Cam Cavitt

ALPENA – State Rep. Cam Cavitt. Cavitt, R-Cheboygan said it is going to take the entire community to help overcome the homelessness issue in Alpena.

He said educating the public, making sure people know what resources are available, and everyone working in sync with one another is critical to making sure people have a warm place to sleep and get back on their feet.

“Raising public awareness and social services uniting is never a bad thing,” Cavitt said.

Cavitt said there is a lot that can be done at the local level to address the homelessness problem that has become worse in the area over the last several years.

“I spoke about zoning changes that could possibly be done to bring about more affordable housing, and low income housing opportunities in the area.” Cavitt said.

One of the concerns for residents is whether these individuals are local residents or coming from other parts of Michigan.

“I spoke with Chief of Police Eric Hamp and he mentioned to me that many of the individuals they have dealt with locally have ID’s from somewhere else,” Cavitt said.

Chief Hamp confirmed that often the homeless people the police department encourages seem to be from out of the area.

“I can confirm I did speak with Rep. Cavitt. I spoke about the fact that many of the individuals law enforcement dealt with who were staying at the now closed Center of Charity were not local residents,” Hamp said.

Hamp explained that one of the issues in dealing with the homeless population is a lack of identification of any form.

“Oftentimes the homeless population does not have identification, so determining residency can be difficult,” Hamp stated.

Cavitt said a study done in 2023 on the homelessness problem nationwide and where Michigan ranked.

“A 2023 study indicated that the rate of homelessness in Michigan mirrors the national trend. Overall, we ranked 23,” Cavitt said. “That is per 10,000 residents, meaning over 33,000 Michiganders are homeless.”

Alpena County Administrator Jesse Osmer, spoke along with Cavitt at a town hall meeting about the issue on Tuesday.

Osmer is involved with the “Finding Your Way Home” pilot program, a county initiative to provide transportation, bus tickets, etc., to help stranded individuals in Alpena return to their home communities.

Alpena County, the City of Alpena, the Center of Charity, and Saint Vincent DePaul have partnered to open the Merchant’s Building at the Alpena County Fairgrounds to use as a temporary warming shelter where people can spend the night and escape the winter weather. So far, it has been seldomly used. The county has committed to keep the facility open until the end of this month, but has indicated it could keep it open until spring.

The warming shelter at the fairgrounds is only for Alpena County residents who are homeless because it is being paid for with Alpena County taxpayer’s funds.