Detroit officials propose new Human, Homeless and Family Services department to centralize housing and family supports

Detroit City Council held a budget hearing on the administration’s plan to create a Human, Homeless and Family Services department that would centralize programs now housed across several city offices, officials said.

Administration officials said the new department — which the mayor is backing — would bring housing stability, homelessness response, home repair and family services under a single director and four divisions. David Bowser, the mayor’s chief of staff, and Luke Schafer, the administration official leading the new portfolio, said the change is intended to reduce barriers to services and to use program data to shape upstream policies that prevent displacement.

The proposal is largely a consolidation of existing programs and funding, administration presenters told the council. Julie Schneider, director of Housing and Revitalization, said the city expects to complete roughly 1,500 home repairs this fiscal year across several programs and that the city’s helpline has connected about 80,500 callers to more than 30 resources. Schneider outlined several funding sources planned to flow into the HHFS budget, including CDBG, ESG, HOME-ARP, one-time grants and general fund dollars; the administration described a roughly $39 million allocation across homelessness…