Detroit residents who are unstably housed or at imminent risk of homelessness have historically had to track down resources across many different providers.
Residents often spend hours calling various providers or filling out multiple intake forms to get help paying for utilities or legal support to prevent evictions.
This can be confusing and discouraging to people in need of immediate support.
In 2023, the city launched the Detroit Housing Resource HelpLine. This centralized access point connects callers with a wide array of housing supports to more effectively connect residents to the resources that best meet their housing needs.
How the GPL is Supporting:
Conducting an analysis of the 101,000 annual calls that come into Detroit’s hotline for housing support and Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data to better understand long-term pathways into homelessness and potential upstream intervention opportunities.
Designing new screening processes, improving service referral handoffs, and co-designing targeting criteria to connect people with the most appropriate resources based on their housing circumstances and proximity to homelessness.
Designing new processes and tools for callers living in subsidized housing that are facing eviction to be more directly and immediately connected to legal supports and representation.
We want to make sure that residents are connected directly to resources when they call. As we're building the HelpLine, we're getting permissions from other organizations to fill out their intake forms or to provide a warm transfer directly to that program or resource. Because of the barriers that Detroit residents face, including literacy, mobility, and internet access in certain areas of the city, we are not putting the onus on the resident to go call. We are actually making that connection for them as often as possible.David Bowser
Chief of Housing Solutions and Support Services, City of Detroit Housing & Revitalization Department
We want to make sure that residents are connected directly to resources when they call. As we're building the HelpLine, we're getting permissions from other organizations to fill out their intake forms or to provide a warm transfer directly to that program or resource. Because of the barriers that Detroit residents face, including literacy, mobility, and internet access in certain areas of the city, we are not putting the onus on the resident to go call. We are actually making that connection for them as often as possible.David Bowser