Detroit cuts funding for homeless warming centers

[Hannah Bell]

Budget cuts carried out on the quiet have prevented emergency warming centers in Detroit from opening their doors all winter, leaving thousands of homeless and poor residents in the bitter cold. Homeless advocates were given little notice that the city had eliminated all funding to operate the single remaining warming center, Operation Get Down, on Detroit’s east side.

A decade ago, Detroit operated three warming centers, funded with $500,000. This already slim budget has been chopped away over the past few years, forcing closure and consolidation of services. At the same time, homelessness has swelled and thousands of other Detroit residents suffer without gas and electricity in the winter months. Last year, the city provided only $182,000 to Operation Get Down. In June 2010, the homeless aid was among $115 million cut from the city budget.

“The city doesn’t get it,” Reggie Huff, director at Tumaini, told the Detroit News in an interview January 27. “It really is a city’s responsibility to make sure their residents have a warm bed and place to stay.”

Shenetta Coleman, director of the city’s Human Service Department, disagreed in a statement this week. “It was intended to be a safety net,” she said, calling city-funded warming centers “a nice extra to have.” Coleman personally declined to request funding for warming centers in the 2010-2011 budget.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/home-j29.shtml


IOW: Die, homeless people, who gives a shit.

[madmax]

1. Another national disgrace. Shame on America. n/t

[silverweb]

2. Contemptible.

She calls keeping the homeless from freezing to death "a nice extra" and doesn't even request funding. I'll bet she doesn't lose 10 minutes of sleep, either.

How do these people live with themselves?

[cutlassmama]

3. unbelievable!

[sandyj999]

4. I'm so proud to be from this area.

We wouldn't want to take any money out of the crooked politicians pockets, would we? And yes this is :sarcasm:

[eShirl]

5. isn't Detroit where they found someone literally frozen solid a couple years ago?

[sandyj999]

6. Yes and probably more than one.

There also was an elderly man that was found frozen in his home due to the fact his power had been cut off. There is an agency that helps people with that but he may have not even known about it or maybe too proud.

[SidDithers]

7. wsws unrec...nt

Sid

[blindpig]

8. Capitalism hasn't changed in 250 years.

Temporary expedients like the New Deal not withstanding, the savage logic of the ruling class remains intact.

[Starry Messenger]

9. k