Plans appear to be moving forward for a so-called “wet house” in Grand Traverse County. The project, now called “Dann’s House,” has now been infused with cash from a state grant and is supported by a high-powered board of directors.
The goal is a permanent residence for up to 12 people, designed to take some of the city’s worst alcoholics off the street.
Project Visionary Greg Stone, of the nonprofit StonesHouse, says he’s targeting a specific population of homeless addicts – folks who might sometimes end up passed out downtown, or in city parks. City leaders have addressed the issue as a growing problem starting in 2012, when they banned alcohol from certain public parks where vagrancy was a growing trend.
“I think we will see with those population, those kinds of problems will really, basically disappear (if this population can move into Dann's House),” says Stone.
Stone originally hoped to open the project in early 2013, but there was no money for the controversial plan – which would allow residents to continue drinking on premises. He's also since attracted some power players to the project. The nonprofit's board of directors now includes a judge, a city police officer, and the former head of Third Level Crisis Intervention Center, among others.
A $35,000 dollar grant from the state must be spent by the end of the year.