Lansing area homeless shelters, pushed to the limit, seek volunteers and donations

LANSING -- Geronimo Lerma was one of several people who hit the streets around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday in search of people without warm clothes and places to stay. 

"That 15-minute walk in this, you’ll lose a finger, a toe, whatever," said Lerma, 43, who runs a charity called Footprints of Michigan that aims to connect people in need with those who can offer quality footwear and other clothing items. "And you won’t know until it’s too late.”

The weather is expected to stay extremely dangerous through Thursday morning. The forecast calls for wind chill temperatures to reach as low as 45 degrees below zero. 

And that extreme cold this week has posed several challenges for shelters, warming centers and volunteers eager to help the homeless. 

Lerma got help Wednesday from Cindy Erickson, 66. She's a triathlon coach for a team sponsored by Playmakers, the Okemos sporting goods store. 

They passed out gas cards to people they met in Lansing and also pairs of boots in children's sizes. 

“I’m just passing along the goodwill from one of our teams," Erickson said. "Any time we're able to give (Lerma) a hand, I'm happy to do it. 

"This time, we're not sure if what we have is great enough." 

Persistent needs

The Greater Lansing Homeless Resolution Network found that 5,087 people experienced homelessness in Ingham County in 2017. 

Lerma said he found at least five people Wednesday morning who refused to stay in a shelter or warming center and took one man to a nearby hospital because he slipped and fell on the ice. 

“Some of them don’t really have the concept of the cold and how cold it really is," Lerma said. 

By Tuesday night, several local shelters had found themselves at or near capacity and with a need for food, clothing and volunteers. 

“We’re not at an emergency management point yet, but we could get there," said Sharon Dade, Holy Cross Services' director. 

Holly Cross Services has a day shelter at 430 N. Larch St. that's open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

It also has an emergency overnight shelter for men, women and children open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., as well as a program that places people at area hotels.

Dade also spent mornings this week looking for people who don't have warm places to go. 

Dade estimated Tuesday night that the overnight shelter had served about 100 people over the previous two days. The Larch Street facility served more than 100 lunches each of those days, she said. 

Kassie Kretzschmar, a Holly Cross spokeswoman, said early Wednesday evening the shelters have been "non-stop busy," but officials weren't finding them too difficult to manage. 

The shelters have received steady streams of donations including  socks, hand warmers and blankets, she said. 

Lansing's Human Relations and Community Services Director Joan Jackson Johnson said Tuesday night that several shelters in the city had gone into a "legal overflow mode." 

That means shelters have received permission from city officials to accommodate more people and aren't violating fire codes. 

Several shelters, Johnson said, can use volunteers who have experience handling people with addiction problems or mental illness.

"Anyone with thick skin, we certainly could use," she said. 

Jackson said she's reached out to the Greater Lansing Food Bank for help, especially for families with children who weren't able to get meals at school this week because classes have been canceled. 

To be a volunteer at a Lansing shelter or to donate items, call the location or dial 211 on any phone. More information can be found at www.mi211.org.

Rescue Mission services 

Holy Cross has worked in concert with The Outreach, a drop-in center at 601 N. Larch St. operated by the City Rescue Mission of Lansing.

The Outreach is open 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. each day. Officials intend to eventually have a weekend day shelter there. 

The Outreach accommodated 34 people Sunday night, 34 Monday night and had drawn 24 by about midnight Tuesday, said Mark Criss, the rescue mission's executive director.

Criss attributes the drop in numbers to growing support in the community this week for those who need a place to stay overnight.

"I think people (in need) have options, and I think also family and friends are helping out for a few days," Criss said. "This is what happens often during the holiday season. It's always good when people can connect with families, as long as it's a healthy situation."

The rescue mission has two other locations: 607 E. Michigan Ave. and 2216 S. Cedar St. The Michigan Avenue location serves men, The Cedar Street location serves women and children.

Each facility drew about 65 people Tuesday night, Criss said. 

For information about the services the rescue mission provides, visit bearescuer.com or call 485-0145.

List of warming centers

As of Wednesday afternoon, these locations were considered by city officials designated warming centers that will remain open:

• Allen Neighborhood Center, 1619 E. Kalamazoo St.
• Cristo Rey Community Center, 1717 N. High St. 
• Riverview Church, 1115 S. Washington Ave. 

The Allen Neighborhood Center is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and and 9 a.m. to noon Friday. 

Cristo Rey is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. 

Riverview Church is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. 

All residents of Ingham, Clinton, Eaton and Ionia counties can call 211 for warming center locations and volunteer opportunities.

Are pets allowed anywhere? 

The Tri-County Office on the Aging and the Lansing Mall, also designated warming centers, do allow pets, according to the city of Lansing's website. 

Hours for the office the remainder of this week are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. 

Stores inside the mall were closed Wednesday, but the facility was expected to remain a warming center until 9 p.m. The mall is expected to reopen at noon Thursday, according to its Facebook page. 

For more information, visit facebook.com/LansingMall.  

The Meridian Mall in Okemos served as a warming center Tuesday, but closed Wednesday. It was unclear Wednesday afternoon if the mall would reopen Thursday. 

CATA offers rides 

The Capital Area Transportation Authority is offering rides to warming centers and shelters this week. 

Those who are unable to pay bus fares will be transported free of charge, said Lolo Robison, a CATA spokeswoman. 

CATA's main bus station at 420 S. Grand Ave. in downtown Lansing is available for anyone who needs to escape the cold, Robison said Wednesday.

The bus station could become an overnight warming shelter, Robison said, if city officials determine there's a need. 

For information, visit cata.org or facebook.com/rideCATA. 

The Fledge opens doors

The 9,700-square-foot former Church of the Nazarene, 1300 Eureka St., south of Sparrow Hospital, is also open this week for anyone in need. 

It's now The Fledge, a business incubator. Owner Jerry Norris said the building is expected to be open all day and night through Wednesday. 

If there's a need, The Fledge's hours will be extended through Thursday, Norris said. 

"We've got the stuff to do: play around with musical instruments, computers," Norris said. "We don't want people to feel like they're in a shelter." 

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Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.

Homelessness study

The Great Lansing Homeless Resolution Network conducted a study in 2017 that evaluated the demographics, family situations and previous addresses of people who were found to be homeless in the Lansing region. 

Some results from the study that stood out: 

• 5,087 people experienced homelessness during 2017 in Ingham County, a 1% decrease from the previous year. 
• 435 people were homeless on any given night in the county, representing a 7.6% decline from the 2016 count. 
• Among the 5,087 people who sought homeless assistance in 2017, just 55% had spent a night in a local shelter or transitional housing program. 
• 256 military veterans experienced homelessness in the county in 2017, a 1% decrease from 2016 (259). 
• People reporting their last permanent address as a Lansing zip code made up 79% of the adults who were homeless in 2017.

People who were homeless last year also reported last permanent addresses in these communities: Holt (59), East Lansing (51), Detroit (31), Mason (28), Jackson (26), Okemos (25), Flint (20), Grand Rapids (20), Charlotte (18).