Concern over federal cuts loom over rural homeless shelters

By Katie Finkbeiner, Capital News Service

LANSING – The need for homeless shelter services in rural Michigan has increased at least five-fold in the last two years, says Chelsie Wilkinson, the executive director of Marquette’s Room at the Inn.

“We’re disproportionately seeing homelessness affect our area more than at the state level,” she said, referring to being a rural shelter.

More than 9,700 Michigan residents experienced homelessness in 2024, according to the 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“When I first started, we would have about 16 to 24 people a night sign in to our 30-bed facility,” said Wilkinson.

“Now, my permanent beds are completely full every single night.”

With Marquette still having winter chills, Wilkinson said her shelter expanded part of the kitchen to fit 16 more cots to meet the high demand.

Wilkinson said she now works with the fire marshal on what capacity is allowable for the space.

“We have our long stayers who have been in the shelter for one or two years,” she said. “I have three people in my shelter who have been there since I started.”

“It’s not because of substance use or behavioral issues,” she said. “They are simply either on a fixed income or cannot find affordable housing.”

The shelter will also be starting a permanent supportive housing program, she said. It will subsidize the rent for eight households or people who are considered chronically homeless.

The grants are through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, with the state investing $20 million into the Supportive Services Transformation Fund.

The organization has not yet signed the contract for the grant and declined to say how much money it received.

Before starting at the shelter, Wilkinson worked at a nonprofit focusing on poverty services in Dayton, Ohio.

Reflecting on her experience in both places, she says other factors in rural Michigan, such as lack of transportation, exacerbate problems for shelters.

If someone has a low-income job and cannot afford to live close by, it creates a bottleneck problem when paired with lack of transport, she said.

“Our public transportation system stops running at 6 or 7 o’clock at night.”

Lack of transportation might lead to more people needing shelter services.

Now, Wilkinson says she’s worried about federal cuts increasing the number of people who need shelter services.

The Trump administration has shown interest in cutting aid to low-income households, like housing vouchers.

“We’re not just worried about direct cuts to HUD and other programs that directly fund us, but also Medicaid, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance,” said Wilkinson.

“What happens when we continue to widen the cracks and people fall through?”

Potential cuts also might impact the number of people coming to the New Hope Center in Cadillac, said Executive Director Michelle Munn.

“We were at full capacity almost all winter long and we still are at full capacity,” she said.

“We’ve also seen an increase in families that are homeless, and we only have so many beds.”

The shelter can house up to 60 people in three wings: men’s, women’s and children’s.

The facility is open seven days a week from 3 p.m. to 9 a.m., serves two meals every day and connects residents with other services.

“We’re trying to help people find permanent solutions to their homeless problem, whatever that might be and whatever barriers they have,” said Munn.

It’s rare for the shelter to turn people away, she said.

If the facility is full and someone needs shelter services, Munn said staff will try to refer them to other available services.

Brian Peters, the executive director of the Nehemiah Project in Petoskey, said his shelter had to turn away about 175 people last year due to insufficient space.

“There’s a huge need, but unfortunately we just don’t have the space,” said Peters.

“We’ve been consistently full for several years now.”

The organization has three shelter spaces, with most residents staying from 45 to 90 days.

Between the men’s and women’s houses, Peters said 22 people use the shelter.

As to why people were turned away, Peters noted that rural areas lack enough shelters and resources.

“Here in Northern Michigan, we’re only one of the few full-time shelters between Traverse City and Marquette,” he said.

As for the impact of federal cuts, Peters said there could be problems for shelter users interested in housing vouchers.

Peters said the organization is actively looking for grants to expand outreach.

One struggle with funding the facility is its sobriety requirement, he said.

Shelters with state and federal funding cannot enforce sobriety and identification requirements for admission, forcing the organization to rely on donations, he said.

Peters said building more shelter space and funding more services will take years.

“Turning people away is not something you want to do when people are reaching out for help and you’re not able to help them,” he said.

“That’s heartbreaking.”