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new report released by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) and Michigan’s Campaign to End Homelessness shows that our state is seeing a decrease in the total number of people who are homeless, for the third consecutive year.

The rate of homelessness dropped 9 percent since 2015, including a decrease of more than 5 percent in 2017 alone. The state credits this decline to more coordination among state agencies, service providers and partners.

As the report shares, since last year the state and Campaign to End Homelessness partners have been collaborating on a three-year action plan to reduce homelessness, especially among subpopulations such as veterans and youth, among others.

As the data shows, there are some promising trends but still glaring disparities, showing there’s much more work to be done.

Success stories:

  • The rate of chronic homelessness (those who are continuously homeless for at least one year) in Michigan has decreased by 20 percent since 2015.

  • The rate of homelessness for young adults ages 18-24 has dropped 10 percent, while homelessness for unaccompanied minors under 18 has dropped 6 percent.

  • The number of students experiencing homelessness in Michigan public schools has dropped by 7 percent. However, that rate does not reflect students who may be sleeping at a friend’s or family member’s home.

  • Homelessness among veterans in Michigan has decreased by 7 percent.

Remaining challenges:

  • The report shares that there are still racial disparities in rates of homelessness, as 53 percent of Michigan’s homeless population are African-American, yet only 14 percent of our state’s population is African-American.

  • About 44 percent of people experiencing homelessness in our state also have disabilities. The report categorizes these disabilities as mental health, physical health and/or substance use disorder.

  • The rate of senior citizens experiencing homelessness has increased by 4 percent.

  • The rate of families experiencing homelessness has increased by 7 percent.

  • Only 55 percent of high schoolers experiencing homelessness graduate from high school in four years.

Work to address issues of economic barriers and social determinants of health for certain subpopulations continues on the state level.

The report states in part, “Michigan’s response to homelessness extends past housing. The campaign is working with new partners in other sectors such as healthcare and employment to improve key social determinants of health and increase access to stable income.”

Coordinated, cross-sector efforts are critical to targeting this issue according to the report, since the average monthly income for a person experiencing homelessness is $649 and median rent in Michigan is $835, putting housing out of reach for many.

The state shared that in September, MSHDA approved more than $5.1 million in grants to address homelessness, with the majority of funding focused on “rapidly re-housing homeless individuals and families and homeless prevention efforts.”

Recent highlights of CMF members working to address homelessness include:

  • The Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KCF), which is leading the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) efforts on the ground in Kalamazoo, is serving as a partner to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) in its development of a racial equity lens to analyze and address issues of affordable housing and homelessness in Kalamazoo. KCF recently shared a two-part blog about this work and is asking the community to provide input in a housing survey.

  • Quicken Loans Inc. launched a new, long-term partnership with Community Solutions to end veteran homelessness across the country, starting in Detroit. As reported, Community Solutions has been working with the Detroit Continuum of Care and its associated agencies to develop a systemic approach to getting people into permanent supportive housing and providing them with the wraparound mental health, job training or other services they might need.

  • McGregor Fund and Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (CFSEM) both recently awarded grants to the South Oakland Shelter to support the operational side of the shelter and to help the shelter’s HandUp platform expand its reach. HandUp is a crowdfunding project which allows individuals to connect directly with a nonprofit’s campaign or individual’s need and donate to their cause. Both of these CMF members are long-time supporters of the shelter.

Want more?

Read the full report.

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