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eva rosenfeld

Homelessness

isnt a lake to
be drained. Its a river that keeps flowing, said Brian Durrance, president of A2 MISSION (Michigan Itinerant Shelter System-Interdependent Out of Necessity). And no one denies that this river exists. How
to dam the flow, however, is another story.
Camp Take Notice, a tent city on Wagner road, was shut down by the
state police in June 2012. The state then gave vouchers for one year of
housing to about 40 of the 80 Camp Take Notice residents. Of the rest,
some were veterans, some were illegal immigrants; whatever they were,
they didnt qualify for the vouchers. But the homeless community living
in the tent city didnt just disintegrate. They searched for an alternative
place to set up their tent city. About a half a year ago, on Stone School
Rd., they found Mercy House.
Its serendipitous, said Durrance on the house, because frankly,
how do you find in the city of Ann Arbor a 3-acre piece of land with
a forest on it, on the [bus line], thats secluded on the edge of town? It
just doesnt happen.
MISSIONs plan from here on out is to open the land surrounding
the house to a tent city. The house would serve as a hub where the
homeless could come in to fulfill needs like showering, laundry and
food.
Chris Best is a formerly-homeless man who received housing through
SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance), was a resident at Camp
Take Notice, and is currently on the MISSION board. He attests to the
benefit of the tents and Mercy House.
It allows people respite from life as it is being homeless, said Best.
A lot of people think that homelessness means that youre lazy and
you dont do anything. But all day long youre trying to figure out, where
am I gonna get my next meal? Am I gonna get a shower today? Where
am I going to put my clothes? Am I going to be able to arrange for a
doctors appointment? Oh, I finally got a job interview. Where am I
going to put my stuff ?
An advantage of tent cities that might initially seem counterintuitive,
Durrance added, is that it isnt comfortable living.
When you live outside you learn to live outside, said Durrance. But
its hard. So after one or two seasons people have the incentive to reach
out for help. The nice thing about a tent is that it regulates that flow
and theres a beginning, a middle and an end to it.
While this cycle of the river of homelessness flowing through the tent
city and coming out in a far better place might sound ideal, there is a
major flaw in the plan.
This particular piece of land that MISSION has purchased was zoned
for single family residential use, explained Wendy Rampson, Planning
Manager for the Ann Arbor Planning Commission. The MISSION
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folks bought the property expecting to do something different, [so]

they have to prove to the Planning Commission and City Council that
there is a compelling reason to change the zoning, because the zoning
was put there to be consistent with the master plan for that area...even
though people might agree that theres a need for this housing.
I think that the general public thinks that more affordable housing
is the answer, said Sally Petersen, a member of City Council who believes that the tent city is a necessity for homeless people who cant get
affordable housing. But what Ive learned is that theres a rung below
affordable housing and these are the people who are really zero income
due to issues that, according to them, the system isnt really providing
services for.
The whole affordable housing thing is a misnomer, Durrance said,
pointing out just how difficult the grips of homelessness can be to
escape. What it means is subsidized housing for those people who
qualify The people that get it are very few and far between. You have
to be suicidal. You may even have to live out of doors for quite a while
before you qualify. What if you dont qualify for work or you dont
qualify for SSDI or state funding? You cant make it to the doorstep.
A tent city, Durrance believes, gives people cheap, accessible, and fluid access to housing, as opposed to having to pay for an apartment or
spend years applying to programs that you cant qualify for.
So it kind of makes me bristle when people say that people choose
to be homeless. Its a very, very unfair characterization, said Durrance.
The system is working against them in many ways.
We call ourselves the safety net below the safety net. Were trying
to catch the people that fall right through those gaping holes in the
existing safety net Im willing to accept compromise but I know that
theres a really serious piece of this missing without the tents.
This safety net is not just the hope of affordable housing. It also
includes the Delonis Center, Ann Arbors local homeless center. Again,
many recipients of this service, the homeless, dont feel that it serves
the purpose it sets out to. Jimmy Hill, homeless for seven years and
currently living at Mercy House, has tried his hand at the Delonis Center. Dont get me wrong, Hill urged, the Delonis is a good thing for
what its for. But theres no way you can totally get on your feet in three
months. Theres no way with that time that they give you to get housing,
to get a job, to get out, said Hill.
Best, who is transgendered, also struggled with getting a job within
these time constraints. By the time my 90 days [at Delonis] were up
I couldnt get a job because I couldnt get name legally changed, explained Best. Every time I went to a job interview my resume would
have a female name on it but I would dress how I felt was appropriate.
And that, for me, is where the barrier was. I just couldnt find a job
Every day youre going to be rejected by somebody.
A time crunch isnt the only hurdle to getting a job. Best went

You have to
disguise your
homelessness if you
want to get a
job.

work. In his case, his mental illnesses, which include depression, general anxiety, and social anxiety, prevented
him from getting a job. More mundane reasons can also
essentially keep you out of employment.
Hill pointed out, You have to disguise your homelessness if you want to get a job. You have to be clean.
You need sharp clothes. You really need a cell phone
You might have a dress shirt but its all wrinkled up because its been in your bag all day. And he believes this
house will address these needs. What the last camp
didnt have that this one will is this house. The laundry,
the showers, the access. I just think that this could be so
good for this community.
People have told us that when they came to the camp,
they had a place that was essentially a home with a zip
lock door, Hill continued. They didnt have to carry
their whole world around with them like a snail on their
back The first sensation of living at a camp is that
youre going to sleep the night and wake up well-rested
in the morning. You get to have control over your own
destiny.
Durrance seconded this sentiment that a tent city provides the liberty necessary to get on your feet.
Its hard for people to wrap their heads around what
freedom a tent can give you until youve been through
that system of being told where to be, when to be. Its a
night and day difference, he said. That said, Durrance
does recognize the conflict regarding zoning laws. He
added, Where the push comes from the people on the
MISSION Board is that were trying to do it within the
rules.

Rampson posited that if the right compromises are

made and the right people in the community and on
the Council are accepting of the idea, the tent city surrounding Mercy House is possible.
Theres a process to it but ultimately City Council can
approve it, Rampson said. We do know that there are
these types of transitional housing situations in other
parts of the country.
Alternatively, City Council member Stephen Kunselman warned that it wont be so simple: What theyve
been talking about is basically not attainable...its just a
matter of this idea that Council can wave all the rules
and laws and somehow people can sleep in tents in
someones backyard. It doesnt work that way You
have to have water, a sewer, utility availability. You cant
just say were going to grant permission for people - regardless of their stature - to sleep in tents.
Petersen is hopeful that the tent city will eventually
be approved. The piece that resounds to me with this
particular group of people is how respectfully they treat
each other, and with dignity, and how they thrive on the
community to keep each other sort of uplifted, or sober, stable, Petersen said. So if theres a way we can
make the zoning consistent with the benefits of this,
where theyre keeping each other afloat, like a 24/7 AA
meeting, with strong leadership, they should be allowed
to do it.
And until there is a way for all of Ann Arbors homeless to be kept afloat, many will be left floundering in
the river. For now, people from all sides are desperately
looking for a dam to halt the flow.

jimmy hill and seth

best (top left), brian
durrance (bottom left)
and a man dropping
in at mercy house sit
in the mercy house
living room. seth best
shows sally peterson
around the kitchen
(bottom right).

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