KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Kalamazoo City Manager Malcolm Hankins will ask city commissioners tonight to spend funds from the Foundation for Excellence to provide emergency shelter for the homeless this winter.
Hankins says The Continuum of Care and the United Way has come up with a proposal, including contracts with Ministry with Community and The Kalamazoo Gospel Mission to provide 185 additional overnight shelter beds during the cold weather season.
The city of Portage, Kalamazoo County’s housing millage, and The Continuum of Care are also providing additional funding for the shelter effort which will begin next month and run through March.
The opening of the Landing Place and a pilot shelter for chronically ill homeless residents near Western Michigan University will also reduce the need for extra beds this winter.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting an unusually warmer winter for Michigan this year, due to a large El Nino pattern out over the Pacific Ocean.
That wouldn’t eliminate the need but could reduce the danger and suffering for all those affected.
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