Homelessness in Manchester featured in documentary
The Road Home premiered on April 23 at the Michigan Theater and featured multiple Manchester residents including Carol Wotring (right) and Melissa Licavoli (left), executive director and assistant director of Manchester Community Resource Center. Photo by Sara Swanson.
by Sara Swanson
We reported earlier this spring that in Feb. a film crew visited Manchester to film part of a documentary on homelessness in Washtenaw County. The Road Home, a documentary directed by Kameron Donald of Breyko, and produced by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission held its premier on May at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. While much of the focus of the film is on homelessness in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, the urban core of our county, the Manchester segments provided a counterpoint, illustrating what rural homelessness in Washtenaw looks like and the unique challenges faced in trying to assist rural residents experiencing homelessness.
According to the Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development, Washtenaw County has one of the the highest median incomes in the state, but is also the most economically divided county in the state with a significant widening gap in income, wealth, and opportunity between the rich and poor. And in our very prosperous county, and despite the best efforts of many dedicated individuals and organizations, homelessness is not only an ongoing problem, it is happening to more people each year, not fewer.
Each year in January, Washtenaw County conducts a Point In Time Count, or PIT Count, during which they send people around the county to take a physical count of unsheltered homeless individuals to add to the count of individuals in shelters for a snapshot of homelessness in the county. In 2025, on a 26 degree F night, 350 people were in emergency shelters & transitional housing, and 23 people on streets.
The 2025 PIT count was up 77% since 2022, Washtenaw’s year with the lowest number of unhoused individuals. The increase in homelessness in recent years isn’t just in Washtenaw. Homelessness is up 44% since 2021 in Michigan, with unsheltered homelessness specifically up 750% since 2021. One area Washtenaw has made great strides in is veteran homelessness which has decreased since 2021 by 73%.
Do we know how many of those unsheltered individuals in the PIT count were in Manchester during that cold January evening in 2025? Technically, zero. Not because no one was unsheltered in Manchester that night, but because if there were, they weren’t counted as the count didn’t come to Manchester area in 2025.
The PIT count shows us a snapshot of homelessness at any given time, but individuals lose housing and acquire housing and over the course of a year, thousands of Washtenaw residents end up experiencing homelessness. According to the Washtenaw Housing Alliance, in 2020, the most recent year they report numbers for, nearly 2,800 people were unhoused. The Shelter Association of Washtenaw puts the most recent number closer to 5,000. It is important to keep in mind that all of the numbers given so far are for residents who had already lost their housing. Thousands of more families and individuals struggle with unstable housing in the county and are considered at-imminent-risk of homelessness, doubled-up, or precariously housed.
The goal of The Road Home is to raise awareness, facilitate dialogue, and inspire coordinated action to effectively combat homelessness and housing insecurity. It features interviews with elected officials, organizations working to combat homelessness, and people experiencing homelessness. The Manchester experience was represented by interviews with Shanon Beeman, Manchester’s county commissioner; Carol Wotring and Melissa Licavoli, executive director and assistant director of Manchester Community Resource Center (CRC); and Sharmel (only her first name was given), an unhoused Manchester area resident currently living in a travel trailer with her son.
Wotring and Licavoli as well as multiple members, of the CRC board were present at the premiere.
Licavoli praised the film stating, “I think it is an excellent call to action showcasing many valuable organizations with experts in the housing crisis detailing the places where the system we work within is lacking. I see this as a large call to action- to get people creatively thinking about solutions to a vast and complex (and sometimes hidden) problem.” And added that she was happy to participate in it and for the CRC to have a voice at the table but that it will always be awkward to see herself on a screen. Wotring added, “Sometimes it feels that this side of the county is forgotten. I was happy that the documentary included Manchester." And Licavoli and Wotring expressed gratitude toward Sharmel, who voiced her experience with homelessness in our community.
