The township board voted unanimously Tuesday to oppose combining Traverse City’s Safe Harbor shelter with the Goodwill Inn in Garfield Township.
The consolidation was one of eight recommendations made earlier this year by the region’s Housing and Homelessness Task Force. The goal was to better coordinate services and increase capacity for people experiencing homelessness.
But Township Supervisor Joe McManus said concentrating the region’s shelter services in one municipality would be unfair to residents.
“The economic and social impact on the township would be way too detrimental to concentrate all the unhoused in the township,” McManus said.
The resolution argues that shelter services should be distributed across multiple municipalities rather than concentrated in Garfield Township.
Grand Traverse County Commissioner Fern Spence spoke against the resolution during public comment, arguing that the township’s existing contributions to affordable and supportive housing should not be treated as a burden.
“These are communities to serve, not strains to count,” Spence told the board.
The township’s resolution is a statement, not an outright ban and regional partners hoping for the consolidation say discussions will continue.
“I don’t know that it's necessarily off the table,” said Emma Moyers, director of the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness and a key task force partner. “I think that's part of what we all want to talk about. [That] is, what does make sense? And what are we comfortable with?”
The task force also recommended other options, including adding 30 beds to Traverse City’s Safe Harbor shelter or finding an entirely new location for expanded services.
