Winter shelter continues with help from Mitten Mission

MACOMB COUNTY — For the past several years, Gail Marlow has been on a mission to help the less fortunate.

A few years back she co-founded the Motor City Mitten Mission in which she and volunteers made mat blankets and pillows out of plastic bags for the homeless. The Motor City Mitten Mission, which now has an office in St. Clair Shores, also provides meals and clothing to those living on the streets.

This winter, Motor City Mitten Mission, with support from Trinity Lutheran Church Utica, is launching the Kathy Goodrich Winter Shelter to provide a temporary shelter for those in need.

The shelter program will honor the work of Kathy Goodrich, a Macomb County advocate for the homeless who ran the Macomb County Warming Center each winter for nearly 20 years until she died. The Motor City Mitten Mission has stepped up to continue Goodrich’s work. The Rev. Lew Stier, of Trinity Lutheran Church Utica, and Tim Joy also became involved.

Marlow is a member of the Macomb County Continuum of Care, where Stier is on the board. They connected through Joy, a board member of the Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team, also known as MCREST. Joy is an MCREST volunteer and a volunteer for the Motor City Mitten Mission.

“I met Gail at one of the COC meetings and found out the main purpose of her organization was street outreach to the homeless,” Joy said via email. “I thought a winter shelter program would be a good fit for her organization since she would be referring to most of the guests of the shelter and already has a relationship with the homeless on the streets. I reached out to her and she and her board accepted the challenge of opening a shelter.”

The Kathy Goodrich Winter Shelter will provide overnight accommodations and food daily from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. from Dec. 4 through April 1, 2023, at various sites. The shelter is open to anyone experiencing homelessness, and guests will be accepted on a first-come basis as capacity is limited.

There is no limit on the number of nights guests can return to the shelter for overnight accommodation. Bus tickets will be available each morning for those without their own transportation to travel to work, appointments or other destinations throughout metro Detroit.

“Here in Macomb County we are committed to developing programs and partnerships that serve our residents and strengthen our communities,” Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said in a prepared statement. “The Kathy Goodrich Winter Shelter is an essential operation that helps individuals stay warm and safe. I want to thank everyone who is a part of this critical service, and hope county residents will join us in ensuring they have the necessary funding and volunteers needed to support some of our most vulnerable residents.”

Marlow said the mission received about $80,000 from Macomb County for the program but more is needed. Mission members are currently accepting monetary donations. The mission needs to raise another $100,000 to fund the entirety of the 18-week program to provide food, bus tickets, security, intake/supervision staff, laundry services and more.

According to Marlow, a $150 donation provides a single evening of care for one guest, a $240 donation means daytime bus transportation for one guest for the full winter season, and a donation of $1,560 means one full day of shelter operation. Each church has a group of volunteers that help with the food and other shelter needs, but more volunteers are always needed.

To donate online visit motorcitymittenmission.org. Checks payable to Motor City Mitten Mission can be mailed to Motor City Mitten Mission, c/o Kathy Goodrich Winter Shelter, 24623 Harper Avenue, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080.

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The following Kathy Goodrich Winter Shelter locations have been established:

• Dec. 4-10: Christian Trinity Church, 21770 Kelly Road, Eastpointe

• Dec. 11-17: Love Life Family Christian Center, 17363 Toepfer Drive, Eastpointe

• Dec. 18-24: To be announced

• Dec. 25-31: St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church, 21100 Madison St., St. Clair Shores

• Jan. 1-7: Utica United Methodist Church, 8650 Canal Road, Sterling Heights

• Jan. 8-Feb. 25: Trinity Lutheran Church, 8150 Chapp Ave., Warren

• Feb. 26-March 4: First Presbyterian Church of Warren, 3000 12 Mile Road, Warren.

• March 5-25: Trinity Lutheran Church, 8150 Chapp Ave., Warren

• March 26-April 1: Celtic Cross Presbyterian Church, 11451 E. 10 Mile Road, Warren.