After serving as a homeless shelter for over six months during the pandemic, the Red Roof Inn on Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor will close permanently.
The hotel has provided shelter to over 220 individuals since March to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The cost was being covered by Washtenaw County, but the site will now be redeveloped. Currently, about 25 people are still living at the hotel and will be relocated by the end of the month to rotating shelters or the Delonis Center. Dan Kelly is the executive director of the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County and says the county is in the process of securing housing at a different hotel.
Dan Kelly: The hotel space is really important for serving those with the most medical needs. In order to keep them most safe, the non-congregate option is really really important.
Community groups, such as Washtenaw Camp Outreach, say the county has an obligation to ensure the safety of its citizens. Kelly says rooms at another hotel, which would be paid by the county, could be ready as early as next week.
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— Jorge Avellan is a reporter for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him javellan@emich.edu
