Lansing officials recently cleared a homeless encampment near the Kalamazoo Street bridge, prompting calls to invest more in sheltering the city’s unhoused population.
City staff cleared a group of people who had been living under bridge, which runs over a segment of the Lansing River Trail.
Scott Bean, spokesperson for Mayor Andy Schor, said in a statement that those camping on the trail were told multiple times that they could not legally stay there and were offered support to access shelter.
"We notify and work with all the homeless service agencies in the area in these situations, and they all step in to work with the people camping there to get them access to services," Bean said. "The homeless outreach PATH team visited the site numerous times. [The Lansing Police Department] and the LPD social workers visited. The City worked to get everyone there access to shelter."
Mike Karl, an advocate for Lansing’s unhoused population, said that move comes as he’s seeing more families and residents on the street than at any point in the last 10 years.
He acknowledged that homeless encampments tend to form under structures, where people can stay out of the elements. But he added officials need to have more empathy for those living outside during the winter.
“We always hear our public officials stand up and say, bring your pets inside when it gets too cold," said Karl. "But what about our humans, what about the people, our most vulnerable population that is literally living under a bridge that we drive over every day? And our answer should not be to remove them. It should be to get them into housing.”
Karl said he thinks the city needs to shift its priorities and use its resources to better help its unhoused population. He criticized the decision to install wooden, heated sheds for the Kringle Holiday Market in Reutter Park, a place where homeless residents commonly gather to receive services.
"We're really not doing justice for our homeless communities," Karl said.
Lansing officials have taken some action to support those without housing. This month, the city opened an overnight warming center at the Letts Community Center this month to keep people out of the cold. The site is being paid for with local and state dollars and is being operated by Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries.
Karl said the warming center is a valuable resource. But he expressed frustration with the city choosing to contract with a Detroit non-profit instead of one based in Lansing.
He also criticized the center for lacking an adequate fire suppression system, a design flaw that prevents the facility from serving children.
“We need to really make real investments in people and not into managing the problem with a band aid,” Karl said.
Karl said Lansing should introduce more temporary options, like purchasing buildings to operate a shelter or running free hotel programs, to keep homeless people housed and indoors during the winter.
He also urged state lawmakers to pass a bill introduced this year to establish a homeless bill of rights. The legislation would give those experiencing homelessness a right to access public spaces and protect them from housing discrimination.
Karl, who himself has experienced homelessness, said that residents without housing often "feel like a number" and aren't being treated with dignity.
"We need to be there for the person where they're at and try to rebuild the barriers that have kept them from being housed," he said. "We're just not getting that personal touch. We're missing the human element here in Lansing.
