DETROIT – One in two children in Detroit lives in poverty, and roughly one-third of adults across the city live below the poverty line.
Those numbers, Detroit’s new mayor says, are helping drive a major restructuring of how the city delivers help to residents most in need.
The announcement follows growing attention on Detroit families struggling with housing insecurity.
Just last week, Local 4 News spoke with parents who said they were living in their vehicles outside a local shelter.
Nyesha Hoye, a Detroit mother of three, said the situation is real—and familiar.
“It was rough,” Hoye said, describing her own experience with housing instability.
Hoye said many of the vehicles lining up outside shelters overnight are not individuals, but families.
“The vehicles that are lined up there, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., are mostly families who are living out of their vehicles,” Hoye said.
Mayor Mary Sheffield said her administration is taking what she called proactive steps to reaffirm Detroit’s commitment to addressing poverty and its ripple effects.
“Today, I’m proud to announce that we are creating the city’s first ever Chief Executive of Health, Human and Poverty Solutions,” Sheffield said Monday (Jan. 12).
The mayor announced that she has selected Dr. Luke Schaefer to lead the reorganized effort to support some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Schaefer is the founder and director of the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions research initiative. Under the restructuring plan, he will oversee multiple key areas, including:
- The Detroit Health Department
- The Office of Immigrant Affairs and Economic Inclusion
- A new Department of Human, Homeless, and Family Services
Schaefer said the goal is to improve how systems work for residents—especially children and families.
“I firmly believe that systems can be redesigned, they can work better, they can empower families and children to live better, healthier, and fuller lives,” Schaefer said.
Among the priorities Schaefer cited: improving coordination so residents aren’t forced to navigate fragmented or confusing services.
His team plans to look at strategies to streamline information, communications, and resources—so help is easier to find and access.
Hoye said that kind of clarity could make a meaningful difference for families trying to stabilize.
“We need to know who to go to, who to speak to, as far as the resources and the programs that are out there for us,” Hoye said.
Hoye said she is optimistic about the reorganization plan and hopes it will strengthen support for children and families working to escape poverty.
“I’m grateful. I’m happy, and I’m looking forward to these new programs that’s coming out and being revitalized so that other people can get help too,” Hoye said.
Several Detroit City Council members appear supportive of the restructuring plan.
The council is expected to take an official vote on the mayor’s recommendation at its next meeting.