The Alpena area has seen increased needs in our most vulnerable residents in the last few years, fueled by lack of affordable housing, increased costs and more severe substance use and mental health problems. This has led to more people left unsheltered in our community. In late 2022, city government and other stakeholders came together to discuss the urgent need to expand emergency shelter options. This need corresponded to the strategic vision of All Saints Parish of Alpena and the project that resulted in the Center for Charity at St. Bernard in Alpena.

Expanding on the many years of charitable work by the Friendship Room, the Center for Charity became a lifeline for many of the most vulnerable of our community. I was part of the initial meetings in 2022 and watched as the Center developed under the leadership of director Christina Kihn in 2023 and 2024, with a lot of support from community agencies. I, as many of us, greatly underestimated the urgent need for shelter in our community.

Many individuals have utilized the Center of Charity for a warm place to stay, basic needs and connections to urgently needed community resources. Catholic Human Services works regularly with the Center through the Wellness Response Team and now the Alpena County Recovery Care Services program. Our staff can attest that the individuals served by the Center have very significant needs, often severe substance use, mental health and medical problems.

As the Alpena community grapples with questions around people without shelter in our community, the urgent need for more mental health care and other concerns around homelessness, the Center for Charity is a bright light in our community and a place where people with the greatest needs can connect with a growing number of agencies and resources.

Larry LaCross

Alpena