© 2024 by The Refuge. EIN - 46-4617368
THE REFUGE IN OTSEGO COUNTY IS NOW OPEN
The mission of the Refuge in Otsego County is to provide temporary housing during the cold winter months (October 28 to June 1) for residents of Otsego County who become homeless. The Refuge is now closed but will re-open October 28, 2024. If you need help before Monday, October 28, call 2-1-1 or 844-875-9211 (24/7 hotline) for information regarding any other agency services available, including a list of Otsego landlords you can contact.
What we do
“This winter season has been anything but ordinary,” said Judi Doan, Coordinator of The Refuge in Otsego County. “The weather has been milder but that has not reduced the number of people seeking emergency shelter from The Refuge.”
The Refuge, provides short term housing help to Otsego residents by using hotels in the community. “We continue to set records far in excess of prior year totals – 1078 overnights for 164 people in 92 households and, we won’t close for another two months,” Doan continued. The dramatic increase in requests has been a big funding challenge for The Refuge, a largely volunteer organization with its roots in Faith based community organizations. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, most of its funding comes from local individuals and organizations. “This year we are on track to serve more than 100 local households which nearly doubles our cost. We are so
grateful to those local individuals and organizations who have continued to support us, including several funds of the Otsego Community Foundation,” said Sue Smith, President of the Refuge.
“There seems to be little evidence the need is going to go down anytime soon,” said Doan. We see increases in our Otsego ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population generally and that is our client base. In addition to the actual housing we provide, each month we also counsel and provide community services information to another 30-40 households in distress. This seems to be a need likely only to grow,” Doan concluded.
If you would like to support The Refuge’s efforts, you may donate electronically through www.otsegorefuge.org, mail a check to PO Box 44, Gaylord 49734 or drop a gift off to The Refuge office located in the United Way Building at 116 E. Fifth St. in Gaylord.
Change Lives
We provide overnight emergency shelter in Otsego County during the colder months – moving individuals from cars, tents, or other living arrangements, to safe accommodations.
Help to Guide
Homeless services are available but few know how to access them. The Refuge acts as “navigator” to help individuals find the resources they need and to create a “Moving Forward Plan” so they can go from homeless to housed.
Provide Hope
We provide breathing room - a rest from the stress of homelessness - so individuals can concentrate on next steps to end their homelessness.
Provide Stability
We provide housing until clients can, working their Moving Forward Plan, get themselves started on a new positive path.
We love our supporters
Kayla Albrecht, General Manager and Scott Pauley, CEO of AWAKON Federal Credit Union present Judi Doan, Coordinator of The Refuge in Otsego County, with a check to help provide temporary emergency housing in Otsego County.
BLUE DEVIL HOCKEY NIGHT
was so fun and provided needed shelter funds and warm clothing for the homeless in Otsego county. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Blue Devil Hockey Team that shows up BIG not only on the ice but in the heart! Thank you! Blue Devils for “facing off” with homelessness in your community.
Way to go Kayla!
April 2024 Press Release - Kyla Albrecht, General Manager of AWAKON Federal Credit Union in Gaylord committed to take the “Polar Plunge” at AlpenFrost if she received $2,000 in pledges for The Refuge. And she did! Thank you so much Kayla and AWAKON!
THANK YOU TO BOYNE PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
Students appeared at the Refuge Office this winter bearing bags of warm winter items including hand tied blankets, hats, gloves and more. We are humbled by their decision to adopt a non-profit out of their own county as an expression of their concern for the homeless of northern Michigan.
Giving Back
Refuge Board of Directors Members Ray and Kathy Rivers and Ron Borowiak sort warm clothing, including coats, hats and gloves that were donated by Bob Wright to help the homeless stay warm this winter.
Refuge Board of Directors Vice President Kathy Musto sorts and fills bags with paper and other products. These helpful gifts allow Refuge clients to have what they need to open cans, warm up and enjoy food, often received from the Otsego Food Pantry, in their hotel rooms – saving them money and ensuring them nourishment. Big shout out to Richard and Doreen Ostrander and the good people of St. Mary Cathedral for their heartwarming and essential gifts including gift cards, paper products, personal care products and other miscellaneous items. So far this shelter season at least 92 households including many children have received housing and other support, including these products and other warm items.
Thank you
Alten Zimmer Residents
Judi joins Kathy to sort recent clothing items, lovely quilts and scarves, and other items collected by the residents of Alten Zimmer to be shared with our clients. We are so grateful to all who have helped us to provide warmth and safety to our clients this shelter season.
THANKS to Many Generous Supporters
The Refuge is blessed to have many individual donors who have for so many years made sure that our mission to help our homeless friends and neighbors was fully funded to meet the current need. That has never been truer than this season as we near the end of another record year. In 3 seasons, the need The Refuge has met has exploded from 28 households in 2021-22
(during pandemic) costing $10,155 to 92 households currently at a cost of $70,000 and climbing. The current season does not end until June 1. We want to take a moment to thank all those individuals and entities that stepped up this shelter season to help us meet the greatest need yet – the Otsego Community Foundation and several of its designated funds, Community Financial FCU, AWAKON FCU, MI Non-Profit Relief Fund, Blue Devil Hockey Team, Northern MI RV, Consumers Energy, Gaylord Kiwanis, and several local faith-related organizations. You made it happen!! Thank you for having a heart for the homeless in our community and the confidence in The Refuge to deliver caring, quality and efficient services to those in need.
