Other options for men's homeless shelter being sought by christian group
The Christian Unity Restoration Group has not given up on efforts to establish a men’s homeless shelter in Mount Pleasant.
Linda Oates, chairwoman of the group’s board of directors, said officials of the organization plan to meet for a discussion on other possible locations for the shelter in Mount Pleasant. The city Planning Commission rejected at an April 1 meeting a rezoning proposal for a house at 121 S. Lansing St.
“We are going to look for another place,” she said. “The best idea would be to sit down with the zoning board and see how they see us in the community.”
The group had requested the property be zoned as an OS-1 with a special use permit, the same zoning the city’s women’s shelter has.
Oates said Christian Unity Restoration Group will not try and acquire the property on Lansing Street for several reasons — the main one, neighborhood resistance. About 13 people came before the Planning Commission, requesting the rezoning for the shelter not be granted.
“That’s probably why the commission dismissed us so quickly,” she said. “People are questioning our ability to what we can do.”
Mount Pleasant’s shelter for women and children is the only one in the city.
Open Door Homeless Shelter in Midland houses some men from Mount Pleasant, said Ken Hicks, a resident adviser at the shelter.
“We have a lot of men from Mount Pleasant,” he said. “Several a month, I’d say.”
Open Door allows up to 20 men to live at the shelter for a 30-day period. Hicks said the shelter has experienced the same situation as the Christian Unity Restoration Group has with residents hesitant to allow a new shelter “in their backyard.”
Open Door wanted to expand and went to the city to request rezoning in a different area of Midland, but were rejected after several residents spoke out against the new location, Hicks said.
“In the long run, we just withdrew our petition,” he said.
