UPDATE 3/4/24 7:30 p.m.
TRAVERSE CITY — Plans to keep a Traverse City area shelter open year-round have hit a serious roadblock.
Safe Harbor, a homeless shelter open during the winter months, was in talks with the City to say open all year.
The goal was to address the homeless crisis in the area, and to reduce the number of people living in The Pines. The homeless encampment near Division Street has been increasing in size, raising safety and crime concerns.
A memorandum of understanding was drafted and approved by Safe Harbor’s board last month. But they say the community has reacted to the plan with anger and frustration, and the City has not approved the plans.
In fact, the City now says they are looking at other options than just keeping the shelter open year-round.
“Even if Safe Harbor were to have been open in the summer, that’s not the solution. It’s one piece of a really big puzzle. Homelessness is a human problem. We need to treat it with dignity and respect. Anyone out there in Safe Harbor or the Pines could be someone’s brother or sister,” said Elizabeth Vogel, city manager.
A spokesperson for Safe Harbor said despite the setback, they are still interested in expanding access to the shelter.
1/17/24 6:20 p.m.
TRAVERSE CITY — The first Traverse City commission meeting of the year was held on Tuesday.
Among the topics discussed, there was one that stood out for the community. A memorandum of understanding was approved to further the conversation to have the Safe Harbor shelter open year-round.
The shelter is currently open from October to April due to their current special land use permit. The memorandum approval is just the start of conversations to have the shelter open throughout the year.
“Safe Harbor is the only emergency shelter that we have in Traverse City. as we’re looking towards potential solutions to helping solve at least partially, the issue of homelessness in our area, Safe Harbor is part of that picture,” Mitchell Treadwell, a Traverse City commissioner, said.
The memorandum includes Safe Harbor, the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness and Grand Traverse County.
