Mount Clemens hears nonprofit requests as city opens $59,254 CDBG public hearing

The Mount Clemens City Commission opened a public hearing on allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for fiscal 2018 and heard appeals from local nonprofits and residents on how the roughly $59,254 allocation should be used.

Dory Vasquez Nolan, executive director of Care House, the Macomb County Child Advocacy Center, described the center’s services and capacity limits and asked the commission to consider $6,000 to support services for 10 victims and their families living in Mount Clemens. "We respectfully request your consideration this year in the amount of $6,000 which would support services for 10 victims and their families that reside in Mount Clemens," Vasquez Nolan told commissioners, summarizing Care House’s request and noting the center conducted about 606 forensic interviews in 2017.

Care House serves the county through forensic interviews, crisis counseling and other support at no charge to families, Vasquez Nolan said. Commissioners asked about income eligibility for CDBG-funded clients; Vasquez Nolan said the program follows federal poverty guidelines for billing but that Care House provides services regardless of a family’s ability to pay.

Jennifer Fisher, development director at Wigs for Kids, described the nonprofit’s free wigs and support for children who lose hair because of illness and asked the city for $1,000 for the 2018–2019 funding cycle. Fisher noted larger grants the organization has received do not meet all local need: "...we got a $90,000 grant from Walmart, which will help us serve 90 families, but we see about 300 to 350 each year," she said.

Mark Henderson, shelter coordinator and lead case manager, thanked the commission for prior support and requested $2,000 for shelter services. Henderson said the shelter provided temporary housing for hundreds last year and reported roughly 260 check-ins so far this season; he also described a network of five churches providing rotating shelter weeks.

Residents used the hearing to raise other local concerns. Cindy Stevenson asked the city to clarify whether recent Department of Natural Resources changes to bow hunting season affect Mount Clemens; city staff replied, "There is no hunting in the city of Mount Clemens," and advised residents to call the police or sheriff if they observe hunting within city limits. Another resident noted a discrepancy between the total amount nonprofits requested through the county program and the smaller allocation the city expects to receive; staff explained the larger figure reflected total requests countywide while the city’s approved allocation is smaller.

The public hearing was closed by motion after the presentations. The commission did not take final votes on individual awards at the meeting; staff materials included a published notice in the Macomb Daily and an attached list of county-preapproved nonprofit applications. The hearing record and public input will inform the commission’s subsequent allocation decisions as part of the budget and grant review process.