Help for the homeless is on the way

FLINT (WJRT) -- (11/09/09) -- The city of Flint is getting a federal stimulus grant to help fight homelessness.

The governor has declared these next few days Homeless Awareness Week. Today, Flint Mayor Dayne Walling announced the city will receive a $1.7 million federal stimulus grant. It's been awarded to the One Stop Resource Center on Water Street, located in the Carriage Town neighborhood.

Officials there say the money will help the city's homeless. The resource center will now stay open five days a week, instead of two. It's also hired six new case workers.

The One Stop Resource Center opened last year. More than a dozen non-profit agencies operate inside the building, supplying everything from legal services to medical care.

Homeless advocates say it's tough to get an accurate count of those living on the streets in Flint, but Genesee County's homeless organizations estimate they've seen roughly 2,500 clients so far this year.

They say these stimulus dollars will be put to good use in the state with the nation's highest jobless rate.

"It means a way up. A way out of homelessness. We live in Michigan. Michigan is no place to be without a home during the winter months. This will mean there's opportunities for people to find housing opportunities, for people to find those needed necessities that we all live by each and every day," explained Cleora Magee from the Flint Human Resources Commission.

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