Encourages Other Cities to Follow Lansing’s Lead

LANSING – The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) had nothing but praise for the city of Lansing and the Greater Lansing Homeless Resolution Network for the overwhelming success of a Homeless Connect project that delivered much needed services directly to more than 700 of Lansing’s homeless population last week on the campus of Lansing’s Eastern High School. The first Project Homeless Connect took place in San Francisco in 2004 to put the needy in direct contact with services and has served as a model ever since.

“These events are an important component of MSHDA’s 10-Year Campaign to End Homelessness and a compelling part of our overarching mission,” said MSHDA Interim Executive Director Keith Molin. “We’re committed to providing support for the homeless and special needs populations and encourage the same commitment from every county in Michigan.”

The 10-Year Campaign to End Homelessness is based on 60 comprehensive plans submitted by Continuums of Care that represent every county in the state. The Campaign’s focus is on “Housing First,” the belief that housing attached to supportive services is the key to ending homelessness by 2017.

Philip Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness traveled from Washington D.C. to personally put the federal mark of approval on Michigan’s national award winning efforts to stamp out homelessness. Lansing Mayor Virg Bernaro expressed his thanks to staff, volunteers and service providers for making the “One Day, One Stop” event a meaningful experience for those most in need.

“We have tried to bring best practices from all over the country right here to Lansing,” Bernaro said. “We’re committed to the 10-Year plan in our region and encourage others to do the same. Together we can find the solutions we’re looking for.”     

According to data collected by the Michigan Statewide Homeless Management Information System in the recently released Benchmark Report on the State of Homelessness In Michigan, the housing rate for homeless individuals and families has increased by 12 percent between January 2006 and April 2007. That means that Michigan’s homeless population has declined because sustainable supportive housing has been obtained.  

“Project Homeless Connect is about neighbors connecting, neighbors helping neighbors, from hair cuts to housing,” Mangano said. “When you ask the homeless what they want, they never say a pill, a program or a protocol – they want a place to live.”

For more information on the 10-year Campaign and supportive housing for special needs populations, visit the MSHDA Web site at www.michigan.gov/mshda and click on the Michigan Campaign to End Homelessness icon.     

MSHDA is a quasi-state agency that provides financial and technical assistance through public and private partnerships to create and preserve safe and decent affordable housing, engage in building vibrant cities and neighborhoods, and address homeless issues.  MSHDA’s loans and operating expenses are financed through the sale of tax-exempt and taxable bonds and notes to private investors, not from state tax revenues.

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