The Pope Francis Center’s new housing campus in Detroit’s Core City has opened its doors and residents are expected to arrive later this month.
On Monday, city and state officials joined Fr. Tim McCabe, president and CEO of the Pope Francis Center, and Ford’s CEO Jim Farley for a ribbon cutting of the $40 million project designed to help people transition from the streets into housing. The Bridge Housing Campus is a culmination of best practices from across the country to address chronic homelessness, under one roof, brought right to Detroit.
“We’re going to change the reality here in the city,” McCabe said in the facility’s new gymnasium. “We’re going to change the conversation around what it means to be homeless. … That’s what we’re going to do in here and we do that with radical compassion and love — that’s the secret sauce.”
The Bridge Housing Campus, located at 2915 West Hancock Street, has been under construction since 2022, but in the works for nine years.
“It started out of loss and out of heartache,” McCabe said. There was a time, a week before Christmas, when the Pope Francis Center lost guests it worked with, including four who overdosed from fentanyl and those who died because they didn’t have access to proper medical care.
McCabe has said he hopes the project will spur a national conversation around the causes and solutions to homelessness, especially as the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether cities can fine and arrest people for sleeping outdoors when there are no shelter beds available.
In 2022, there were 200 people who were homeless on the streets of Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park, according to a one-night tally conducted by the Homeless Action Network of Detroit (HAND) in January. Last year, those experiencing unsheltered homelessness were not counted but there were 1,280 people living in shelters or other housing programs. Data for this year’s count — meant to provide a snapshot of homelessness in a community and help determine needs and federal funding for programs and services — is not yet available.
Michigan saw an 8% increase in the number of people facing homelessness, up to 32,589 in 2022 from 30,113 the year before, according to the latest statewide report.
“In Detroit, just because you’re homeless, doesn’t mean you’re voiceless,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said.
What’s inside the housing campus
McCabe explored 27 different programs treating people facing chronic homelessness. The result: a sprawling 60,000-square-foot campus that reflects the result of that research, alongside feedback from clients and service providers.
Inside the lobby, there is a “hot room,” which heats up to 145 degrees to disinfect blankets and clothing as people move in. That was inspired by a shelter in California. Hallways are wide for those dealing with mental illnesses for whom small spaces cause anxiety. Even the colors inside the building are meant to be calming.
A heated sidewalk can fit about 13 people, offering a reprieve for those whose trauma is so severe they are unable to come inside. That idea came about after McCabe toured shelters in Orange County and San Antonio with misters and fans to keep people cool and he thought Detroit needed something similar, but for cold weather.
The campus, which sits on 5.3 acres of once vacant land, has 40 studio apartments that, for now, will be for single men experiencing homelessness and an eight-bed respite center for those discharged from the hospital.
Residents will also have access to wraparound services on-site including social workers, addiction specialists, a psychiatrist and job preparation and financial literacy trainings. They will have a barber shop, library, computer lab, art room and a meditation space.
The complex — apart from the residential area — will be open to the broader community. The Community Health and Social Services (CHASS) Center will operate a free health clinic with a doctor, nursing staff and a dental wing for anyone in the neighborhood.
Community members can use the classrooms, commercial kitchen and gymnasium, which, during severe weather, can house extra cots for those who need a reprieve from the elements. Residents can learn how to cook food and work in a kitchen, building skills for potential employment, McCabe said. People will also be able to drop off clothing and furniture at a donation center.
“Today represents all of our collective commitment to ensuring that every individual — regardless of the circumstances — has the opportunity to rebuild their lives and achieve their full potential,” Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield said.
When residents will arrive
The Pope Francis Center will first prioritize people the nonprofit sees at its downtown location. Staffers are working to determine who will be among the first group of residents slated to move in late June, though that may change depending on how long the selection process takes, according to a news release. The broader campus will be available for the rest of the community once residents arrive. The expected stay is between 90 to 120 days. Housing specialists will help residents identify permanent homes and navigate the challenges that arise even after a person is selected to receive a housing subsidy.
The Pope Francis Center received a majority of the funding for the Bridge Housing Campus from the California-based Julia Burke Foundation. Other funders include Ford Motor Co., J. Addison and Marion M. Bartush Family Foundation, Lear Corp., Magna International, Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus, Piston Group, the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, the state of Michigan and the city of Detroit.
“The hard work begins now to change people’s lives forever,” Farley said.
Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist said the center provides a pathway to health, wealth, stability and opportunity.
“This is the result of a set of choices that were made by people. This is the result of effort and hard work. This is the result of empathy and understanding and this is the result of people saying that we do not have to accept that there are people who live in this city, in this community, in this region and in this state who do not have a home,” he said.
Regular Pope Francis Center services at the nonprofit’s downtown Detroit location at 438 Saint Antoine Street are expected to continue after the Core City campus opens. The day center provides two meals, laundry and shower facilities, medical, dental and legal clinics and help finding housing, and sees up to 250 people a day.