Detroit Power Detroit Community Outreach, a transitional housing facility on the west side of Detroit, faces immediate shutdown due to zoning disputes with the city. This closure will displace residents, including the Williams family, who tragically lost two children to hyperthermia after residing in their car. ClickOnDetroitreported that the center, which can house up to 80 people, had stepped in to provide shelter for this family following the harrowing event.
In addition to the Williams family, about a dozen other people currently housed by the nonprofit may soon find themselves without a roof over their heads. Verkeydia Hall, legal counsel and vice president for Detroit Power, stated, as per ClickOnDetroit, that they had to stop admitting new residents due to the legal stand-off abruptly. Hall also voiced frustration about the city's delay in addressing their rezoning application filed nearly a year ago, stating, "We have things like paperwork (and) zoning issues, really things that should have never been an issue stopping us from helping these people."
Detroit Deputy Mayor Melia Howard emphasized that the city intends to ensure that all displaced individuals expediently receive care and support during the transition to new accommodations. Echoing the non-profit's urgency, one Detroit Power resident, Alexus Phillips, told CBS News Detroit, "It's unfair and now this. It's frustrating." Phillips is deeply worried about losing the familial care the facility provided.
Despite the court order and the looming closure, Detroit Power's CEO Fred Walker told CBS News Detroit he is ready to "stand 10 toes down" with the residents, highlighting their determination to keep the center operative. The organization has not only invested over $800 in a rezoning application fee. Still, it has also updated the building to code, as stated by the organization's Chief Financial Officer Aini Robertson in an interview with WXYZ. "Why does it take a year and a half to get zoning, and we're trying to help people? That doesn't make sense," Robertson pointed to systemic bottlenecks.
The facility's future remains unclear as Deputy Mayor Howard underscored that post-relocation, the zoning protocols must be properly followed if the shelter hopes to reopen.