Wotring and Licavoli both emphasized that we have homelessness in the Manchester area but often times it is hidden. Wotring stated, “I want people to know that although we don't often see it, there are people experiencing homelessness in the Manchester community. We have met people living in tents, cars and campers. There are people "couch surfing", sleeping on a couch with friends and family for a few weeks, then moving on to another couch.” Licavoli added, “Someone may be sleeping in their car in a park-and-ride, or on state land. Someone may be in a tent on someone's farm or living in someone's barn, staying with friends or family, sometimes even to the person's detriment, just to have a roof over their head.”
Homelessness in rural areas not only looks different but has different challenges to working in the system. Licavoli used one area resident’s experience as an example. This person was camping on state land, which has a limit of 14 days but was being moved off more frequently than that by the DNR and Sheriff’s department. This resulted in often being outside of cell service, missing unexpected check-ins with PATH (Partnership. Accountability. Training. Hope) and the required weekly calls with HAWC (Housing Access in Washtenaw County). They were kicked off of the program and then had to wait to get put back on it. Finally, after over 5 years of trying to check all of the boxes, they were placed in an apartment in Ypsilanti. This was far outside the person's comfort level as Manchester was their community.
While the CRC doesn't provide emergency housing directly, their work intersects with homelessness in a few ways. Wotring stated, "People experiencing homelessness often reach out to us for food assistance, and we are sometimes the first call someone makes when they don't know where else to turn. When housing is the need, we connect people with HAWC and will make that call alongside them if that's helpful.”
But, Licavoli added, so far HAWC hasn’t been very helpful for the Manchester area residents they’ve referred. She stated, "We have had several people who came to us already unhoused and in crisis. We have called the HAWC intake line with people to start the process, but we have yet to connect someone with an actual assessment or any resources to help stabilize someone already unhoused through those channels. This is why the CRC works very hard to prevent eviction and foreclosure with our comprehensive services.”
The CRC encourages eligible households to shop in their food pantry twice per month to help save on grocery bills, help people complete SNAP or WIC benefits applications and renewals if they are eligible, and do offer a once per calendar year financial assistance for past due rent or mortgage. Licavoli stated, “Our financial assistance is unique compared to other local rent assistance programs that require an eviction to have already been served or a court date for eviction to have been set. The CRC tries to mitigate that by using all of our tools before that happens. Once an eviction is on someone's record, it can impact their eligibility to rent for 7 years. We don't want people punished for their hard times.”
Licavoli concluded, “I want people to know that they are not alone, this doesn't make them bad people, this doesn't diminish their worth, and that the CRC is here for all people in our community.”
If you missed the premiere of The Road Home, you can catch the second showing which will be on Thursday, May 7 at 6pm (doors open at 5:30pm) at the Michigan Theater located at 603 E Liberty St in Ann Arbor. After the film there will be an optional 4-person panel Q & A. To view the official trailer and reserve tickets, go to https://marquee-arts.org/, click on “what’s on” under the menu, and select “films,” then scroll down to “special events” and click on “The Road Home.” While free, tickets are recommended to ensure access to the screening. A screening is planned in Manchester for July but hasn't been scheduled yet.
If you are homeless or experiencing a housing crisis contact Housing Access for Washtenaw County (HAWC), Washtenaw County’s central intake call center: Phone: 734-961-1999 or email: HAWC@washtenaw.org. The call center operates Monday through Friday from 8:30am until 5:30pm. Voice messages and emails are returned within 48 hours.
- Veterans experiencing a housing crisis can directly contact Ann Arbor VA (Veterans Affairs) at 734-845-5058.
- Youth ages 10-17 who are homeless or runaway can directly contact Ozone House 24/7/365 Crisis Line at 734-662-2222.
- Those experiencing intimate partner Domestic Violence or Sexual Assault can directly contact SafeHouse Center 24/7 Helpline at 734-995-5444 (English) or 24/7 Línea de Apoyo 734-995-5444 (Español).
- Those in need of mental health and/or substance use support can directly call Washtenaw County’s Community Mental Health 24/7 Helpline at 734-544-3050.
If you are in the Manchester area, the Community Resource Center can help you navigate these resources as well as provide you with food and other help. Call the CRC at 734-428-7722 Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 9am-4pm or Tuesday from noon to 7pm. Or email anytime at info@manchestercrc.org.
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