We the People MI raises awareness of housing issues during Cherry Festival

Photo courtesy of Brandon Chew

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.—Amid the festivities of this year’s National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, organizers with We the People Michigan held a demonstration to raise awareness of the plight of the city’s unhoused population, as well as other housing issues in the city and across the state.

Demonstrators advocated that a local shelter, which is only open for six months out of the year, should operate year-round. This was done while passing out brochures with a petition to lift the ban on rent control in Michigan.

As the most populous northern city in Michigan’s lower peninsula, Traverse City is a popular tourist destination, especially in the summer months when people can go to the Cherry Festival or visit the nearby Sleeping Bear Dunes.

But those who stay long enough may see residents of an encampment commonly known as “The Pines” standing on the side of the road asking for help. The encampment is located in a wooded area near the Grand Traverse Commons.

“The Pines is a homeless encampment that was designated by the city as a place where people could camp,” said Amanda Siggins, an organizer for We the People Michigan.

“They were trying to get them out of the city, downtown, because people were sleeping on the sidewalks, sleeping in doorways, and it wasn’t a popular idea with them amongst their tourists and their money-making opportunities,” Siggins said. “So, they designated The Pines as the place where they were allowed to camp.”

Unhoused people living at The Pines do have the option to stay at Safe Harbor of Grand Traverse, a shelter in Traverse City. However, the shelter is only able to operate from mid-October to April. Discussions were held at public meetings earlier this year about the possibility of the shelter operating year-round. But Safe Harbor announced in March that it would postpone submitting a Special Land Use Permit until they had “a formal proposal requesting that the Traverse City shelter operate year-round.”

Safe Harbor noted that “misinformation about [their] intentions” had circulated amongst the public, and concerns were “voiced by those who live, work, own businesses, and function in [their] neighborhood” about the prospect of the shelter operating year-round.

Siggins said it was a “wasted resource” to have a shelter close its doors for half the year and added that city and county commissioners should’ve taken more action to keep the shelter open.

Siggins and Caitlin Homrich-Knieling, who is the lead organizer for We the People Michigan, expressed concern about what the future holds for those at The Pines and other encampments across the country after the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson.

In a 6-3 vote, the court ruled that enforcing bans on people sleeping outside didn’t violate the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Homrich-Knieling said that organizers met in Traverse City to discuss plans for the demonstration the same day the Supreme Court announced its ruling.

She explained that organizers “prepared themselves to make a public comment” to city and county commissioners about the ruling and made “it heard they don’t want that to be the law here.”

Along with raising awareness about Safe Harbor, demonstrators urged people to sign a petition to lift a ban on rent control in Michigan.

In 1988, the Michigan Legislature passed a law preventing local governments from “controlling the amount of rent charged for leasing private residential property.” We the People Michigan’s petition calls for the law to be replaced “with equitable housing policies, including but not limited to rent control.”

The demonstration also offered an opportunity to combat stigmas commonly held about those struggling with homelessness, stigmas which have led some in Traverse City to voice their opposition to Safe Harbor operating year-round. Ronnie, a northern Michigan man who has experienced homelessness for the past year, said these demonstrations help to combat such stereotypes.

“It’s very hard to support yourself when you don’t have support from somebody else,” Ronnie said. “The lack of motivation is there when somebody tells you you can’t do something because you’re homeless or because you’re an addict or you’re crazy. That’s a big stigma we want to try to just get rid of, is that this can happen to anybody.”

“This affects everybody, not just the homeless population,” Ronnie continued. “As you can see, all walks of life have been out here today and saw what we did, what we’re trying to do. I’m hoping it eventually makes enough noise to get people to listen and say, ‘Hey, maybe these people aren’t out here for no reason. Maybe they’re not out here just to stir up trouble.’ Because we want to prevent trouble. We want to stop trouble from happening. And it’s been happening for a very long time. And I think it’s time to end it.”

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CONTRIBUTOR

Brandon Chew

Brandon Chew is a journalist from northern Michigan.