TRAVERSE CITY - Traverse City city commissioners approved $360,000 in funding toward supportive housing in the city at a commission meeting on May 6.
It’s being facilitated by Goodwill Industries Northern Michigan and will be located at East Bay Flats on Munson Avenue. The process of providing housing to people experiencing chronic homelessness in those units will begin immediately, with 17 individuals housed by the end of August and 10 more by next January.
And with Safe Harbor closing for the season, as of last week there were reportedly just over 50 people living in the Pines in Traverse City.
“In Traverse City, you can’t even really buy a home for $360,000,” says Traverse City Mayor Amy Shamroe. “And with $360,000, we’re going to be able to house almost two dozen people. That’s a huge improvement for the quality of life for the people who will be able to move and have a better place to stay and have that security. It helps out with places like the Pines. Having people be housed, having people permanently settled somewhere is a far better solution than little bits and pieces that we can do through our regular enforcement and policies.”
Three to five people will be placed every month between May and August 2024 in East Bay Flats.
