Peace House Ypsilanti

Peace House Ypsi works to find a balance between serving and supporting those experiencing homelessness and poverty with health and safety for all in our community.  As always we do this through solidarity and mutual aid, rather than charity. 
With the constant changes in the information coming in we have been adapting and making daily changes, so it is always good to check in with needs.

At this time (after much discernment and consulting with trusted friends, especially those experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity) we have chosen to discontinue open hours. However...

* Folks needing to come for laundry please message us and we will arrange a time that you can drop it off.
We will wash it and you can come get it.

* Showers and Free Store are available by appointment. If you don't have the ability to call for an appointment you can stop by Monday, Wednesday for Friday noon- 4:00, but be aware that we may not be able to accommodate you.

* Boxes of groceries are available for pick up or delivery each Thursday. To get on the list for a box message Sheri or email peacehouseypsi@gmail.com

* We continue to do Sunday Brunch 10:00- 1:00 (Or until we run out) but food is either severed "grab and go" style or delivered 

* Because we had immune compromised guests staying with us when the "shelter in place" directive was issued we have agreed to have them stay beyond our usual short term stay and are currently not able to accommodate other overnight stays. Should someone need short term shelter we are happy to help brainstorm options and do what we can to facilitate access to other resources

* We provide tents, tarps and sleeping bags to those who are camping for survival, and work with the homeless community to provide other mutual aid and support.

* We advocate on the issues impacting those experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, with particular attention on the overlap with the criminal punishment system and the impacts of incarceration.

​Peace House Ypsi is a house of hospitality in the tradition of Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin and the Catholic Worker movement.  Our mission is simply to love.  By providing hospitality, nonviolently resisting injustice and living in solidarity with those on the margins we are building the world we envision by living it. ​ A world where, in the words of Peter Maurin “it is easier to be good.” ​

Core Values of Peace House Community
Peace
Active resistance to injustice
Transformative Justice
Forgiveness
Gratitude
Love
Service
Community
Hope
Listening
Mercy

What we do…
We provide short term overnight respite to those experiencing homelessness. Guests can stay one to three nights.

We provide long term hospitality to bridge guests to a better situation; that may be a bridge from sleeping outside to the purchase of a tent or vehicle, or a space for someone who has secured housing after homelessness and is waiting on the availability of the new home.

During Open hours guests can shower, do laundry, get a snack or a meal, and be in community. In creating the space for this we foster “peer mentoring” where those who have navigated the systems to access services can assist others in doing so. We provide resources and information in how to go about accessing services.

“Be a good neighbor” is an important house expectation to that end we have a “little free library” and are working to create a community garden and a tool lending library open to both guests and neighbors. We offer the opportunity for folks often on the receiving end to “give back” through community service projects, work days and volunteer opportunities.

We are working on a micro-loan program geared toward helping individuals gain the tools and resources to get back on their feet. Work boots and uniforms, the cost of taking the GED, and car repairs are a few of the examples of things that might be cost prohibitive for our friends and guests.  Creating ways to make these tools accessible can support folks in moving forward.

We provide support for those caught up in the criminal justice system and their families (birth and chosen) and friends. 

We offer educational and cultural events especially highlighting health and wellness. Including a weekly women's night focused on support among women as well as health, wellness and self care. 


Peace House, Ypsi FAQs:
Is Peace House Ypsi a shelter?  We are not a shelter, we are not an institution. We are a house of hospitality in the tradition of the Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin and the catholic worker movement. Peace House Ypsi  is a privately-owned home, and those who live here have made a commitment to welcome our friends into our home in order to provide them hospitality. Many of our friends happen to currently be experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.

What do you mean by hospitality and works of Mercy? Traditionally works of Mercy include comforting and consoling...feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and imprisoned, clothing those in need and welcoming strangers... sheltering the homeless, solidarity with the marginalized and disempowered and advocacy on behalf of the poor, the stigmatized, the mentally ill, and the addicted. As a chief witness of charity and a preeminent work of justice we include peace building.

In the day to day, what does that look like?   It is difficult to say what a “typical” day looks like at any house of hospitality and as a new house this is still a work in progress.  We open our home during designated hours for individuals to shower, do laundry, and visit with friends and others in the community in a safe and welcoming environment, sheltered from bad weather.  

We host events geared toward the health and wellness of the community and individuals in the community. Our work is in collaboration with Mercy House, and Hill House (owned by the nonprofit MISSION ) ,  the Ypsi Gathering Space, Washtenaw County Day Time warming center and in solidarity with individuals experiencing homelessness themselves to provide humanitarian aid (sleeping bags, blankets, propane, food etc. ) and to ensure that the voices of those experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity are heard in the institutions and in the policies that affect them. 

How can I help? Our home, Peace House, Ypsi , along with Mercy House, Ann Arbor and Hill House accept donations of humanitarian aid items to distribute to those in need, basic supplies for providing hospitality to those who seek it here, and volunteers for a wide variety of tasks. See reverse for more details.

Currently Peace House, Ypsi is in need of:

- Help with building raised beds for the garden (bonus if you have knowledge to impart about gardening in general)
- Materials for raised bed gardens
- Fill dirt to repair backyard
-Perennials (if you have some in your garden that you can split and share that would be great)
-an awning or pergola for back yard shade (maybe someone has the skills to build a pergola?)

Ongoing Needs:
coffee
sugar
unscented laundry soap
healthy snack foods (raisins, nuts, granola bars…)
Scoop-able cat litter
Can Cat Food (Clyde can't have dry food as it hurt his kidneys)
Sponsor Dinner for Our Women's night 

For more information about donating time, talent and treasure contact Sheri at playfullspirit@gmail.com or call /text her at 734-754-0648.