"Homeless Flight" To Ann Arbor

[DetroitDad]

First we had white flight, then black flight, now we apparently have homeless flight, with a large number moving to Ann Arbor.

Excerpts from a recent Detroit News article:

Ann Arbor struggles with homeless influx
City tries to balance services with surge in panhandling, tent camps

...The number of homeless in Washtenaw County jumped from 4,212 in 2008 to 4,618 last year, according to the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County. A quarter of them are from outside the county, said the association.
The influx contributed to a panhandling problem that grew so severe this summer that the police chief labeled it the "No. 1 crime," and the City Council assembled a task force to study it....

...Officers had long been familiar with the homeless from seeing the same faces day after day. In the past few years, however, new people began appearing, Adams said.
Questioning by police found the new people hailed from Detroit, Flint, Jackson and Grand Rapids, officers said.
"A lot are from southeast Michigan," Adams said.
Some of the homeless became emboldened after the city eliminated downtown police patrols for budgetary reasons, area merchants said.
In the spring, the homeless began aggressively asking people for handouts, blocking their path, following them, sometimes grabbing them, the merchants said. They violated a panhandling ordinance by approaching people in outdoor restaurants, movie lines and near ATMs...


....The homeless who have come to Ann Arbor say it's nothing like other cities they've lived in.
They marvel at the Delonis Center, which, besides offering a place to sleep, provides a health clinic with doctors and case workers who help them find work and medical services.
Gabriel, 45, who has lived all over the United States, rattled off a list of services he receives at Delonis or other parts of the city.
An alcoholic who suffers from depression, he came to Ann Arbor four years ago after being in prison for a drunken-driving conviction. "This place was a blessing," he said about Delonis.
Another homeless man, Tim Johnson, 45, was a former handyman from Belleville.
Living on the streets of Ann Arbor for the past year, he said people who stayed at homeless shelters in Detroit were shocked by what they found in Ann Arbor.
Residents' possessions were stolen all the time in Detroit, they said. The Ann Arbor shelter was safer, cleaner and better organized, they said.....


From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101015/...#ixzz12lPynGdy

[lilpup]

It isn't "homeless flight" it's homeless dumping. Police from far flung jurisdictions have been known to drop people at the Delonis Center. Between the Center and UM's psych treatment programs, which are a revolving door for some people [[admitted, stabilized, released, failure to take meds, destabilized, re-admitted) Ann Arbor ends up with a lot of homeless, and the economy doesn't help either. I'm sure a lot of former homeowners have been thrown into the mix now, too.

[East Detroit]

Maybe they are grad students. Sometimes it's hard to tell.

[n7hn]

Support Deroits growth, give to panhandlers. A2 shows it works

[wolverine]

When I lived on Elm St in A2 there was a homeless guy that slept in the vestibule of my apartment 'house.' Like everyone else in the house, no one used the interior stairwell or front door except to maybe check the mail. It wasn't until he tried to break into my apartment and opened some of our mail, that this was the end of it. Called the cops and the guy was arrested....probably better for him this way....

My friends who live on Hill had a drunk homeless guy break in and fall asleep on their couch. Seems like everyone in A2 has a crazy story to tell about it.

I guess Ann Arbor could ban panhandling altogether. It is legal to do and for the most part keeps commercial streets clear.

[Danny]

I can't to see how Ann Arbor turns from a middle class yuppied college community into Detroit in 30 years. Having homeless being dumped in Ann Arbor is like having homeless dumped in San Francisco. This might contribute to crime in which it's on the quick rise around the University on Michigan campus.

[rjk]

Andy Taylor had the same problem with Otis.
You treat him well and he keeps coming back.
Too much of Aunt Bee's home cooking.

[MCP-001]

You reap what you sow.

[Detroitnerd]

I guess Ann Arbor could ban panhandling altogether. It is legal to do and for the most part keeps commercial streets clear.

I don' nyink yo.

[iheartthed]

The influx contributed to a panhandling problem that grew so severe this summer that the police chief labeled it the "No. 1 crime," and the City Council assembled a task force to study it....

I'm afraid the chief is mistaken. Ann Arbor's panhandlers are different, lol.

[RYANGUARD]

Years ago when the Ypsilanti State Hospital was open they used to discharge the patients that were homeless to "the streets of Ann Arbor."Their discharge papers had to have an address so that is what was put on them.They had originally come from there and when the Doctor deemed them well enough they were taken by van,the door was opened and they were "discharged."

[Patrick]

I can't to see how Ann Arbor turns from a middle class yuppied college community into Detroit in 30 years. Having homeless being dumped in Ann Arbor is like having homeless dumped in San Francisco. This might contribute to crime in which it's on the quick rise around the University on Michigan campus.

Danny, I better not wake up to find your ass camped on my couch watching porn and eating Lucky Charms...