GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY: Coalition seeks coordinated response to homelessness

Peter Kobs, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·3 min read

Apr. 30—TRAVERSE CITY — Grand Traverse County commissioners will get an up-close look at homelessness on Wednesday when a local nonprofit leader talks about the difference between managing the issue and solving it.

"This is a really a first step for us because we've never presented to the county board before," said Ashley Halladay-Schmandt, director of the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness. "Our hope is to educate board members and give the county a chance to be part of the solution.

"If we really want to solve chronic homelessness, instead of just managing it, we have to go beyond housing alone. We also need to provide wrap-around services, such as mental and physical healthcare, counseling, job opportunities, addiction recovery services and a connection to the community."

The goal of NMCEH is to make homelessness rare, brief and one time (non-recurring) for this area. Principal coalition members include: Goodwill Northern Michigan, Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing and the Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency. Many smaller organizations and individuals also participate.

County board Chairman Rob Hentschel and his son recently volunteered at Safe Harbor, the emergency overnight shelter in Traverse City. He called it "an eye-opening experience" that demonstrated the complexity of the homelessness issue.

"Some people think the homeless are all 'one type' of people, but that's not true," Hentschel said. "They come from a diverse set of situations. Government is not the solution to every problem, but it can be part of the solution."

Money is almost always an issue when it comes to addressing homelessness, and county officials have expressed concerns about dedicating additional tax money to the problem without a clear path forward.

However, Halladay-Schmandt said solving homelessness here will be far less costly than managing it in the current reactive, ad hoc way.

According to an NMCEH analysis, managing homelessness in this area costs about $2.45 million per year, including $1.26 million in Munson Healthcare expenses and 407 police/ambulance responses per year.

In contrast, a solution-oriented approach would cost about $945,000 per year for housing 70 chronically homeless people with wrap-around support services, as well as state and federal vouchers, according to the study.

As of March 2024, about 197 people in the Grand Traverse area were "actively homeless," a 24-percent decrease in the last 12 months, Halladay-Schmandt said.

Of those 197, about 70 have been chronically homeless for more than a year and have a disability. Another 12 percent are youth, 11 percent are families and 4 percent are veterans.

Also on the agenda for Wednesday, the county board will hear from Kristine Wilmoth, clinic manager for Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services in Traverse City. She will explain Pine Rest's major contributions to behavioral health in the area, as well as its financial challenges related to low reimbursement rates and poor coverage in many insurance plans.

In rural areas, Pine Rest faces hurdles in the areas of recruitment, labor force availability, and increased patient barriers to care, Wilmoth notes in her presentation.

In other action, the board is expected to approve the appointments of Carol Crawford to the Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority and appoint Christal Frost Anderson to the Department of Health and Human Services Board.

Wednesday's meeting of the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners will begin at 9 a.m. in the second-floor commission chambers of the governmental center, 400 Boardman Ave., in downtown Traverse City. The full agenda packet for the meeting is available at https://grandtraversecounty.civicweb.net/document/244237/.