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Taken from The Detroit News:

March 26, 2025

In light of systemic failures surrounding the circumstances in the deaths of two-year-old A’millah Currie and nine-year-old Darnell Currie Jr., some Michigan shelters for those who are housing insecure want Lansing to take action. The children died in February in their mother’s car, which was parked in a Detroit casino parking lot.

Among them is the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM), which is recommending legislators adopt a series of changes that would mitigate factors that led 29-year-old Tateona Williams, the mother of the dead children, to be isolated in a parking lot with no rescue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DRMM CEO Chad Audi proposed a three-tiered approach that would include rapid housing for the economically displaced. The first tier includes short-term rental assistance programs of up to 12 months of financial relief, financial literacy instruction, employment training and job placement programs and working with landlords to implement a tenant reintegration program that mitigates discrimination against previously unhoused individuals.

 

The second tier focuses on transitional housing with support services that would increase transitional housing units in the state, with structured programs lasting six to 24 months and mandating mental health counseling, addiction treatment and life skills training.

 

There would also be requirements to ensure transitional housing residents have graduated pathways to permanent housing with ongoing support as well as a more robust case management programs for young people aging out of foster care to access stable housing and employment opportunities.

 

The third tier would mean long-term housing for the chronically homeless and mentally ill through the development of permanent housing facilities with on-site mental health professionals, social workers and medical staff and a state-funded medication management program to assist those who cannot manage prescriptions independently. The recommendations also include expansion of a mobile mental health unities that provide psychiatric care and crisis intervention.

 

These proposals hit at the reality of the problem of homelessness in Michigan and in Detroit. But is there any appetite in Lansing right now to tackle this problem?

 

What happened in Detroit to the Currie children, whose mother made earlier calls for help to the city’s referral system, CAM (Coordinated Assessment Model), could happen anywhere in the state. No community is immune to the fact that so many people have been relegated to the shadows because they can’t find a home.

 

“This is a daunting issue that requires a non-partisan approach and the intervention of a task force. While several of my colleagues have committed to helping in the fight against homelessness, this issue deserves the attention of the entire legislature,” says state Sen. Sylvia Santana, a Detroit Democrat whose district also includes Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. “Mental health and healthcare management can also be significant challenges for our unhoused populations. When a person is displaced, the gaps in Medicaid services impact the proverbial cycle of homelessness. I’d like to see that remedied as well.”

 

Santana says she’d like a taskforce to first deal with the recommendations coming from DRMM and other providers who are alarmed over the rate of homelessness and want the state to finally do something about it. Whether that means legislation would follow immediately remains unclear.

 

“I would be more interested in trying to figure out how to support providers by improving our current system and removing some of the red tape to allow them to swiftly place people into permanent, income-driven housing,” she says.

 

She added, “This crisis is occurring because affordable housing is neither affordable, nor safe. People with jobs are even struggling to make ends meet. At the federal level, the HUD housing vouchers program takes far too long to get people into a stable environment; the approval process taking eighteen months is an egregious delay of action.”

 

X (formerly Twitter): @BankoleDetNews

bankole@bankolethompson.com

Bankole Thompson’s columns appear on Mondays and Thursdays in The Detroit News.

 

A New Home, A New Beginning!

The Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries has stepped in to provide a home for a young mother who tragically lost her two children to hypothermia while facing homelessness.

We extend our deepest gratitude to DRMM leadership for preparing this home with fresh paint, new furniture, appliances, and food to support her healing journey.

Our COO, Dr. Barbara Willis, prayed over the home and the family, asking for comfort and renewal.

We are honored to partner with the City of Detroit to be a beacon of hope for those in need.

Video courtesy of CBS News Detroit

After the tragic news story broke about the mom and her 5 kids who slept in their van overnight in a casino parking, and 2 of the kids freezing to death, local media called DRMM to get a response and also resources for those who may be experiencing homelessness.

DETROIT – Police believe two children who stopped breathing inside a van at a Detroit casino parking garage froze to death.

Here’s what we know so far.

Children found unresponsive in car

Investigators believe a mother and five children were inside a van at the parking garage for the Hollywood Casino in Detroit.

Around 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, the mother noticed that her 9-year-old son wasn’t breathing, police said.

The mother called a friend, who took the child and the mother to Children’s Hospital, according to authorities.

While those three were at the hospital, the children’s grandmother called and said another one of the kids — a 2-year-old girl — had also stopped breathing, police said.

The friend returned to the van, and the girl was also taken to the hospital.

Police said both children were pronounced dead at the hospital. It is believed they froze to death.

“I feel sad, very sad, especially as a father,” Detroit police Capt. Nathan Duda said. “I just can’t imagine what the family is feeling. I wish it hadn’t happened.”

Circumstances surrounding deaths

At this point, investigators believe the mother drove the van into the parking garage around 1 a.m. Monday and went up to the ninth floor.

At some point in the morning, the van ran out of gas. Temperatures dropped into the teens that night.

Police said they think the family was living in the van and called the two deaths “preventable.”

“I know that they had an address on the east side in an apartment complex, but her, the mother, and the other family member that ended up conveying the children — they said that they were unsheltered,” Duda said. “They didn’t have a residence to go to.”

What happened to mother, other 3 children?

The three surviving children were taken to the hospital for evaluation and treatment. They were born in 2011, 2016, and 2020, according to authorities.

Police said those children are expected to be OK.

Children’s Protective Services is involved.

The mother sat down to speak with detectives, they said. She has not been arrested, but officers said they haven’t yet ruled out the possibility of charges.

“I don’t think anyone really wants to think about that at the moment, with the two children passing,” Duda said. “But the reality is that the circumstances do have to be examined. We have to figure out how to go forward.”

Resources available

With police believing that the family was living in the van, they wanted to remind everyone that there are resources available for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.

“There’s actually respite centers or relief centers all across the city,” Duda said. “There are so many resources available, and these resources will keep families together. The children and the mother may stay in the same spot, in the same building. That way, the family is maintained. It’s kept whole. They have each other for support. This was unnecessary. It didn’t have to happen this way.

“I would just ask that people be aware of those that are in need. If you see somebody who appears unsheltered and it’s sub-zero or cold weather, please call 911. We’ll come. We’ll help.

“We’ll show up with all the right people to be able to offer resources to transport, to feed, to clothe, to give that person shelter. We do care. That’s a call we would like to get.”

Click here to view a list of warming centers.

“That story really kind of affected me, too, because at one point in time, I was the mom sleeping in the car with her children, and it kind of hurt me because at any point in time, it could have been one of my children being in that situation,” said Charlisa Williams, a mother of five children.

Williams said she found the home her family needed at the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries’ women’s shelter.

“It’s just very important that people understand that you don’t have to be outside,” said Chiara Clayton, of Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries.

“There’s nothing wrong with asking people for help,” Williams said.

Both Williams and Clayton want anyone who needs help to know that it’s always available.

“We don’t turn people away,” Clayton said. “So even if there’s a situation where there isn’t a city ordinance, if someone comes to one of our shelters and needs services, we’re going to help them.”

The Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries is considering a partnership with different places where people might stay to live out of their vehicles. They’ll talk to employees and attendants at those places so that helpful information can be relayed to people who need it.

If you ever find yourself without shelter during cold temperatures, you can call the Detroit Housing Assistance Hotline at 866-313-2520.

About the Author

Derick Hutchinson

Derick is the Digital Executive Producer for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.