Homeless Population in Alpena Struggle to Find New Accommodations as Alpena County Fair Comes to Town

Michigan saw an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024. It’s what we all want in the United States, a modest home that provides our needs. A place to spend time with family, make meals and bathe with dignity. But for too many Americans, one misstep, one car that breaks down or a job loss can cause a cycle of extreme poverty that is hard to break. “A lot of the guests that arrive when they’re first in, they’re carrying a lot of shame from being homeless. They’re carrying a lot of pain from various circumstances in their lives. They have suffered also physically, either being exposed to elements or trying to live in their vehicles,” Director of the Sunrise Mission Homeless Shelter Michelle Bailey said.

A drive by our Alpena Fairgrounds confirms a place where homeless people camp.  “The fairgrounds provide a somewhat safe option. The soup kitchen is great about helping out and feeding everybody. They all go over as a community together and break bread together. So, it’s great how they do it together,” Alpena County Fairgrounds Caretaker Holly Atkins said. Sunrise Mission in Alpena has had a new director for six months now, and they are filled to capacity. “I arrived in January of 2024 and what I get to do every single day is cheerlead, encourage and enable people to change their lives and break the cycle of homelessness. Since February, we have an all-time high number of children in residence, more than ever before in our history. Families in general, there are a lot of families, and some of those are women led families. Others of those are actually both the mom, dad and the children together in residence. We’ve been running to full capacity. Very rarely are we not, every single bed that we have is full. We are definitely identifying that we need more space,” Bailey said.