HILLSDALE, Mich — The City of Hillsdale has dismantled a yurt that was a local homeless shelter.
- The shelter, known as "Camp Hope", was condemned by the City last week and scheduled for dismantlement.
- Hope Harbor, which operates the shelter, says residents have been moved to an adjacent building, where they hope to remain pending City approval to convert it to permanent transitional housing.
- Hillsdale Mayor Pro Tem Joshua Paladino says the City was patient, but now the laws are being enforced.
- Paladino hopes that a warming shelter called "Share the Warmth" will become part of the solution for the City's homeless.
- Paladino does not expect any immediate further enforcement actions with regard to the building that now houses former Camp Hope residents.
The City of Hillsdale has dismantled a yurt that was a local homeless shelter. City Council said it was unfit for occupancy.
"They showed up right at 8:01....Of all the things the City could have went after — all the ordinance violations..." said Melissa DesJardin, Executive Director of Hope Harbor, which manages the shelter and its residents.
This was the scene at what's called "Camp Hope" on Thursday morning when City workers, accompanied by police, arrived to dismantle the makeshift shelter.
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"The whole thing is a shock, really," says Camp Hope resident Brent Gale. "The whole thing — once again, man — no code for humanity."
A story we've been following since last week, when the Hillsdale City Council voted to dismantle a yurt that Melissa DesJardin put up for the homeless behind her thrift store.
"It's just kind of a really sad day for humanity," said DesJardin.
She told me last week there were 18 people living in the yurt. When I checked back in with her this week, she said a few had moved out, having found alternative housing.
DesJardin says her initial goal was to be able to get the unhoused out of tents in the woods until a permanent solution could be found: "It was supposed to only be temporary, but it became more of a permanent thing..."
Hillsdale Mayor Pro Tem Joshua Paladino says Camp Hope has had more than two years to comply with City ordinances. He says the yurt didn't have a permit, was unsafe, and laws are now being enforced to prevent what he calls "chaos".
Paladino says he hopes a seasonal warming center at Sozo Church called "Share the Warmth" will become part of the solution:
"I think we'll find a place to house them that will be safe, not a tent, and then Share the Warmth will open in about two weeks and hopefully, if this fundraiser for Share the Warmth goes well, then there will be a full-time shelter in Hillsdale that complies with the law."
Meanwhile, Camp Hope residents have been moved into an adjacent building — for now, without the City's approval. DesJardin says plans have been submitted to the City to make it permanent transitional housing. The new site has room for 15 people.
Paladino says he doesn't expect any immediate further enforcement actions: "That will take probably weeks or months to adjudicate."
Former residents of Camp Hope — still processing Thursday's events.
"Just soaking this in right now, man," says Gale, looking at the spot where the yurt stood until Thursday morning. "This is a lot."
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