FAQs

For Guests

  • The shelter is available only for people who are registered as a guest at ICRH. Click here to ask about becoming a registered guest.

  • Guests are provided a secure locker to store their belongings while they are a guest at the day shelter. These lockers are not intended for long-term storage and space is limited.

  • ICRH cannot accept registered sex offenders and some criminal histories may be screened out. ICRH does not discriminate due to age, gender, gender identification, race, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.

  • Yes, ICRH welcomes children/families. Often, parents have expressed concern over registering their family with the shelter. They may think that they will come to the attention of child protective services (CPS) if they bring their children to a shelter. This could not be further from the truth and in fact, CPS would prefer children to be in a safe, structured environment like what ICRH provides, over a situation in which the family is moving around and staying in various places, with unfamiliar people.

  • At 30/60/90 days of stay, guests’ circumstances are reviewed and a determination will be made on whether the guest is putting forth adequate effort toward meeting their goals and moving toward self-sufficiency. If a guest is actively participating in changing their circumstances and still needs emergency shelter, the guest will be eligible to continue to stay. If there has been little or no effort on the guest’s behalf, that guest may be asked to find other accommodations.

For Donations

ICRH relies on and appreciates donations from our community.  Our guests may have many needs for their specific situation. We carefully plan to make sure we are able to meet every need of our guests through our budget and donations. We ask that all donations be approved by the Executive Director first by calling the shelter administration office at (989) 824-1207. Please remember that the facility does not have room to store some items. We also partner with local agencies whose purpose is to meet some of the needs of our guests. We will post our needs on our Facebook page or our Amazon Wish List. Thank you for understanding!

  • Understandably, the consumable items such as paper towels, toilet paper, paper plates, cups, laundry detergent, laundry softener, copy paper, tissues, juice, and snacks are always in need of restocking. We will gladly accept donations of any of these items.

  • Unfortunately we do not have the facilities to be able to handle donations such as clothing, and blankets. We would recommend that these donations be given to Clothing Inc. We work closely with Clothing Inc. to ensure that our guests have sufficient clothing while at the shelter. Regarding toys, we encourage you to make them available to low income families in our community through either the Salvation Army Thrift Shop or the Goodwill Store as we have limited play areas.

For Volunteers

  • Volunteers at ICRH may assist staff at our day shelter or rotating night shelter, talk with our guests and help support their self-sufficiency plan, may prepare an evening meal, and may assist ICRH staff with cleaning duties. Volunteer tasks will vary based on need and volunteer shift.

  • Fill out the volunteer registration form or contact Cindy Hoyle at cindy.hoyle@icrhouse.org. Once the application has been received and the background check has been completed, Cindy will send you the training information and a link to the available shifts.

  • Call ICRH at (989) 400-4126 and let us know as soon as possible.

  • We recommend that volunteers wear business casual attire. This includes jeans. We discourage cropped, tight-fitting, revealing types of clothing. T-shirts are acceptable, but please do not wear T-shirts with offensive language or logos of alcohol, drugs, or paraphernalia.

  • Since every volunteer needs to complete a background screen and training, anyone who comes with you must complete one as well. They will need to submit their own form. Our facility is not open to visitors, so we would not be able to allow a guest of volunteers to enter the facility.

  • There have been families who help serve meals to our guests when their church hosts our guests. If you are interested in involving your children, you will need to discuss this with Cindy Hoyle prior to signing up to help. You can contact her at cindy.hoyle@icrhouse.org.

  • ICRH provides a separate space for volunteer belongings. However, we strongly encourage you to keep personal bags locked in your vehicle.

General Questions

  • Some statistics show that most homeless people struggle with drugs and alcohol.

    The statistics you find online are national statistics which include large cities like New Your, Chicago, San Francisco, etc. Locally, we do not mirror those statistics. Also, the shelter has not mirrored those statistics.

    The type of programming we provide addresses these issues by connecting them with resources and treatment services relating to drug and alcohol issues.

    Guests are not allowed to bring in drugs, paraphernalia, alcohol, etc. Their bags are checked every time they enter the shelter. If they are found with these items it is reason to be discharged from the program.

    With the programming we provide, individuals with drug and alcohol issues that do not want treatment, do not want to come to the shelter because of our rules.

  • In the last three years, we have called the police for issues needing their assistance only 3 times.

    Law enforcement offices often come to us with individuals needing our assistance.

    Our staff are trained to de-escalate situations without including law enforcement.

  • We have developed a staff training program that addresses issues relating to why people are homeless, de-escalating situations, identifying trauma, trauma responses, understanding mental health, accessing mental health services, motivational interviewing, first aid, etc.

    Additional training resources and continued education are available through MSHDA and DHHS

  • We generally have 3 - 4 staff during the daytime hours with additional volunteers. During the evening when guests are sleeping, we maintain one staff person at the facility.

    A security system is in place that allows staff to monitor every area at all times as well as the outside area.

  • ICRH has been serving those experiencing homelessness in Isabella County for 10 years without an increase in crime.

    Guests are screened and meet eligibility criteria; convicted sex offenders and anyone convicted of a violent crime are not permitted.

    Only 3 incidents where police were called have occurred at ICRH or a host site since 2020

    Guests agree to strict rules about community living and to ensure the safe and effective operation of the ICRH program or be subject to removal from the program. ICRH is a humane, comfortable place for individuals or families to stay when they find themselves in need of emergency housing. The ICRH Case Worker works with guests on their self-sufficiency plans so that they move forward. ICRH is not a long-term housing provider.

    The new building and property will include a full security system complete with locks, 24 hour staffing, security lighting and a camera system.

    ICRH is workings with local police, Community Mental Health to establish a response team to address individual incidents as they come up.

  • ICRH is not a first come, first served shelter, so people will not be lined up to enter each day. The new shelter will be able to accommodate a maximum of 40 guests, and additional requests will be put on a waiting list. ICRH has never/will not overfill the capacity of host sites or its own facility.

    ICRH will maintain the cleanliness of the parking lot and property as a whole. The location will not be an encampment.

    Guests will use ICTC and personal vehicles to utilize community services, go to work, attend medical appointments, etc.

    Neighboring cities that have opened homeless shelters have seen an increase in home values year over year, with no negative affect. Ex. Traverse City has seen an increase in home values since their shelter opened.

  • ICRH has policies to prevent and manage the health and wellness of staff and guests

    ICRH operations are designed to enhance the quality of life by helping people out of homelessness (AD)

    One could agree that providing shelter and support services to homeless individuals is a better alternative to not having a shelter and experiencing an increase in the number of homeless on the street without support (AD)

    ICRH has been functioning in the downtown area for the last decade (NM)

    Our guests will be using our fenced in backyard for their designated smoking area

    Behavior expectations for our guests are no different than any other community member who is on a public sidewalk.

  • The guests at ICRH are not there just for a bed and meals. They are registering for our services which focus on developing personal plans for self-sufficiency. An average guest stay at the shelter 90 to 120 days. They can continue at the shelter as long as they are working on their personal self-sufficiency plan. They are not allowed to come and do nothing that moves them toward self-sufficiency.

    ICRH’s recidivism rate is 18%, meaning that this amount of the people we serve end up coming back to ICRH after leaving for other housing; this is compared to the 27% state average.

  • ICRH is not funded through city or county tax dollars. We receive our operating funds through grants and donations.