A growing humanitarianconcern is unfolding in Detroit, where overcrowding at one of the city’s largest homeless shelters is forcing vulnerable families—many with young children—to sleep in their cars for months at a time, even as freezing winter temperatures approach.
Outside the Cass CommunitySocialServices drop-in shelter, vehicles have quietly become makeshift homes. Among them is the car of Lastar Jenkins, a mother of six, who says her family has spent the past eight months sleeping outside the shelter because there are not enough beds inside.
“My kids don’t understand this,” Jenkins said. “They’re so young. My biggest fear is Michigan gets cold—and I mean cold—and there’s nowhere for us to go.”
Jenkins and her children were displaced last May after a housefire destroyed their home. Seeking help, they turned to Cass Community Social Services, a facility intended to provide temporary relief for people experiencing homelessness. But she says severe overcrowding has left her family waiting indefinitely for a permanent bed…