PROGRAM OVERVIEW: Detroit Healthy Housing Center

During the peak of the pandemic, the medical needs of our shelter clients became very apparent. After relocating the Tumaini Center to a larger space to allow us to adhere to CDC safety protocols, we decided to shift our model of service delivery to meet the needs of our clients. The birth of the Detroit Healthy Housing Center was the start of a new era at NSO, where we have fully embraced the complexity of the unique population that we are honored to serve.

In an effort to promote equity in health and social justice, NSO has refined our mission to "facilitate dreams by promoting equity for all, using innovative solutions to bridge gaps in housing, health and well-being." Our vision is to be the premier provider of holistic care in the communities we serve. Healthy Housing is one approach to fulfilling this mission and vision.  
NSO's Detroit Healthy Housing Center provides emergency shelter, crisis and support services for adults experiencing homelessness including housing placement support, substance use disorder and mental health assessment and referrals, case management, ID restoration, education, clothing storage, food, and laundry services. Clients also receive medical and behavioral health services on-site.
NSO recently broke ground on a new healthy housing center facility which will mark the completion of NSO's Health Housing Campus. The new facility will provide 56 beds of emergency shelter, geared toward people deemed "medically at risk," along with 17 beds for "medical respite," for people not ill enough to remain at a hospital, but not well enough to be safely returned to the street or a shelter.
The campus will pair emergency shelter with health care and support services to help end chronic homelessness in the region.
In addition to the emergency beds and medical respite beds, the healthy housing campus will open its health care clinic to the wider community and provide primary care, behavioral health, dental services and full prescriptions at its pharmacy.
The project is due to be completed in the Fall of 2022 and has been celebrated as a pioneering model that will transform the community.