Detroit’s new Department of Human, Homeless and Family Services will be funded by splitting off nearly half of the city’s Housing and Revitalization Department budget.
Chief of Staff David Bowser and Chief Financial Officer Tonya Stoudemire briefed a Feb. 25 City Council committee on an executive organization plan that shows the structure of Mayor Mary Sheffield’s administration. Stoudemire said the $90.6 million budget for the Housing and Revitalization Department will provide $41.4 million for the new DHHFS for the 2026 fiscal year ending June 30.
Stoudemire said the budget split would leave $45.9 million with HRD. The mayor’s 2027 budget proposal will show future funding amounts for all departments. Stoudemire said next year’s budgets for both departments will look similar.
Bowser said the new DHHFS will take over a variety of “people-centered issues” and services, like homeless solutions, Homeowners Property Exemption program, rental tenant escrow, downpayment assistance and home repair, the Detroit Housing Network, Detroit ID program, Detroit Home Connect and returning citizens liaisons.
Some of those programs were previously with HRD and others were with the Detroit Health Department.
“This is a mission change, as is the vision of the mayor,” Bowser said. “The point is to allow HRD to focus on housing development, infill housing and affordable housing. What we’re able to do is take out direct services and the case management. All these things take away from the focus of the housing department to do innovative housing initiatives.”
Bowser said the Health Department will focus on addressing chronic diseases, maternal and infant health, outreach to families impacted by lead exposure and asthma from environmental pollution.
“When we address the basic household needs like transportation, IDs and housing for individuals, they begin to participate more in physical health programming,” Bowser said. “That’s why we wanted to move basic needs out of the Health Department, make sure we’re stabilizing individuals with (DHHFS) and then making sure we make the connection to health. Hopefully we’ll see more enrollment in health programs.”
The City Council must vote to authorize the funding shift, but Stoudemire said it’s a budget-neutral change in existing dollars. Bowser said council members can think of it like a personnel shift. DHHFS will have 109 staff and HRD will have 89. No changes to health department personnel were reported last week.
Benita Miller is director of the new Department of Human, Homeless and Family Services. She’s a Detroit native who worked at social service organizations in New York and New Jersey, focused on children, mothers and families.
Miller reports to Luke Shaefer, the city’s first Chief Executive of Health, Human Services and Poverty Solutions. Shaefer founded the University of Michigan Poverty Solutions research initiative. He will also oversee the Office of Immigrant Affairs and Economic Inclusion and Detroit Health Department.
Julie Schneider is executive director of HRD. A chief of Housing, Planning, Workforce and Economic Development hasn’t been publicly announced.
Bowser said the upcoming budget will provide more details on the city’s support for the Right to Counsel legal defense program for renters. The $20.5 million program is funded with pandemic relief dollars that must be spent by the end of 2026. Stoudemire said some funding is available in the first half of the upcoming fiscal year, and Bowser said the mayor committed to finding funding to continue the program.
“The mayor has indicated that we want to make Detroiters homeowners first and foremost, so whatever we do in the housing space, they will be tailored to Detroit residents,” Bowser said. “Increasing quality of life for Detroit residents will naturally bring other people here to fill out our population, but we want to focus first and foremost on Detroit residents and how our programming and approach to increase quality of life.”
An organizational chart presented to the City Council outlines the responsibilities of Sheffield’s cabinet members but doesn’t include the names for all positions.