LANSING — The sole applicant for the job, Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries will manage day-to-day operations and case management for the much-anticipated pod community for people who are unhoused and struggling, Lansing city officials announced on July 16.
Mayor Andy Schor and Chad Audi, president and CEO of the Detroit organization, issued statements in the city’s July 16 release on the new partnership, which included a statement that Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries “stepped up to the plate, bringing decades of trusted expertise to Lansing.”
“The City is pleased that DRMM, a well-qualified and respected organization working with the unhoused in communities across Michigan, responded and is ready to step in and do this work for our residents,” Schor said. “Daily operation and case management for the residents here will be critical for the success of the program, and DRMM is ready to get to work on this program.
“Work continues to progress rapidly on site preparation and pre-construction planning and we look forward to physical construction happening very soon.”
Audi said in the release his organization is ready for the task of managing Nova Lansing Housing Initiative community, which is planned for outside the Ingham County Human Services Building on South Cedar Street in south Lansing.
“At Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, we have learned that the true measure of a community is not how it treats those who are successful, but how it lifts those who are struggling,” he said. “We are honored by the confidence the City of Lansing has placed in us and are committed to providing more than temporary housing—we will provide hope, direction, accountability, and a pathway to lasting independence. Together, we are building a community where every person has the opportunity not simply to survive, but to rediscover purpose, restore dignity, and thrive.”
The new partnership is a significant step in the city’s ongoing plan to bring online a comprehensive pod community intended to shelter, help and heal the city’s unhoused.
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.
Councilmembers have appropriated about $1.9 million for site preparation and construction of the pod community, the release said. City spokesman Scott Bean said that included $600,000 through the Ingham County Housing Trust to reimburse the city for the purchase of the housing pod units.
Also, the Lansing City Council recently approved an approximately $952,335 operational budget to cover modernizing pods, restrooms, laundry facilities, 24/7 security, resident empowerment programming, a community room, and meeting and training spaces, for the housing Initiative, the release said.
Kimberly Coleman, the city’s former Human Relations and Community Services Department director, who continues to lead the initiative, last said the new goal to open the community is by the winter months.
City officials have emphasized that they want their pod community to be done right.
In the past, the city and Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries collaborated during an emergency winter warming center initiative.
The Detroit organization’s website indicates it has been serving Detroit’s homeless and addicted communities since 1909 and is one of the largest housing and treatment providers in the Detroit Metro area.
“From day one, our top priority has been securing an experienced partner who knows exactly how to guide individuals from temporary shelter to stable, permanent housing,” said Delvata Moses, interim director of Lansing’s Human Relations and Community Services Department. “I am absolutely thrilled that DRMM answered the call. Together, we will provide a safe, vibrant, and empowering temporary community that truly changes lives.”
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: Lansing selects Detroit ministries group to manage city’s pod community
Reporting by Susan Vela, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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By Susan Vela, Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
