Homeless Off the Streets by Macomb County Program

Homeless Off the Streets by Macomb County Program

There are more than 1000 homeless people in Macomb County and Marcus Baldwin, 42, is one of them. He is in a wheelchair because his right leg was amputated two years ago. "About four o'clock in the morning I was picked up by a trash truck in a dumpster, put in the back of a trash truck and crushed six times," he said. 

Marcus had been sleeping in a dumpster behind a church in Mount Clemens since he had nowhere to go. It was the day before Thanksgiving when he was emptied into a garbage truck and was crushed. 

Crushed in the Dumpster

"Now he's in a wheelchair and no shelter. I didn't want to see that happen again that's why we worked together as a team to take a week," said Paul Cerwin. Cerwin's church is part of a unique program that is getting people off the streets and into homes of their own, the Macomb County Warming Center. The church hosts a homeless shelter each week from November through April - except for that week that Marcus was nearly killed. When they heard about Marcus' story, Paul and his co-workers wanted to help.

Getting together to do something

Getting together to do something that will matter to people is the goal of Cerwin's team. They provide over 350 meals in the week and 350 dinners.--

Workers from the MIBA plant in Sterling Heights together with their company based in Austria hosted the homeless shelter for an entire week at Renewal Church in Warren. They also donated $10,000 to the warming center.

The Ray of Hope Day Center in Mount Clemens

They are aiming to get more companies involved. As a matter of fact, there are people from the warming center who might be applying for employment with them. 

The Ray of Hope Day Center in Mount Clemens has helped homeless people to look for jobs. Kenneth Riley is one of the few people they helped change his life. 

Kathleen Goodrich

According to Kathleen Goodrich, director of the Macomb Warming Center and Ray of Hope Day Day Center, while these people are looking for work, they are given bus tickets until their first paycheck.

Help that is needed to move forward and for people like Marcus, still struggling to get back on track, it's not just the help, but the kindness that counts. 

More help from the community

"More housing resources, food pantries, clothing, basically more donations from the community - more help from the community - and more people just being more sympathetic," Baldwin said.

“Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.”

- Eric Hoffer