- The City of Hillsdale warns people staying at a makeshift homeless shelter called "Camp Hope" to clear out.
- Many are wondering where they would go now that the temporary structure in which they are staying has been condemned by the City.
- Outgoing Executive Director of Hillsdale Community Thrift Melissa DesJardin says in Hillsdale there is nowhere for them to go.
- DesJardin is telling residents to stay put in the yurt she has erected for them behind her store.
- City Council Member Robert Socha says he hasn't seen concrete action to find a permanent solution, despite ample time having been given.
- A seasonal warming shelter at a neighborhood church called "Share the Warmth" is one alternative, say some.
Asking resident Charlie Vallance: if Camp Hope closes down, where he will go.
"I don't know. I would be lost," says Vallance.
WATCH THE FIRST OF TWO VIDEOS:
People staying here say they don't know where they will go if the City of Hillsdale dismantles it. The City has condemned the building.
"I don't know where I'd go," says resident Brent Gale. "The streets is obviously the answer that everybody understands in this situation."
Gale has been here for the past few weeks and credits Camp Hope with helping his recovery from addiction and starting a job search.
But Gale and others living here in this yurt behind Hillsdale Community Thrift have been told by the City they have to leave. A "CONDEMNED" sign on the door now warns people to clear out ahead of demolition that was approved Monday by City Council.
"There's nothing here in Hillsdale. There's nowhere for them to go," says outgoing Executive Director of Hillsdale Community Thrift Melissa DesJardin.
She says the yurt behind her store was just a way of getting Hillsdale's homeless out of tents in the woods and into a warm place where they could be helped.
DesJardin says she was in talks with the City to convert this adjacent building into permanent transitional housing, and was surprised by Monday's demolition decision by City Council.
I talked with Hillsdale City Councilmember Robert Socha. He says: "Nobody wants to see anybody on the down-and-out."
But he says the City has given DesJardin years to find a permanent solution, and...
"Here we are in the Fall of ’25, and nothing except talk has happened….It dragged on, paperwork wasn’t being filed in a timely manner, there’s disorganization…and I don’t see anything more than talk happening for the foreseeable future," says Socha.
I asked Socha if shutting down Camp Hope won't lead to more homeless encampments around town. Socha says it might, but camping on public land was made illegal by the City in 2023.
But for now, at Camp Hope:
"We have told them to stay in place, because if anything is more dangerous, it's going to be putting in a tent, wandering around the streets, trying to find a safe place to sleep," says DesJardin.
Gale and other people who stay here tell me they are still hoping the City won't make them leave.
"Really don't want to think about losing something this instrumental to me getting back on my feet," says Gale.
At SOZO Church in Hillsdale, there is a place to sleep, eat, and find shelter from the cold. It's called "Share the Warmth". It's a seasonal warming shelter located inside the church.
WATCH THE SECOND VIDEO:
Penny Myers, who runs the shelter, says "we had nothing in Hillsdale geared just towards homeless people."
Myers says Share the Warmth started in 2018 with the simple mission of helping the homeless find shelter at night.
Other resources people at risk of homelessness could turn to suggested by Myers include the Community Action Agency of Hillsdale County, Love INC, and Domestic Harmony. These resources include help with financial planning and recovery.
Myers says that, though the lift of the project has been heavy, the reward is priceless:
"Yes, hard work — but very fulfilling."
CHECK OUT OUR PREVIOUS COVERAGE HERE.
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