LANSING — The city’s September goal of welcoming the unhoused into a comprehensive pod community – one intended to shelter, help and heal – has been pushed back again by a few more months.
“Not September … We’re aiming for the winter months now,” said Kimberly Coleman, the city’s former Human Relations and Community Services Department director, who is still leading the city’s pod housing initiative. “Our priority is to get this right.
“We do recognize the need for the service in the community. The need is immediate. We’re going to push for some urgency.”
City leaders have been working on a vision of a pod community that would address housing needs and connect residents with the proper services since August, when Lansing City Council members approved the purchase of 50 pod units that would form a city-funded community for people who are homeless.
Council voted to approve $645,500 for the 50 housing pods, which had been purchased to house people in the Kalamazoo area in an effort that fizzled. The actual cost ended up at $600,000, city spokesperson Scott Bean said.
The goal then was to welcome people into the community by, at the earliest, March of this year. Then September became the target date.
This week, the city was still accepting proposals from agencies interested in managing the pod community that will be constructed outside the Ingham County Human Services Building on South Cedar Street in south Lansing.
Coleman hopes to introduce the chosen agency in June. She said that agency will help finalize the details regarding expectations, design, engineering, finances and other matters.
Mayor Andy Schor has proposed $800,000 for the pod community to shelter people who are homeless, and Coleman expects to pursue additional funding, such as local resources, philanthropic opportunities, and federal and state dollars to sustain the program.
“Those kinds of funds are going to be necessary,” she said.
So far, Coleman has been drawn to transitional housing programs in both Colorado and Nevada because of elements that include dignity, wrap-around services, policies and governance.
“Again, some of that won’t necessarily work for the Lansing community, which is why I think we have to take bits and pieces….and create a model that works for Lansing,” Coleman said.
Lansing has been trying to address the obvious challenges that go with people living without stable housing because of poverty and unemployment.
The city agreed in late December to finance a free six-week stay at Causeway Bay Lansing Hotel & Convention Center on South Cedar Street for 57 people who had been living in a camp near Dietrich Park. The deal was part of a court settlement after the city forced the razing of the camp.
The city agreed to use up to $40,000 so the camp residents could stay at the Causeway Bay.
The Ingham County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously in February to provide $76,500 to extend the stay for an unspecified time when the city’s six-week period was running out.
Scott Bean, the city’s spokesman, said the city continues to work with 19 people remaining in the hotel program. He provided the following update.
“The City has expended the temporary hotel funding from both the City and County sources and we are working with final remaining residents on plans now,” he said. “We remain very encouraged that nearly all of those who participated in housing programs and remained in the hotel are ready to move into permanent housing.”
Also, there’s new attention on the “Back 40,” near the corner of Larch Street and East Saginaw Highway, where about 10 to 15 people have been staying in a makeshift camp.
“The property owners have issued a trespass notice and the people there have been informed that they need to leave the property immediately,” Bean said.
In January, two city advisory boards unanimously decided that the Ingham County parking lot is the best location for the pod community. Schor supported their choice.
“Once the site plans are approved and the contractors are appreciably secured,” Coleman said, “neighbors will begin to see preparation.”
Contact editor Susan Vela at svela@lsj.com or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: ‘Not September.’ Lansing’s pod community opening pushed back again
Reporting by Susan Vela, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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