Homeless shelter could close as early as today
Director sites dwindling funding sources as reason for shuttering
Motor City Mitten Mission Executive Director Gail Marlow said her organization’s homeless shelter in Warren will close at the end of this week if it can’t secure more funding.
The shelter, located inside the Trinity Lutheran Church at 8150 Chapp Ave. in Warren, was slated to be open through April 6.
“We don’t want to shut the shelter down, we never want to shut the shelter down,” said Marlow. “But at the end of the day, we are a non-profit that relies on the generous donations from others in the community.”
Marlow said it would take between $25,000 and $30,000 to keep the Warren shelter open for another month.
The shelter houses homeless people overnight, but during certain times has extended its hours.
“During very cold weather like we had in January, we stay open 24 hours,” said Marlow. “It is a matter of life and death for this population and the need has increased greatly since last year.”
Marlow said during the four months the Motor City Mitten shelter was open last year, it serviced 558 people. This year, after less than three months, more than 700 people have been helped by the shelter. The age of shelter patrons has ranged from 16 to 81.
The shelter is open seven days a week and provides meals, housing assistance, and other services
to the homeless. Motor City Mitten Mission does daily street outreach that is separate from the shelter and also makes mats and pillows from plastic bags and gives them to those in need.
Marlow said the shelter received funding last year through grants and the Macomb County Continuum of Care that it did not receive this year, which
has left the shelter short of funds. Private funding has also dwindled and Marlow said the cost of operating the shelter is financially draining the other areas of her organization.
“We are just trying to help people get into a more stable environment,” Marlow said. “But without more donations, and with no assistance from Macomb County, we will be forced to close at the end of this month.
“Without our shelter, people will have one less place to go for food, safety and all of the other services that we provide.”
Marlow said Motor City Mitten Mission is also in need of more volunteers for street outreach and to staff the shelter.
“There are so many misconceptions about homeless people; we are just trying to help,” Marlow said.
Donations can be made to motorcitymittenmission.org, Venmo (MotorCityMittenMission), CashApp ($MCMMOutreach) or PayPal (motorcitymittenmission@ gmail.com).