Safe Harbor’s Proposal to City of Traverse City

March 10, 2014

City Commission

City of Traverse City

400 Boardman Avenue

Traverse City, MI 49684

Dear Commissioners,

For ten years, Safe Harbor has been providing emergency shelter, at no cost to taxpayers, to some of the most

vulnerable members of our community — those people living on the streets of Traverse City. But, as the number

of people experiencing homelessness has grown 85% since 2012, our 23 church network has reached its

comfortable capacity. This proposal requests the use of a city building so that we can continue our work without

turning people away from the shelter in the winter months. This location is walkable to other services, large

enough to house those seeking shelter, and affordable for us to provide this needed community service.

We are very fortunate to have a group of 2,700 generous volunteers who stand ready to donate time and meals

to Safe Harbor’s seasonal emergency shelter. This enables us to prevent homeless deaths at a fraction of the cost

of a taxpayer-funded organization. By increasing access to services from partners, we can help those

experiencing homelessness to get off the street permanently.