Emma Case (00:00):
Welcome to Inside The Senior Alliance, a podcast exploring resources and issues in the field of aging. I’m Emma Case, Planning and Advocacy Specialist at The Senior Alliance, the Area Agency on Aging, serving Western and Southern Wayne County. Joining me today is Eric Hufnagel, Executive Director of Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness. Thank you for joining me today, Eric.
Eric Hufnagel (00:18):
Well, hi Emma. Glad to be here.
Emma Case (00:20):
Eric, can you share a little bit about what the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness is about, your mission, history and kind of the scope of your work?
Eric Hufnagel (00:28):
Oh, sure. The coalition serves as an inclusive, statewide voice to improve systems and support communities so that we can prevent and end homelessness in a way that leaves nobody behind. That’s a very wordy way of saying we get involved with systems work, but we also want to help those who are doing the work at the local level as well. We want to make sure that we’re inclusive and that everybody gets the assistance that they need. So as an organization, we were formed in 1991. We’re a statewide nonprofit membership organization, and we started as a group of individuals who worked in the field, emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, nonprofit housing developers, government agencies, and just other people who were interested in the issue of homelessness from around the state, with the idea that there needed to be an opportunity to have a voice at the table when it came to funding, when it came to policies at the state level, when it came to other types of advocacy, but also to help provide tools for folks that are working in the field. So right now, as an organization, we empower over 650 homeless service agencies through our public awareness. We have advocacy at the state and federal level. We have a statewide AmeriCorps and Vista program. And then we also provide training and support services to folks in the field that brings in that national expertise and best practices.
Emma Case (01:48):
What does homelessness look like in Michigan today? Are there any particular challenges that are particular to our state? And then are there any obstacles that homeless, older adults and seniors face that’s different than other generations?
Eric Hufnagel (02:01):
Yeah, in Michigan, we’re seeing the number of individuals who are homeless increasing. We had a number of years when we saw the numbers drastically decline, where we made a lot of progress. But we have seen those numbers turn up again, still single digits, but it’s increasing. We’re seeing more family homelessness as well. But we see other trends, including an older population that are increasing incidents of homelessness that is statewide, that’s not just specific pockets of the state. We have over 34,000 people who identified as being homeless last year, significant issue. But we also have a challenge with respect to racial inequity, racial disparity, that there’s a higher proportion of individuals of color that are homeless in the state of Michigan more than the demographics of the general population. So that’s an area that we’re focused on quite a bit. When we think about older adults, that is a population, as I said, is growing, with respect to the percentage of individuals who are becoming homeless.
Eric Hufnagel (03:03):
And we know that that trend is going to be moving upward just based on population trends. And Michigan is not different than a lot of other states where we see the aging population who then are in situations where they’re more precariously housed. And it gets a little bit more different for older adults than for younger individuals to get help. Some of it has to do with the technology in trying to bridge that technology gap so that people know how to access services by using online opportunities that may not have been there in the past. And so trying to find those opportunities to engage and provide access to that information assist people with applying for resources, et cetera, is important. But also when we talk about housing, one of the issues that we’re concerned with is the increasing rent rates across the board. So we know that that’s a significant problem in the state of Michigan as it is everywhere else, where we’ve had double digit increases in rent, far in excess of what inflation has been. So when you think in terms of older adults who are on fixed incomes, that income does not keep pace with some of the rental rates increases that we are seeing. So that’s a particular issue that we’re concerned with, and we see that more and more older adults are becoming precariously housed as a result of that.
Emma Case (04:24):
Advocacy is a big part of your work. Can you highlight recent successes or ongoing legislative efforts that the coalition is involved in? And do you have any current policy priorities?
Eric Hufnagel (04:34):
Oh, sure. We have a lot going on, but I want to key in on one particular area where we’re seeing a lot of success, and that has to do with source of income discrimination bills. And what that really is dealing with is the fact that landlords historically have been able to exclude people as prospects for tenancy just based on what their source of income is. So an individual that may have, for example, a housing choice voucher, may not get access to housing because the landlord may not want to have an individual who’s receiving an HCV or voucher. But also that is true with any source of income such as a disability or if you have social security, et cetera, et cetera, that landlords have been able to just simply exclude people for consideration just based on what their income source is. And so we’ve been working on some bills for the past five years.
Eric Hufnagel (05:29):
It takes a long time to get things occasionally through the House and the Senate, and we’re at a point where the house and Senate has passed some bills and we’re looking for a conference committee just to tighten up some of the language during this lame duck period. And we’re hoping to have that final legislation passed yet and go to the governor’s office, which would be a really huge win for a lot of people. So with that, we created a group, a coalition to expand housing access. We had over 125 organizations and individuals that have been involved in this process over the last five years. But for us, that shows that we can make progress and that we can think in terms of how are we helping people get access to housing that may otherwise be facing some challenges. Now we’re in lame duck, so I’ve referred to that. Lame duck is the end of the year, and there’s a question about what those priorities are going be for the legislature to wrap things up here in December in the short amount of time that they’re in session.
Eric Hufnagel (06:26):
So we have been pursuing what we call the housing home stretch campaign, where we’ve been keying on a number of pieces of legislation and working with legislators to help elevate this issue and to make sure that they focus on these and try to get these things across the finish line in the home stretch. So the source of income protection, eviction, expungement and ceiling, right to organize and right to repair, fair chance access to housing, manufactured housing regulations, rental junk fees, tenants right to counsel, et cetera, et cetera. You can see there’s a lot going on that we’re focused on, and all of these bills that we’re talking about are things that are going to help people get access to housing or are going to help people stay housed, those are the things that we’re really keying in on.
Emma Case (07:09):
Can you tell us about specific programs or initiatives that the coalition offers to support individuals and families experiencing homelessness?
