TRAVERSE CITY — Jubilee House, the only day shelter for people without homes in Traverse City, will get the funding it needs to stay open through 2025.
City commissioners on Monday unanimously agreed on shelter leaders’ request for $102,256. Their ask aims to keep paying staff who were hired to help the previously all-volunteer ministry of Grace Episcopal Church meet a surge in demand.
The Rev. Derek Quinn, the church’s assistant priest for outreach, thanked commissioners and noted the debate that night was a lively one. One of the points raised was whether Jubilee House could find the funding it needs so it won’t need another grant from the city.
Quinn said the church has sought every grant available to it and awaits their response. The Schmuckal Family Foundation recently agreed to help, and he agreed Grace Episcopal Church needs to keep looking for a sustainable model for Jubilee House.
“I think we all know what needs to now happen,” he said. “We’ve got our stopgap measure, but we now really get to have that longer conversation in earnest. I’m ready for it, I’m glad we get to have it with them.”
Several audience members urged commissioners to approve the grant, including some of the volunteers. They touted the day shelter’s role in giving people without a home a place to shower, access the internet or simply relax. Volunteer Brenda Quick said a shower and clean clothes could mean the difference between landing a job after an interview or not.
Audrey Ouillette, who told commissioners she’s currently homeless, said she felt betrayed by city leaders’ decision to start enforcing a no-camping ordinance in May in a former encampment known as “The Pines.” The only place she felt loved was when she stopped in at Jubilee House, including a time when one of the volunteers gave her some flower-print pants for a job interview.
“She always asks me about the flowers on those pants,” she said. “They gave me sunshine when my life was dark.”
Others in the audience said the situation highlights the need for a full-service shelter, one open all day and all year where guests don’t have to pick up and move every day — Commissioner Heather Shaw said it’s undignified to make people do this. But they also acknowledged that Jubilee House is the only day shelter in town.
Church leaders previously explained they added a full-time operations manager and two part-time employees after Jubilee House took in many more guests — and faced lots of new problems, including incidents where a guest brought a gun inside.
In 2022, then-Mayor Richard Lewis requested Jubilee House expand its operations to five days a week from four, and from a four-hour day to staying open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Since then, the day shelter went from an average of 38 sign-ins per day that year to 102 per day so far in 2025.
Not everyone backed the proposal. Lane Smith Corbin said church leaders’ previous assertions that neighbors were more or less happy with Jubilee House since the addition of paid staff wasn’t true in her case. Too many people come and go to the house next door to hers, and both cigarette and marijuana smoke wafts to her home. What’s more, people hang around the property when Jubilee House is closed, even though that’s against house rules.
Commissioner Jackie Anderson said she was ambivalent about the request unless the city could get more information on how Grace Episcopal Church is spending the money. She also wanted more data on how many unique clients Jubilee House serves, and would rather that city funds be used on supplies instead of salaries.
Anderson also suggested a smaller funding amount, to which Mayor Amy Shamroe noted the request was for up to $102,256. Any grants the church receives would be subtracted from what the city ultimately pays.
Jim Perra, Grace Episcopal Church’s rector, said he didn’t envy city commissioners. He acknowledged he was asking them to “fund imperfection,” and agreed a facility with wraparound services would be ideal. He pledged to take part in the Homelessness Task Force’s discussions to explore other opportunities for providing better services to people without shelter.
Perra reiterated that city funding is needed to keep the day shelter’s doors open. That should give it the space it needs to find a more sustainable funding stream.
“In the meantime, we can’t do it without you, and what you have the power to do tonight,” he said.