With frigid temperatures in weekend forecast, facility sets up 80 cots in gymnasium, provides meals and showers
DETROIT — The Pope Francis Center Bridge Housing Campus will open its gymnasium as an emergency shelter starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13, to provide unhoused Detroit residents protection from extreme cold and snow.
Detroit is expected to experiences low temperatures in the single digits and low teens this weekend, so just as the center did last year, it is setting up 80 cots available for men and women to sleep overnight, along with blankets, meals, bathroom and shower facilities at its Bridge Housing Campus, located at 2915 West Hancock Street in Detroit’s west side.
The shelter will be open until 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, but could be extended if Detroit city officials determine the additional shelter space is needed because of ongoing severe weather.
“With dangerously cold temperatures on the way, we’re working closely with the City of Detroit to make sure no one is left outside in life-threatening conditions,” said Fr. Tim McCabe, SJ, president and CEO of the Pope Francis Center. “Opening the gymnasium at our Bridge Housing Campus allows us to offer immediate safety, warmth, and dignity to our neighbors when they need it most.”
The Pope Francis Center further encourages families and youth seeking shelter or warming center placements to contact the Coordinated Assessment Model (CAM) by calling the City of Detroit’s Housing Resource Services Helpline at (866) 313-2520.
The Pope Francis Center opened its Bridge Housing Facility in May 2024, touting it as a "game changer" in serving the area’s homeless population, providing 40 units of transitional housing for the chronically homeless, where they can receive medical care, substance abuse prevention, job training, and learn life skills to put them on a path toward permanent housing.
Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger visited the Pope Francis Center Bridge Housing Campus on July 31 while celebrating the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola with the local Jesuit community.
The archbishop commended the work of the bridge housing program, which is designed for guests to stay for 90 to 120 days, while receiving wraparound services to help transition into permanent housing.