Eric Hufnagel (07:17):
Well, as an organization, we’re a statewide nonprofit organization. We don’t provide direct services. Our role really is to elevate the work that’s being done at the local level, and that’s through the training that we provide to people who are doing the work. How do they sharpen their tools in their toolbox? They have more tools in their toolbox, but also the advocacy that we do. As I mentioned, those pieces of legislation that we’re working on. And then we also have an AmeriCorps program, and we do a lot of work to elevate the issue of homelessness to our public awareness and homeless awareness month in November. So there are a number of things we do that may not have that direct impact of providing services to individuals, but these are the things that are supporting the work that’s being done by others to provide those services at that local level.
Emma Case (08:02):
You mentioned earlier that the coalition is made up of many community members. How else does the coalition work with other organizations, local governments and communities to tackle homelessness?
Eric Hufnagel (08:11):
Gosh, a lot of ways. There are so many organizations that we touch. I had mentioned that coalition that we brought together for the source of income discrimination bills. That’s just an example where we coalesce partners, but we work with such a wide range of organizations. You know, at the grassroots level, we think in terms of organizations like Nation Outside, Grassroots Midwest, and then a variety of organizations that may have specific constituencies like returning citizens, people who’ve been incarcerated, returning citizens safe, and just Michigan as an example. We work with Community Economic Development Association of Michigan, Michigan Community Action, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan Poverty Task Force, Michigan Association of United Way, on and on and on. It’s just really a wide range of organizations, largely at the state level, some at the local level that we engage with on a number of the issues, particularly advocacy issues.
Eric Hufnagel (09:06):
But at the local level, we work with what are called continuums of care, and those are the local homeless service planning bodies that every community has. And we provide supports to them and we engage with them to hear what’s going on, and also to share information with them so that they feel equipped to address the issues that they need to at the local level. We also work with some individual agencies providing some technical assistance as needed. That’s not the largest piece of what we do, but we are available and work with them as well.
Emma Case (09:37):
What are some effective ways individuals and communities and other area agencies on aging can help support those experiencing homelessness?
Eric Hufnagel (09:45):
Well, the first thing always is, you know, make a financial contribution. Having some skin in the game financially is a great way to support an organization and its mission. But beyond that, I also suggest that somebody can reach out to an organization or organizations about volunteering, find out what they might need some help with, because that, you know, it may be, for example, we might think about a soup kitchen and helping serve meals as something that’s kind of an obvious thing. But there may also be opportunities with committees or a board opportunity to use your talents in multiple ways. And that’s at the local level or even at the state level with an organization that’s focused on homelessness like ours is. But here’s something that’s important that people often overlook that I think is extremely important. And that is you can learn more about the issue, learn about homelessness.
Eric Hufnagel (10:36):
You can go to our website, you can do other online searches and understand the issue of homelessness, how it impacts your community, what some of the strategies are for assisting folks, et cetera, et cetera, so that you can become a champion. It’s important for us to educate folks about what homelessness really is, because there are an awful lot of misconceptions out there about what homelessness is. So you can be a champion with family, with friends, with coworkers, to use an opportunity to educate them about homelessness. But then you can be an advocate. I mean, at that local level, you can join and be a part of that local continuum of care. There’s no membership fee. It’s anybody who sees themselves as a stakeholder can participate in those meetings and be engaged in making a difference at the local level. But there are a lot of organizations where a lot of opportunities at the state and federal level to engage elected officials. And you can do that at the local level as well. But many ways you can get involved, make a contribution, but then it’s your time and talent that’s really important.
Emma Case (11:38):
For our listeners who may be inspired to take action, how can they support the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness?
Eric Hufnagel (11:44):
Gosh, all those things that I mentioned. Financial support is one of those things that we really do need to carry out the advocacy work that we do. So taking out a membership, which is just $45 for an individual, we also have organizational memberships and then just making a donation. Just an example where making a contribution to our organization or any organization supporting the issue of homelessness, sponsoring MICA events et cetera, et cetera. But you know, that’s keeping in mind that your investment really does fuel impactful advocacy and positive change. So financially, it’s very important for us to sustain our work to have additional resources at the ready. But beyond that, if you want to get engaged in the advocacy work that I talked about, you can join our monthly legislative action committee calls. It’s one hour. There’s no fee, there’s no membership. You can come and go as you please.
Eric Hufnagel (12:36):
And that’s an opportunity for us to talk about what’s happening at the federal level and also what’s happening at the state level. And to talk about ways that you can get involved. For you to reach out to legislators about particular legislation or priorities for the federal budget, et cetera, et cetera. That’s where we get our power. By having that grassroots support and individuals who may feel like they have a small voice collectively can be a roar. So getting involved with our organization as a volunteer through that committee or other activities through our board structure are opportunities where we welcome volunteers.
Emma Case (13:14):
Eric, lastly, if somebody’s interested in the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness information, where can they go to find that?
Eric Hufnagel (13:20):
Our website is www.mihomeless.org.
Emma Case (13:27):
Eric, thank you for joining me today.
Eric Hufnagel (13:28):
I’m glad to be here. Thank you for shining some light on a very important issue.
Emma Case (13:32):
If you have any questions about services or programs that The Senior Alliance offers, you can call us at (734) 722-2830 or email us at info@thesenioralliance.org. Information about our agency or the programs and services we offer can be found on our website at www.thesenioralliance.org. On Facebook, we can be located by searching for The Senior Alliance. Finally, our X, formerly known as Twitter handle is @AAA1C. I’m Emma Case. Thank you for listening to this episode of Inside The Senior Alliance.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Inside The Senior Alliance is a production of The Senior Alliance and Blazing Kiss Media.
