The Pope Francis Center recently marked the first step toward ending chronic homelessness in Detroit with a ceremonial groundbreaking at the future site of its Bridge Housing Campus. The outdoor event was held on Friday, December 3 on Hancock Street near Lawton in Detroit's Core City neighborhood.

The Bridge Housing Campus will prepare individuals for a successful transition into permanent supportive housing and will be feature 40 studio apartments, a cafeteria, a gymnasium, library, classrooms, and health clinic. It will also include an outdoor shelter with heat sources for those who have normalized homelessness and struggle to come indoors. Guest will be able to stay 90 to 120 days while also receiving medical care, psychological and/or substance abuse treatment. Construction on the 5.3 acre campus is expected to begin early next year, with a completion goal of mid-2023.

On hand for the groundbreaking ceremony were Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley, Group Executive for Planning, Housing, and Development for the City of Detroit Donald Rencher, and The Julia Burke Foundation Board Member Robbie Murphy. In opening remarks, Father Tim McCabe, SJ, Executive Director of the Pope Francis Center explained that while the center has more than 30 years of experience working with the homeless population in Detroit, he wanted to do more than merely provide a Band-Aid remedy; he wanted to address the root causes of homelessness. McCabe set about visiting nearly two dozen homeless shelters across the country to find out what works and what does not. "I came home not only with the best practices of people working with the chronically homeless around the country; I came home with the conviction that we could build a program that would help people making the transition from life on the streets to a better future," he said. "Just as important as the physical building, we will provide the trauma-informed individualized care with specialists in medical, psych, and addiction; we'll have housing specialists, life skills training, job readiness programs, all the things that those who are chronically homeless need to make this transition."

"This is the kind of thing that makes you feel really good about Detroit's future, about the people willing to invest in our residents and seeing them for the potential they have," said Mayor Duggan. "As a city, we are moving away from simply providing temporary overnight shelter to a model of providing more individual units and a full range of on-site support services to break the cycle of homelessness."

In his comments, Ford CEO Farley echoed McCabe and Duggan's comments, agreeing that temporary solutions to homelessness, while practical, do not address the underlying cause. "We have to deal with the root cause, the whole person. This facility that will stand on this ground is intended for that and that's why I'm personally so excited about the Bridge Housing Campus because it's not about Band-Aids, it's about the whole self," he said. Farley than announced that the Julia Burke Foundation had decided to pledge an additional $6 million toward the project. "With matching funds, that will bring the total raised to about $24 million. I want to thank the Burkes, they've been so generous." The California-based foundation had worked with the Pope Francis Center to provide trailers for shower and laundry facilities, and hadpreviouslycommitted $7 million toward the construction of the Bridge Housing Campus.

"We know that there's a much larger community that is invested in this important project that is absolutely a major milestone, and will turn a corner for the city of Detroit," Murphy, native Detroiter remarked.

Father Tim McCabe, SJ, speaks about how the Bridge Housing Campus will aid the homeless population in Detroit.

"Although we have a long way to go, I am convinced more than ever that today marks the beginning of the end of chronic homelessness in our city," said McCabe. "To our new Core City neighbors, I say thank you for the warm welcome you have given us and for your support of us coming into your community."

To find out more about the Pope Francis Center and how you can volunteer or donate, go to http://www.popefranciscenter.org.