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MCREST In the Media
Press on Returning Home
May 9, 2021
MCREST seeking community to support homeless mothers and children
December 10, 2020
“Metro Detroit boy has collected holiday donations every year since he was 4 years old”
May 6, 2021
MCREST 'Moms for Moms' campaign will help furnish shelter for women and children
May 4, 2021
Operation Safe Haven 2 connects people in need to those who can help
May 3, 2021
Roseville's Operation Safe Haven 2 will connect people in need with agencies that can help
March 14, 2021
“Items on MCREST wish list still needed for future women and children's shelter”
February 10, 2021
“MCREST reaches its Returning Home campaign goal of $300,000”
November 15, 2020
“MCREST announces money in need and money received to help the homeless”
November 9, 2020
“Leadership Macomb hosts Invisible Casualties of COVID-19 webinar”
February 12, 2021
“Will Macomb County Come Close To Beating Coldest Day On Record?”
January 5, 2021
“Consumers Energy makes over $480,000 in grants to help Michigan nonprofits with COVID-19 relief”
January 2, 2021
“As coronavirus effects linger, charities look ahead”
December 23, 2020
“Spotlight on Charity: MCREST”
December 21, 2020
“No parties, still joy: Organizations adapt to serve homeless at Christmas”
December 14, 2020
Letters: Readers on working for the common good this holiday season
December 12, 2020
“Homeless shelters and providers across metro Detroit brace for a pandemic winter”
Press Releases
MCREST Returning Home Campaign Reaches Fundraising Goal
$300,000 raised to support homeless children and families
MCREST launches Wish List effort
ROSEVILLE, Mich. February 3, 2021 — Thanks to generous donors, Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team (MCREST) has surpassed its $300,000 Returning Home campaign goal to enable renovations to its existing Mt. Clemens building. The building, once renovated, will provide temporary shelter, food, educational resources, job training and job placement for up to 45 women and children at a time.
With funds in hand to complete construction on the facility, MCREST is launching a follow up donation drive to equip the building. An Amazon Wish List is now available for supporters to help MCREST provide the items that mothers and children will need during their stays. The furnishings and accessories featured on the Amazon Wish List, at a wide range of prices, include bedding, towels, appliances, necessities to care for children of all ages and other items families need. Books, games and toys for the children staying with MCREST are also included on the list. All Wish List purchases can be shipped directly to MCREST. Go to the MCREST website for a link to the Wish List.
Said April Fidler, executive director of MCREST, “We are so grateful that our sponsors and individual donors have pitched in to make our building renovation fundraising campaign a success. Especially during this time, when the need is so great for so many, it is heartwarming to see this overwhelming support for our mission from the community. We appreciate any additional contributions our generous donors can make in helping us to furnish each room through an Amazon Wish List purchase.”
MCREST’s presenting sponsor for the Returning Home campaign is PNC Bank. The campaign’s major sponsors are Consumers Energy Foundation, Sabiston Building Supply, Gardner-White Furniture, Bedgear, Weingartz, Christian Financial Credit Union, and Children’s Academy.
More than 1,000 children experience homelessness in Macomb County each year. MCREST has worked with a network of more than 70 churches over the last 30 years to offer a rotating solution for guests experiencing homelessness. In 2020, they sheltered over 600 individuals. This year with COVID-19, they will shelter 180 people, three times their normal capacity, being housed in a nearby motel.
The new facility will allow a stable location for women and children to receive support services on their path to self-reliance when completed in 2021. Men will continue to be welcomed within the church network.
People in need of shelter should telephone 586-415-5101.
MCREST Homeless Shelter Receives
$25,000 Consumers Energy Foundation Grant
Macomb organization to use funds for its Returning Home campaign
Roseville, Mich. December, 2020 — The Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team (MCREST) has received a $25,000 grant from the Consumers Energy Foundation.
The Consumers Energy grant will be part of the Returning Home campaign that is enabling renovations to a Mt. Clemens building to provide temporary shelter, food, educational resources, job training and job placement for up to 45 women and children at a time.
More than 1,500 children experience homelessness in Macomb County each year.
The new facility will allow a stable location for women and children to receive support services on their path to self-reliance. Men will continue to be welcomed within the church network.
For more than 30 years, MCREST has worked with a network of 70+ churches to offer a rotating solution for guests experiencing homelessness. In 2020, they have helped nearly 600 individuals.
April Fidler, MCREST CEO, said, “We’re so grateful to the Consumers Energy Foundation and their COVID-19 relief efforts. They’re a huge help to us in our work to provide stability and reduce trauma for children experiencing homelessness.”
“Consumers Energy is dedicated to ensuring all Michigan residents thrive economically, especially our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Carolyn Bloodworth, secretary/treasurer of the Consumers Energy Foundation. “Now, more than ever, the emergency shelter services MCREST provides are critical to helping families and individuals in crisis overcome these challenging times and find a pathway to self-sufficiency and a brighter future.”
