I’m responding to your article, “Opening anyway.” I am frustrated by the lack of coverage of key facts surrounding this low-barrier shelter.

This is the third shelter in our neighborhood, despite city ordinances prohibiting facilities within 2,500 feet of each other. The new shelter is only 815 feet from Sunrise Mission and 1,435 feet from a domestic abuse shelter, clustering three facilities within 2,250 feet — a situation zoning laws are meant to prevent to protect neighborhoods.

Contrary to the article, All Saints Church wasn’t denied a permit; they failed to secure required variances from the Planning Commission and Zoning Board. In November 2023, they applied for a special land use and exceptions to occupancy and spacing rules, bypassing community engagement and later withdrew their application.

All Saints’ aim to expand is clear: What is now a nine-bed facility could grow into a 50-plus bed regional center downtown with limited community input. Although they claim to serve only Alpena residents, enforcement is challenging given Michigan’s lack of licensing requirements and this shelter’s reliance on volunteers with just four hours of training. For a shelter housing people with trauma and possible mental health or substance abuse issues, this preparation seems inadequate and risky.

Critical questions remain: What funding is secured? What provisions exist for guests denied entry? Who’s liable and when? Have environmental hazards like asbestos and lead been addressed?

The city and All Saints’ lack of transparency has left us residents uninformed and concerned.

Our neighbors care. We support the Friendship Room, Baby Pantry and existing shelters. If addressing homelessness is a community priority, it should involve shared responsibility across neighborhoods. To those quick to dismiss our concerns as “NIMBY,” we ask: What is your neighborhood doing?

ANNE E. HERAGHTY,

Alpena