelessness using money from the Housing and Urban Development and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
"We've identified that there is more need and services needed for this population," said Salisbury, who joined Goodwill Industries three months ago. "Homelessness is definitely a major problem that is not going to get better for a while."
Each homeless person who participated in the count also completed an anonymous survey and was given a backpack containing water, food, a blanket and a list of available services in the area. This sort of outreach is key to building trust that may one day prompt a homeless person to seek help.
"Some were suspicious, suspicion is always going to be there just because of the situation they are in," Salisbury noted. "A lot of them were receptive and a lot we found were lacking knowledge of services, that is the hardest part so we're going to have to do a better job of getting information out."
Salisbury noted that these 73 people counted are not part of the population that stays at the Goodwill Inn. This homeless shelter typically houses between 70-80 people a night and offers an array of classes and services supporting a transition back to a stable life.
The homeless people counted are also not part of the hidden homeless, often teens, who stay for a time with friends or family, moving around as needed.
Instead, the street homeless live in tents, cardboard boxes or under shelters cobbled together from materials at hand. They inhabit the nooks and crannies of the area, with campsites in town around the Boardman Lake or on the grounds of the Grand Traverse Commons. Scrounged tents, tables, chairs, firewood and bicycles comprise their existence. Many struggle with substance abuse issues or mental illness.
These homeless people are not plugged into the variety of services available in the area. They live day to day, hand to mouth, coping as best they can without shelter, bathrooms or cooking facilities.
"Thirty percent of homeless people are working and only about six percent of the homeless population are considered to choose that lifestyle," Salisbury said.
Getting a close look at homelessness was an eye-opening experience for Lisa Bracey, a volunteer counter. Bracey is the development director of the United Way of Northwest Michigan and volunteered her time in part to increase her understanding of the issue.
"What I learned from the experience was the complexity of the homeless issue," Bracey said. "Homeless people are families or individuals struggling with addictions, mental illness and circumstance that have just caused great difficulties."
"I've certainly been told of the circumstances but this is the first time I've actually realized that a few steps away from the trails where my kids walk or the streets we drive on or the parks we play in are people trying to make a home," she noted.