Sunrise Mission tells Alpena County shelter is at capacity, asks for county help after declining federal funds
Loading...
Summary
Sunrise Mission informed the Alpena County Board of Commissioners that its donor-funded shelter is running at or beyond capacity, that the organization declines federal and state funding, and asked the county to help secure a larger facility and other supports.
Michelle Veil, representing Sunrise Mission, told the Alpena County Board of Commissioners that the donor-funded shelter is running at or beyond capacity and urged local government help to secure a larger facility.
Veil said Sunrise Mission does not accept federal or state funding because, in her view, those sources would limit the program’s ability to require sobriety and other participation conditions; she estimated the shelter turns down “roughly $400,000 a year” in potential government funds. Veil described an 80‑day, faith‑based program that requires sobriety, includes random drug and alcohol testing, and sets employment and savings benchmarks for guests.
The shelter’s recent usage figures, as stated by Veil, include “well over 12,000 bed nights” in 2024 and 8,253 bed nights between Jan. 1, 2025 and Nov. 22, 2025; during that latter period she said the program served 168 unsheltered individuals, 132 of whom were native to Alpena. Veil also said the shelter typically runs between 25 and 30 beds per night and faces zoning limitations: “our zoning restrictions are a max number of 33 individuals, per day,” she told commissioners.
Commissioners and Veil discussed practical options. Commissioners asked what happens when the shelter reaches capacity; Veil said case-by-case decisions are made and that successes freeing up space (families moving into housing) create openings. She cautioned against quickly repurposing spaces without sufficient operational planning, citing the county’s prior short-term use of the Merchant’s Building during an ice storm and warning that a hasty conversion could create safety and management risks.
Administrator Jesse updated the board that the Center for Charity declined the county’s recent offer to host a temporary shelter. He said volunteer groups are organizing at Trinity Episcopal Church and he planned to meet this week with city manager Rachel Smolinski to coordinate stakeholders.
Why it matters: local shelters’ capacity and funding choices affect where unsheltered residents sleep and how quickly people can be transitioned into stable housing. The board heard specific requests for help identifying a larger facility, and for careful planning before opening any ad hoc shelter site.
The board did not take formal action to commit county-owned property to Sunrise Mission during the meeting; instead commissioners discussed next steps in stakeholder coordination and thanked Veil for the presentation. The board moved on to routine budget and administrative business later in the meeting.
