I’ve seen the shelter, the county, the broader nonprofit network, and the city do amazing work to bring people in from the cold or, if they won’t come in, to help provide them with resources to survive the cold.

While the emergency provisions are not the most comfortable (emergency provisions rarely are), just a few years ago they were worse. Now people can sleep on a camping pad, it used to be you had to sit in a chair for overnight emergency shelter.

Elected officials tend to try to claim credit for all good things that happen, but in all honest the city’s part in this has been small. We’ve provided some funding and some support like transportation to Home of New Vision for folks who were too intoxicated to stay at the Shelter. The Shelter Association staff, volunteers, and donors have done amazing work. Likewise with the the County PORT staff who went out in the bitter cold to reach out to folks at known campsites.

Many entities came together to provide a comprehensive solution to the crisis. This strong response reflects a highly compassionate community, a plan for how to deal with emergencies, and collaboration infrastructure such as Barrier Busters to deal with the specific needs of this particular scenario.

All AADL locations were closed on Sunday, but reopened Monday. The intent was to remain open regular hours, but staff shortages caused three branches (Traverwood, West, and Pittsfield) to close early on Monday, at 6 p.m.

A post on the AADL website states that all locations are open regular hours today (Tuesday).

Didn’t all the AADL locations close because of the weather?

Citizens do have an obligation to offer fact-baseed, solution-oriented constructive comments, rather than mere rants and prejudices, if they want self-government to last. At the same time, to me, anyway, the proper response to representatives ignoring citizens is to express displeasure at the ballot box. If a council member does not respect the people he/she represents, they are probably in the wrong line of work.

Thanks for the thoughts and info Chuck. You too, Vivienne and Dave.

From the email:

Shelter Options

All community shelters are open, including: the Delonis Center, IHN/Alpha House, Salvation Army’s Staples Center, and Ozone House. Housing Access is also open, and able to connect those in need with shelter options. Thus far today, Housing Access has received thirty-six calls from residents in need of housing and/or shelter. This is described as an extremely low call volume for a Monday.

In addition to the seventy-five people at its main site, twenty-five males in its rotating shelter, and sixty-five people in the overnight warming center, the Delonis Center has opened up during the day for those needing a warm place to be. They have loosened restrictions on substance use upon entry during this extreme weather. As of 1pm, they had eighty people utilizing their daytime warming center. They can accomodate up to 200, if needed. If someone arrives who is intoxicated to the point of being dangerous or severely disruptive to other guests, they are provided transportation to the Home of New Vision’s Engagement Center.

Washtenaw County Community Support & Treatment Services – Project Outreach Team (PORT)

CSTS and PORT started providing intensive outreach several days ago to prepare homeless and other vulnerable consumers for this weather emergency. They have teams out today, and will continue to outreach throughout today and tomorrow. They report that they have placed several homeless individuals who cannot go to the Delonis Center in hotels. They are also outreaching to all at-risk CSTS consumers to ensure they have needed medication and resources to get through the weather emergency.

Warm Places

The following nonprofits and institutions are open for those seeking warmth:

Ann Arbor Locations -
Delonis Center (312 W Huron St) 24 hours
Ann Arbor City Hall (301 E Huron) until 5pm
All Ann Arbor District Library Locations (various – See http://www.aadl.org) until 9pm
Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (on Industrial) until 5pm
Homeward Bound (3501 Stone School Road) until 8pm
University of Michigan Medical Center (1500 E Medical Center Drive) 24 hours
IHN Alpha House (4290 Jackson Road) 24 hours

Ypsilanti Locations -
Department of Human Services (Towner St) until 5pm
SOS Community Services (114 N River Street) until 5pm
Hope Clinic (518 Harriet St) until 5pm
Engagement Center (512 N Hamilton – for intoxicated individuals; must have referral) 24 hours
St. Joe’s Hospital (5301 McAuley Drive) 24 hours

[Callan's Jan. 6, 2014 email]

And now regarding your second post: all I can say is that we do not have an accurate census of the unsheltered as it would be impossible to do one. Delonis, being a physical structure with four brick walls does not have infinite capacity. And as you said above, some people are not allowed inside–some of the mentally ill are combative, others are afraid of places like Delonis (this comes from conversations with unsheltered people on the street).

Too bad we succumbed to the fad of closing down mental hospitals rather than fixing the problems with them. Too bad the state and counties have dumped asylum inmates on our streets.

Today we are faced with long term and emergency situations. Right now due to extreme weather, we have an emergency that calls for immediate action rather than the sophistry of “official speak”. Whatever the accommodations already provided we will always have a need for extra emergency space. I’d like to see our city offer temporary space for this eventuality. Also, we need our own emergency plan for extreme weather rather than relying on the county’s, which may not always serve our city’s needs.