Instead, the Alpena landlord uses the houses to make sure people fleeing domestic or sexual violence or other difficulties have a place to go.

In a tight housing market, intimate partner violence survivors have as tough a time as anyone else finding a place to live, but with a need others may not experience — the need to live someplace they can be physically safe.

Hope Shores Alliance, a sexual and domestic violence advocacy organization based in Alpena, wants to let Alpena landlords know how they can earn a steady income — while helping someone who desperately needs it — by renting to survivors.

Centala already knows the power of changing lives by providing homes.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Val Williams, executive director at Hope Shores Alliance in Alpena, speaks to landlord Bob Centala outside the door of one of Centala’s Alpena rental homes on Thursday.

“I could make more money,” Centala said, “rent for more, but sometimes you’ve just got to do the right thing.”

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, governments protected people who lost their incomes by stopping landlords from evicting tenants who couldn’t pay their rent.

While in some ways preventing homelessness, eviction suspensions also brought the rental housing market to a standstill, said Jillian Ferguson, services director for Hope Shores.

That slowdown meant survivors of intimate partner violence who left violent situations have a harder time finding a new place to live, with a process that used to take three to six months now sometimes lasting close to a year, Ferguson said.

Abusers often prey on their partners through economic abuse, stopping them from getting jobs and gaining control of their financial accounts.

That means people walking away from an abusive relationship often lack access to money needed for down payments or other costs of securing a new home, adding an additional hurdle to an already complicated task.

Abusers also lean on isolation — an easy task in rural northern Michigan, where many areas don’t have cell phone coverage, public transportation, or neighbors, and where alternate housing can be harder to come by than in more urban areas, Ferguson said.

Some developers have committed to building new housing in the Alpena area, but most of that is designated for elderly residents.

Landlords of current rentals, more attainable for those recovering from partner violence than homes for sale, sometimes shrink from agreeing to rent to people associated with violence in any way, assuming they will be bad tenants, Ferguson said.

Many don’t know that Hope Shores will pay rent for survivors under its Transitional Supportive Housing Program for up to two years, giving those individuals time to get on their feet and able to take over their own payments.

The agency works as an ally for landlords to help them address any rental concerns and connects survivors to the resources they need to be good tenants, Ferguson said.

The agency hopes landlords will attend a landlord event in September, where they can learn how they can benefit their community and people who need an extra helping hand — and, in the process, gain reliable rent payments and long-term tenants — by participating in the agency’s Transitional Supportive Housing Program.

Centala, the landlord, said the tenants who came to him with special circumstances, such as fleeing domestic violence, have become like family to him.

“Sometimes people just need a break in life, you know what I mean?” Centala said.

If you or someone you know is experiencing violence or needs someone to talk to, call Hope Shores’ Help & Support Line any time at 800-396-9129.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.