As Macomb County’s leading provider of shelter and support services to homeless individuals, MCREST currently shelters 180 guests per day. Those in need of services can call MCREST at 586-415-5101.
Macomb County's Children Need Our Help
Op-Ed by Tim Joy, board member, MCREST (Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team) and chair, MCREST Returning Home Campaign
How do you safely shelter during a pandemic when you don’t have a home? That’s a question facing thousands of Macomb County residents experiencing homelessness right now—and many of them are children. For them, the trauma of day-to-day changes in shelter, added to the physical and emotional uncertainty, can cause lasting psychological damage. Throw in cold temperatures and a pandemic, and that’s a dire situation.
Back when the coronavirus first hit and churches shut down, many people lost their only places of shelter, temporary as they might be. In Macomb County, people experiencing homelessness are now staying at an area motel to stay healthy from the pandemic and off the street. MCREST (Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team) is grateful for this temporary solution on the path to self-reliance.
With the cold weather comes an increase in guest intake for the County and for MCREST. Thanks to the cooperation of local nonprofits and County departments, including the Macomb County Emergency Management, we’re able to triple the number of guests receiving temporary motel shelter through MCREST - from 60 to 180 each month. This keeps people safe, healthy and warm.
But what about the children? MCREST is working to finish renovations on a special building that will be a temporary home for women and children. But MCREST needs help —$300,000 of it — to finish the project. When complete, the Mt. Clemens building will provide food, educational resources, childcare and tutoring, job training and job placement for up to 45 women and children at a time. This Center will allow students to attend remote classes from a secure location. It will help job seekers gain financial independence.
We’re grateful to Weingartz and Christian Family Credit Union for their leadership in our campaign. It is time for additional businesses to step up. For more information on how businesses and individuals can help these important women and children, visit www.mcrest.org/returninghome.
As this pandemic rages on, your help will be a crucial step to relieve the crisis of homelessness in our community.
MCREST Launches Returning Home Campaign to Complete Support Center for Macomb County Families and Children
ROSEVILLE, MI, November 10, 2020 — Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team (MCREST) is launching a $300,000 Returning Home campaign to better accommodate and enhance the support provided to homeless children and families. More than 1,000 children experience homelessness in Macomb County each year.
The new campaign will enable renovations to a Mt. Clemens building to provide temporary shelter, food, educational resources, job training and job placement for up to 45 women and children at a time.
For more than 30 years, MCREST has worked with a network of 70+ churches to offer a rotating solution for guests experiencing homelessness. In 2020, they have helped nearly 600 individuals.
The new Center will allow a stable location for women and children to receive support services on their path to self-reliance. Men will continue to be welcomed within the church network.
One guest, Angela, spent three months in the MCREST program this year when her family struggles became dire and left her and her family homeless.
“MCREST keeps my family safe and is a refuge,” said Angela. “They help with food, housing, rent and security deposits. It is ground zero when you need help. We didn’t know where to turn, especially with a 10-month old.”
“It’s traumatic to move children around, particularly during the school year,” said April Fidler, executive director, MCREST. “The new Center will reduce the stress on the whole family as we wrap our arms around them with support services and stability.”
Lead sponsors to date for the Returning Home campaign are Weingartz and Christian Financial Credit Union. To donate or sponsor to the campaign, please go to the RETURNING HOME page.
New 2020-21 Program
As the leading County provider of shelter and support services for homeless individuals, MCREST is now also helping provide additional temporary shelter throughout 2021. Beginning this month, MCREST is sheltering up to 180 men, women, and children experiencing homelessness each month. The 120-person increase triples MCREST’s current 60-person monthly capacity and comes at the beginning of the cold weather months, which can be devastating to those experiencing homelessness.
The funding for this increase is provided by Macomb County Emergency Management and was secured from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and a HUD Emergency Solutions Grant. The additional money will support the expansion of MCREST’s capacity for one year.
MCREST is accommodating all 180 guests at the Microtel Inn & Suites on 13 Mile Road near Gratiot Avenue in Roseville. MCREST typically houses guests in communal spaces like congregation halls and gyms at its network of more than 70 churches, but separate rooms and communal space to social distance is needed to keep guests safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
People in need of shelter should telephone 586-415-5101.
About MCREST
Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team (MCREST) provides meals, lodging, life-skills training, housing assistance, job readiness training, and emergency shelter 365 days each year to Macomb County’s homeless population.
MCREST partners with more than 70 churches in Macomb County to temporarily shelter people experiencing homelessness on a rotating basis, with the shelter location moving from church to church each week. MCREST also operates a Learning and Resource Center.
Founded in 1988, MCREST has grown from a homeless day camp to a registered 501(c)(3) that assists approximately 600 people experiencing homelessness each year.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Colleen Robar, crobar@robarpr.com, 313-207-5960
