Detroit's Housing Justice Roadmap – Opportunities for Advancing Racial Equity

Members of the community created a vision for the future of Detroit’s homelessness response rooted in justice that serves as the foundation of the Housing Justice Roadmap. Each of the four pillars of the vision and the path to achieving them are further defined below, each rooted in racial equity and justice.

To download a pdf of this report, click here.

Kaitie Giza from HAND talks with Donna Price from the Detroit Advisors Group about uniting the community around a vision for a system that can prevent and end homelessness.

Vision

The system is led by people with lived experiences

Detroit’s response to homelessness is led by people with lived experiences who reflect the community.

The community should co-design and implement system transformation and have community power to hold the system accountable
Leadership at the administrative and agency level need to reflect the community served by representing Black, Brown, trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC), lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ) Detroiters and have lived experience of homelessness
Providers must be supported in hiring people who have experienced homelessness so they can advise on and lead service provision across the city

Those who are closer to the problem should always be the one driving the solutions – they should have all the power. Not just gift cards or surveys but providing space and opportunity for people to be leaders.
System leader and person with lived expertise

Homelessness is experienced rarely, for a short time, and only once

Members of the community experience homelessness rarely, and when they do, it’s for a short time and only once.

A system must address the high barriers to accessing crisis housing (shelters) for members of the TGNC community through safe and equitable access, and ensure that support is available to quickly move to long-term housing
A system must address barriers to quick, safe, access to long-term housing including issues with coordinated entry, prevention programs to keep people in their homes, and the lack of affordable housing stock in the community
A system must coordinate resources, including economic supports, across the community and improve the quality of supportive services within homeless programs

We need more emphasis on housing in our shelters, people are in shelter being warehoused until housing resources are available, even though we don’t have enough resources for anybody. 80% of those who qualify for RRH don’t get in.
System leader

Housing security is achieved for all

Housing security will be achieved by keeping people in their homes, developing affordable options, and helping to recover generational wealth.

The city and county must invest in the revitalization and development of safe and affordable housing prioritized for people experiencing homelessness and housing instability
Detroit and Wayne County administrators must coordinate and prioritize homeownership supports for Black, Brown and LGBTQ communities to help build generational wealth
Detroit and Wayne County must address policy issues that have led to the historic loss of homes for the Black community in Detroit

For a long time, there was this idea that housing instability, affordability, eviction prevention were a separate thing from homelessness services. They are both inextricably linked.
System leader

Housing and services are rooted in dignity

Housing and services across the homeless response system are rooted in dignity.

A system must provide services that are safe and accessible for all and that respect, empower, and value all individuals, especially Black, Brown, and LGBTQ community members
Services should be designed with and provided by people who have experienced homelessness or housing instability
Providers must address organizational culture issues that lead to discrimination and lack of accountability to people being served

One of the things we constantly hear is how difficult it is to navigate services for homeless or displaced folks in Detroit.
System leader

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Detroit’s Housing Justice Roadmap

Vision

Detroit’s response to homelessness is led by people with lived experiences who reflect the community.

Members of the community experience homelessness rarely, and when they do, it’s for a short time and only once.

Housing security will be achieved by keeping people in their homes, developing affordable options, and helping to recover generational wealth.

Housing and services across the homeless response system are rooted in dignity.

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