Winter can be a tough month for everyone, but more so for individuals who lack resources to keep them safe from the elements. The following article provides resources to those who may need them for these freezing months in Michigan. If you live in Michigan, you understand just how harsh winter can be. Icy roads, piles of snow, and freezing temperatures cause dread for some residents of the state. Concerns of Michigan winters include power outages, lake effect precipitation, seasonal depression, and desertedness due to being snowed in. However, some individuals experience much worse. People who are experiencing homelessness endure hypothermia, faster spread of illness, and lack of resources provided for these extreme conditions.One resource available to unhoused individuals in Michigan is warming centers. Warming centers are short-term emergency centers where individuals who do not have the resources they need for hazardous weather conditions can go. These would be ideal for unhoused community members, who can stay here during heavy winter storms.
The following are warming shelters available this year around Michigan:
Cass Community Social Services
1534 Webb St., Detroit 48206
Phone: 313-883-2277
Facilities for: Families and Single women
Pope Francis Center TCF Center 1
Washington Blvd, Detroit, MI 48226
Facilities for: Anyone who is homeless
Hours: Monday – Saturday 7:00 AM-11:00 AM
Eastpointe Memorial Library
15875 Oak, Eastpointe, MI 48021
(586) 445-5096
Monday thru Thursday 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Friday & Saturday 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
If warming shelters are not available in your given area. There are other resources in Michigan, too! There are shelters provided to communities facing homelessness and places to go to escape the nasty Michigan weather:
Oasis Shelter and Family Resource Center
(231) 775-7233
118 S. Mitchell Street
Cadillac, MI 49601
Emergency Shelter and Services at Room At The Inn Marquette Day and Night Shelter
(906) 225-1521
447 W. Washington
Marquette, MI 49855
Homeless Shelter and Recovery Housing at Pathways Homeless Shelter
(810) 982-1020
511 Union
Port Huron, MI 48060
There are many more Michigan shelters provided in the links given below.
This upcoming winter, there are ways to help your community prepare for the cold months ahead. You can donate warm socks, coats, blankets and clothes. Keep an eye out for upcoming food drives that you can contribute to! When times get difficult, it takes all of us to help one another through the hardest time of the year.
Sources:
https://detroitmi.gov/sites/detroitmi.localhost/files/2021-12/Warming%20Centers%202021-2022.pdf