Mount Clemens opens public hearing on $63,343 in CDBG funds; local nonprofits seek support

The Mount Clemens City Commission opened a public hearing on the allocation of $63,343 in Community Development Block Grant funds for fiscal year 2017 and invited residents and nonprofit representatives to comment on how the money should be spent. The commission said it will approve final allocations at its Jan. 17 meeting.

Mark Henderson, representing the Macomb County Warming Center and Ray of Hope, said his organizations applied for $1,500 and described recent efforts to put people into housing. "Since last summer, we have housed six people without tax money," Henderson said, adding that several of those helped were senior citizens.

Maggie Barney, founder and CEO of Wigs for Kids, requested $1,000 to cover part of the $800 cost to convert donated hair into a custom wig for a child and to support the group's statewide wellness services. "These kids feel so disconnected from their schools," Barney said, describing the program's social and emotional support for pediatric oncology patients.

Alyssa Diaz, executive director of Macomb Literacy Partners, requested $1,000 to help defray roughly $1,200 per‑tutor annual costs; she told commissioners the organization provided 207 tutoring hours to Mount Clemens residents last year and served seven Mount Clemens students.

Dory Vasquez Nolan, executive director of Carehaus (the Macomb County Child Advocacy Center), asked the city for $3,600 to support services for six Mount Clemens victims and families, describing Carehaus's multidisciplinary interview and follow‑up services for child victims at no cost to families.

Jacqueline Merchant of the Macomb Homeless Coalition requested $3,000 to match donations for services not covered by HUD or MSHDA grants and highlighted the HUD point‑in‑time count scheduled for Jan. 26, 2017. "At last year's point in time count, we found 405 unsheltered individuals, 60 of which were children," Merchant said.

Other presenters included Brad O'Donnell of Play Place for Autistic Children, who asked the commission to consider CDBG funding to support Mount Clemens families' access to memberships at a new facility.

The chair noted that a notice of the public hearing had been published in the local paper as read at the meeting and that a list of nonprofit applications preapproved by the county had been attached to the agenda materials.

The commission closed the hearing after public comment. Final allocations will be considered and voted on at the Jan. 17, 2017 commission meeting.