DETROIT – Some residents on Detroit’s east side came together to protest a homeless shelter in their community.
Community leaders living near Mack Avenue and Mt. Elliot gathered to demand change. They said that all you have to do is look around and see what’s been done to the community because of the local resource for the homeless.
“No more trash in our streets, no more garbage out in the street,” Reverend Aaron McCarthy said.
Community members said that Team Wellness Center, a shelter and safe haven for the homeless, is hurting their community.
“We grew up in this community. This community has gone down tenfold. Since they moved their woman center from downtown Russell Street where they were kicked out for doing the same things that they’re doing over here,” McCarthy said.
The opposition to the facility is strong.
“This is a situation where you literally putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound. Don’t give somebody a fish, so they can eat for a day, teach them how to fish, so that they can fend for themselves,” Michael Hall said.
There are some who believe the shelter should stay exactly where it is.
“They need to be going after these people in the dope houses and liquor stores,” said facility supporter Marcus Allen.
Local 4 reached out to Team Wellness Center for comment. So far we haven’t heard back from them.
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