The following was written by Mecosta County Sheriff Brian Miller in part of a monthly editorial.

 

At a recent Mecosta County Board of Commissioners meeting, there were advocates presenting and asking for support to build a new building for Our Brothers Keeper Homeless Shelter. Going back five years ago, having the professional background I did, and at that time, being a member of the Big Rapids Public Schools Board of Education, I was aware of the homelessness problem we have in our community. I knew we had several in our student population couch surfing from one friend or family member’s place to another.

Nationally, our homelessness population has continued to grow. Whether the problem regionally is a lack of affordable housing, or, what I believe we are seeing here, based empirical evidence, is a homeless crisis with the root problem of mental illness and substance abuse.  In recent poll from Los Angeles, the homeless population grew by 9% from the prior year to a whooping 75,900. The numbers have ticked upward over the past several years, from 52,765 in 2018 to what it is now. Washington D.C. has already reported an increase of 11 percent, while the Phoenix area homeless population was up 7 percent. Chicago and New York have said their homeless populations spiked in the past year as asylum seekers arrived; New York officials have reported that it had people living in homeless shelters. Reports from New York City is the city has turned its land used for children and adults’ recreational sports have been turned in to ‘Tent Cities’.

In Mecosta County, we are just a reflection of what is taking place nationwide. The question everywhere has been what is the solution to this growing problem? I agree from a large-scale standpoint, the only way to achieve that lowering the homeless numbers we are seeing nationwide, is to improve communication among nonprofit groups and government agencies. A portion of the homeless were employed before COVID and lost their jobs and have struggled to get back on their feet. It is a fact that when some people fall on hard time and a pit of homelessness, it can be very hard to get out of it.

However, locally, the problem we are seeing is that several in the homeless population who are having contact with law enforcement, first responders and whom local business owners have used their bathrooms to bathe themselves are outsiders who have come to our community or been dropped off because there is a shelter here. Nearly half of those at our shelter are from outside the area. These are the same people who we have had reports of being disorderly, suffering mental health episodes, setting up encampments along the White Pine Trail and committing a plethora of crimes, including murder.

I have a lot of understanding and compassion for those who have fallen on hard times and need a hand with getting back on their feet. I very much believe in redemption and reconciliation, so I completely understand the need for services like the shelter. What I haven’t said publicly but have been thinking for some time is opening, or allowing those individuals from outside our county, or in some circumstances, our state, has caused a significant amount of the problems, and we should not be compounding the problem by expanding the shelter or its capacity.  

Due to the increasing numbers of people seeking assistance and the shelter’s limited capacity, people have resorted to camping along the trail, forcing those locally who use it, to find other places to walk, run, or ride their bike to get exercise and enjoy nature without being exposed to or exposing their children to harassment and/or lude behavior.  

Recently, a staff member from the National Forest Service who was recently assigned to our area from West Virgina stopped in the office and told the undersheriff he was sent here to deal with the increasing number of homeless people camping in the Manistee National Forest.

I understand Los Angeles is a much larger scale, but I do not want to see our fine community become a hub for everyone in Mid-Michigan’s homeless population. I know several who are on the board for the shelter. I respect and hold them in the highest regard, knowing they have the right intentions, and their heart is in the right place. Often folks with big hearts and the right intentions get taken advantage of by those who are looking to dump their problems on the well-meaning hearts. We need to take care of our own before we open our doors to everyone else. I question at what point are we enabling people instead of caring or providing aid to them.