[animatedmartian]

An historic apartment building saved and reused.

Grand opening of Detroit apartment building ends homelessness for tenants
By Tammy Stables Battaglia November 7, 2013

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Author Mitch Albom, who also writes for the Detroit Free Press, presided over the grand opening celebration at the building at Elmhurst and Woodrow Wilson today. The new tenants — who will pay 30% of their income — were expected to start moving in today, filling the building by the end of the week. All have completed training programs and lived in shelters run by Cass Community Social Services, a nonprofit run by Rev. Faith Fowler.

“What Faith Fowler and Cass Community do is astounding,” Albom said. “The reason this is so special is because it potentially permanently ends homelessness for 41 residents.”

The Homeless Action Network of Detroit estimates Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park are home to about 20,000 homeless people. Adults 45 to 54 years old are the largest age group of homeless people, with 61% of them men, according to a 2012 survey the homeless action network conducted in metro Detroit.

Fowler — with developer Bill Pulte, founder of the Detroit Blight Authority, — told the crowd that the Cass Community board was hesitant to delve into the project in October 2012.

“The walls looked like they’d been through the second world war; there were holes in the walls where they’d stole the copper,” she said to laughs. “They finally told me I could buy the building if I got a drug test.”

But dozens of community organizations, volunteers and churches pitched in, and most of the rooms were sponsored by a different group. The basement offers a community room, laundry room and computer room and there are plans for a hair salon. Cass Community Social Services plans to hold everything from vocational and literacy training to 12-step programs and cooking classes for residents.

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http://www.freep.com/article/2013110...Cass-apartment