The Detroit News. Relations between the city and shelter began to deteriorate last year, when the shelter petitioned for a zoning variance that would allow it to convert an abandoned church into a facility for homeless women and children. City officials have suggested moving the shelter from its prominent downtown location, a building it has occupied for the past 13 years, to a less visible site. After an unproductive meeting with shelter officials last month, the city floated the idea of moving the entire program to an abandoned school in neighboring Sylvan Lake. A January police raid on the facility ended with 32 residents arrested on a variety charges, all but one for misdemeanor offenses.
City officials insist they acted in the best interest of city and shelter residents alike.
During the inspection, the fire department found, among other things, that a mother and her three children were living in a windowless room in the basement. Clark said the family has been relocated to the women's dormitory, which has windows, but little privacy for that family or the other 53 women and children seeking refuge there.