Advocates say Lansing’s homeless population continues to grow, as resources to help them remain difficult to find.
Patricia Braman is Director of Housing at Advent House Ministries. She says her organization conducted a count of the city’s homeless population in January
“We had about 700 that were outside. I do believe that we’re probably, I would guess, at about 1,200-1,500," she said. "Our shelters are very, very full. They are overloaded. We’re doing the best that we can but we need help.”
Braman says the lack of affordable housing is the biggest problem facing the homeless in the Lansing area.
She says it’s a landlord's market, and there is not enough affordable housing for those who desperately need it.
Housing advocate Mike Karl works to find hotel rooms for the homeless in Lansing. And he says the cost of providing shelter is also on the rise.
“There are four hotels that have active guests in them. We have around 20 families right now. It costs us about $300 a week to house a family.”
He says summer is especially hard for people living on the streets, because they lose access to warming shelters where they can heat food and plug-in medical devices.
The city does designate cooling centers when there is dangerously hot weather.
