(WXYZ) — Detroit’s first Healthy Housing Center had its official groundbreaking Tuesday.
The Neighborhood Service Organization, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the Detroit Housing & Revitalization Department, IFF and others celebrated the Mack Avenue facility as being part of the final phase of NSO’s Healthy Housing Campus.
According to a press release, the 22,000-square-foot Detroit Healthy Housing Center will provide low-barrier emergency shelter to 56 adults, focusing on those who are medically at risk. It will also reportedly offer services to help those who are homeless transition to permanent housing along with health care services, including an accessible clinic for the community.
It will reportedly operate using four core pillars:
§ Housing is health care
§ Social justice programming
§ Community development
§ Restorative services
"The NSO has been a tremendous partner and its new facility will help more people get out of and stay out of homelessness,” Mayor Duggan said in a press release. “The Healthy Housing Center will provide health services to the most vulnerable in our city and, with the Clay Apartments next door, offer a full range of services to support these residents' transition out of homelessness and into a better, more stable life."
The DHHC is the first of its kind in the nation, according to the Neighborhood Service Organization.
“Homeless individuals are five times more likely to be hospitalized than others and have much higher rates of readmissions and emergency department visits,” said NSO CEO Linda Little, BSN, MBA, RN, CCM, in a release. “The Detroit Healthy Housing Center is an innovative solution that embodies our mission to promote equity for us all. This resource will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the individuals served, but it also will relieve stress on the system of care in Detroit. Our hope is to take these lessons learned to scale healthy housing to other communities that may benefit.”