WAYS TO GIVE TO YOUR COMMUNITY
There are numerous ways to give back to your community for charitable purposes. For The Refuge, you may contact Judi Doan, Shelter Coordinator, at 989-350-8231 if you would like to find out how you can help, including what types of support products (and how many) are needed during the shelter season. You can always write a check or make a credit card gift on our website as a tax deductible direct donation (www.otsegorefuge.org), give a gift as part or all of a required IRA annual distribution,
as a legacy gift in your will, ask your employer if the employer has any kind of “match” program for employee charitable gifts, encourage your local religious or civic organizations to consider directly supporting or encouraging members to jointly support local non-profit organizations, and last, participate in opportunities customers have to give through invoices for services, like
utilities. The People Fund of Great Lakes Energy is a great example of an opportunity for customers to “round-up” their monthly utility bills to the next dollar. Funds received are used to make grants to local charitable organizations in local communities across the GLE northern Michigan service area. The Refuge and other groups in Otsego have been recipients of the support of the GLE People Fund in the past. If you are a customer, you can find out more/enroll at www.gtlakes.com.
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What services does the Refuge provide?Today, The Refuge meets its basic goal to get clients out of the cold by using local hotel rooms. Food is provided through the Otsego County Food Pantry. The Refuge has improved its support services by engaging more experienced staff to help clients navigate community services and, when necessary, to re-locate to other areas or into more permanent housing they have the financial ability to sustain longer term on their own. A significantly larger number of our clients are now located to more permanent housing providing the opportunity for a more sustainable future. During the tornado relief efforts, The Refuge was able to re-house 29 displaced households nearly immediately of learning of their need.
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What effect has The Refuge homeless shelter program had in Otsego County?The Refuge in Otsego County (The Refuge) has started its 10th season. Several local churches helped to establish The Refuge as a non-profit organization when the Friendship Shelter, Otsego’s only homeless shelter, was forced to close in 2013. “The Refuge” - an overnight homeless shelter program rotated among several church facilities for several years. Although intended to be a temporary response until a community-wide response was found, The Refuge remains the only local general housing response to homelessness. Over 10 shelter seasons, the program has provided over 3800 nights of overnight housing and food. During tornado relief efforts, The Refuge provided another 1650 nights of shelter for 29 households making for a ten-year total of just under 5500 overnight stays for just under 500 neighbors.
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Who are homeless in Otsego County?Otsego County has a significant disadvantaged population – 37% of our households are without sufficient income for basic needs - housing, food, health care, transportation, child care, utilities, technology and taxes despite members of some households are working. When we talk about the homeless in our community, we know that 12% live below the Federal Poverty Level - $12,490 per year for a single person and $25,750 for a family of four. We also know another 25% are working but do not have sufficient income to meet all monthly basic expenses. The recent Alice Report identifies the average household income in Otsego County to be less than the average household survival budget for a family of four. We know that many friends and neighbors are bunking in with others and that those who are not currently homeless could be with one financial/personal setback – they are living with barely enough to survive and far from enough to thrive. The Refuge, along with other agencies, provides a safety net. See The ALICE Report at https://www.uwmich.org.
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Who does the Refuge Serve?The Refuge began as a rotating shelter serving homeless men and women in church facilities. Over time, logistical requirements changed the shelter residents to just men. A significant benefit of using the new motel model has been that The Refuge now has the capability and does house families with children as well as single men and women. Clients are still mostly single adults but in the last five years, The Refuge has been able to house 245 adults and 79 children. All Refuge clients must be connected/living in Otsego County and agree to participate in a “Moving Forward Plan” - tailored to their circumstances - to help them find and retain more permanent housing. For those circumstances where individual housing is not possible, assistance to destinations where family/friends are located or more formal shelter arrangements out of the county are explored. The Refuge works with other social service and medical service agencies, including the Otsego County Sheriff’s Department, to help those in need.
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What is being done to challenge homelessness in Otsego County?The Refuge is engaged in discussions about a community-wide response to homelessness. Simply providing temporary housing is not enough. Otsego County has a significant lack of all kinds of housing, including affordable and low income. The problem of homelessness is a community problem that demands a community response. After the pandemic and the May tornado, we believe the community is ready for that serious discussion.
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What is the current situation of homelessness in Otsego County?Requests for housing to The Refuge are now dramatically higher in Otsego County. Since October 1, The Refuge has already spent more to house those in need than in any previous shelter season since employing hotel rooms. In past years, The Refuge has been able to move clients to more permanent housing in about two weeks; but given that affordable rental housing is nearly non-existent (and made more acute by the tornado), it will take longer to find and that has significantly increased costs.
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What can you do to help?There are two very important ways you can help. Financial Donation - You can make a financial donation through this website (see “donate” tab) or you may write a check to “The Refuge” and return it to P.O. Box 44, Gaylord, MI 49734. A gift of $50 covers a one-night stay in a hotel and a gift of $350 covers an entire week. A gift in any amount makes a difference. Housing - If you have existing rental property or property you are willing to rent, we want to talk to you. Our inventory of affordable housing is very low. You may contact Chris at 989-732-8929 (asking for housing resources) to explore your potential participation.
OTHER IMPORTANT CONTACTS FOR SERVICES IN OTSEGO COUNTY: DIAL “211”.
HELP A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER
If you know of someone who needs housing services, please call The Refuge Office at 989-732-8929 and ask for The Refuge or submit a confidential referral on this website. Thank you for your assistance.
In Gratitude
Over the years, the Refuge has enjoyed the financial support of so many - area churches, friends and businesses providing gifts of money and in-kind services. We are so grateful for the continuing assistance over the past few years of various funds of the Otsego Community Foundation.
In 2021, The Barbara and Frank Rock Family Fund of OCF generously provided funding so we could re-establish, expand, and update this website. Thank you all.