The overnight shelter at Friend of the Father in Warren has shut its doors after organizers say the city funding they were counting on never showed up, leaving people who had been sleeping there scrambling for somewhere else to go.
Founder Ray Deloatch had been keeping the place afloat with his own savings for roughly a year and a half. He said he finally closed the program "for good Saturday" when he could no longer cover the lease, according to WXYZ. The shelter, located near East Nine Mile Road and Memphis Avenue, rotated weekly between roughly 100 and 200 people in its beds.
Deloatch told the station he had been running the shelter largely on his own and that in recent days he had to turn away dozens of people looking for a bed. He said he plans to keep fundraising and seeking donations in hopes of restoring some services before the warming season kicks in around November, WXYZ reported.
Funding Gap And City Paperwork
On paper, Friend of the Father did ask the city for help. Warren's draft housing and community development action plan shows the shelter requested $15,000 from public service funds, but the proposed budget allocated $0 to the group. City of Warren records list both the request and the zeroed-out line in the proposed allocations.
Without that short-term public money, organizers say the lease payments eventually became impossible to meet. The result is a sudden gap in Warren's emergency shelter network, arriving just as agencies start thinking about how to prepare for another cold-weather season.
Councilman To Push A Contracting Option
City Hall may not be done with the issue. Councilman Jonathan Lafferty said he has proposed a plan that would let the city contract directly with nonprofit shelter operators and intends to push it at an upcoming council meeting, according to WXYZ.
Lafferty told the station he asked the city attorney to draft an agreement and that the mayor has not yet signed off. He added that the council could consider an override if the mayor vetoes any deal. The mayor's office did not respond to requests for comment, WXYZ reported.
Where People Can Turn Now
For now, people looking for a place to go are being steered to the remaining shelters and warming centers that are still operating.
The City of Warren's shelter directory still lists the Friend of the Father site at 7012 East 9 Mile Road, along with other options in the area. Macomb County maintains a warming and cooling centers page and runs a hotline for urgent shelter needs at 586-469-6999. The City of Warren and Macomb County websites provide contact numbers and locations for those services.
The closure leaves a hole in Warren's emergency shelter capacity that organizers and elected officials say they want to fill before winter. For now, community groups and residents will be watching two things closely: whether the council's contracting proposal gains traction, and whether donations can revive any part of Friend of the Father's operation.
