KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Local officials are doing what they can, more than has ever been done before, as they try to help the homeless survive what has been a colder winter this year in Kalamazoo.
While acknowledging more could probably be done, Kalamazoo County board chair Jen Strebs says a lot of efforts are already being made by public agencies and non-profits to keep people from succumbing to the cold.
“Between city and county resources, nonprofits that provide services, we’re monitoring utilization and capacity for the safety of folks who are unhoused.”
She says there are a lot of private citizens helping as well.
“We have volunteers and churches and community members that step up, we have law enforcement officials that are there to help to provide transport we had life EMS step up.”
A new set of emergency shelter beds managed by Hope Through Navigation are being made available, in addition to the over 200 beds being provided through the Continuum of Care and local agencies, and hundreds more at established shelters.
Strebs says it’s a responsibility in a caring community, even if the systemic failures that caused the problems are not.
“Systems that are not serving both our local community, our state and our nation and so we have to think strategically and systematically about what our values are and how we reinforce systems that then become more humane.”
With temperatures predicted to dip below zero this weekend, the risks have rarely been greater.
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