EAST LANSING, Mich. — The City of Lansing and the City of East Lansing today announced that they both will provide funding to Holy Cross Services, Advent House Ministries, Haven House and other local charities to help support their regional work with the homeless population during the COVID-19 crisis.
Advent House Ministries and Holy Cross Services have identified homeless people who cannot or do not want to be sheltered, but still need assistance. These dollars will go toward helping those homeless people by providing them with the necessary resources for hygiene and social distancing to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
The City of Lansing will dedicate $20,000 from its Chronic Homelessness Fund, through the Basic Human Needs Fund.
“I appreciate the work being done by Holy Cross and Advent House Ministries to assist those throughout the region who are homeless. We cannot allow COVID-19 to spread throughout our most vulnerable population. Lansing is proud to answer the call to assist our regional homeless population by providing dollars to ensure this work can be done,” said Lansing Mayor Andy Schor. “We will continue to work closely with shelters to ensure that they have proper spacing and medical capacity. And we will now also assist as shelters provide service and safety elements to those who are not or cannot be sheltered. I urge others throughout the region to join in supporting this cause to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 throughout the Greater Lansing community.”
The City of East Lansing will dedicate $10,000 in general fund support. Of the $10,000 the City of East Lansing will be dedicating, funds will be distributed to Holy Cross Services, Advent House Ministries, Haven House, Child and Family Charities and the City Rescue Mission of Lansing.
"In this time of crisis, it’s important to be working with the charities and agencies in our region that are continuing to provide support for our homeless population, whether that’s by providing them with safe shelter or the supplies they need to practice the hygiene and social distancing practices that will help in reducing the community spread of COVID-19," said East Lansing Mayor Ruth Beier. "We hope others will join us in supporting the important work of these charities during this time of great need."
Community agency work as well as support from all cities, townships and counties, in addition to the state and federal government, is critical for shelters to be able to adequately address the challenges they are currently presented with.
“Our mission is to assist those in need. Now, more than ever, we need to protect them in order to prevent massive spread of the COVID-19 virus. We are dedicating our limited resources to those in our shelter as well as to those who are homeless outside our shelter. We have put out a call for resources to assist, and the Cities of Lansing and East Lansing have stepped up. But homelessness doesn’t stop at municipal boundaries and is a regional problem. We hope others will step up as well. We need all local governments to contribute to ensure the safety of those who don’t have shelter, and to prevent the greater spread of this deadly virus,” said Director of Holy Cross Services Sharon Dade.