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Residents and advocates press Lansing for supervised heat and housing as temperatures drop
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Summary
At least a dozen residents, advocates and neighborhood leaders urged the City Council on Nov. 10 to provide supervised heat sources, sustained water and long‑term housing for people living at the Dietrich Park encampment, saying court‑ordered services have been slow to arrive and the current fuel ban leaves residents at risk during a blue‑alert cold snap.
Speakers at the Nov. 10 council meeting described an urgent public‑health situation at Dietrich Park and other encampments as winter weather arrived. They told the council a judge (Judge Aquilina) had ordered sanitation, porta‑potties and trash pickup; several speakers said those items have been provided but that the city has been slow to deliver water, handwashing stations and sustained housing offers.
"We can do this safely with the right equipment, training, and regular checks," said Mike Gorshek, advocating for supervised heat sources and fire‑department oversight to avoid carbon‑monoxide and fire risks. "We can keep people from cold‑weather injury without creating new fire hazards."
Multiple speakers said that a court‑ordered fuel ban (open‑flame prohibition) leaves residents with limited safe options to stay warm and urged city staff to work with public‑safety officials to allow supervised portable heaters, generators or electrification with safeguards. Advocates and camp residents said the existing shelter and voucher processes are too slow — only one person at the camp had received a voucher despite dozens on the coordinated‑entry list — and warned that failing to provide viable options risks injury or death.
Speakers also criticized city representation in recent court hearings and singled out a city consultant for what they described as mischaracterizations of camp conditions in court testimony. Several public commenters accused city representatives of failing to satisfy the judge’s orders promptly and urged immediate, practical interventions: regular water and sanitation deliveries that resist freeze‑up, supervised heating solutions and accelerating offers of permanent housing.
Mayor Schor had said earlier in the meeting the city was under a blue alert and that shelters were open; speakers said that shelter capacity and voucher timelines were insufficient for the numbers and vulnerabilities of people at the camp. Advocates asked the council to prioritize rapid, humane measures that reduce mortality risk while efforts continue to find permanent housing.
