ABOUT SHONAGH TARUZA:
Scottish-Zimbabwean, born in Scotland, raised in Zimbabwe. Identifies as Black and Queer. Trained as a Crop Scientist, worked in ecotoxicology research in the UK for 6 years before emigrating to the US in 20025. Retrained as a minister/chaplain. Worked at St. Joes as a chaplain resident before becoming the Minister of Social Justice, Diversity, and Outreach at First United Church of Ann Arbor.
"I am an artist, avid gardener, single mother of 3. I live on the east side of the county and just opened a new shelter 5 minutes away from my house."
RESOURCES:
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and welcome to our weekly exploration of equity and opportunity in our community. I'm David Fair, and this is Washtenaw United. Housing insecurity and homelessness are on the rise. Affordability, wage disparity, and economic segregation are growing issues. There are a number of organizations and nonprofits working to create affordable housing and help create stable housing and support for the unhoused. Alpha House is among them. The Interfaith Hospitality Network at Alpha House has partnered with Trinity Health Ann Arbor with Washtenaw County and the State of Michigan to create Alpha House East. It expands homeless shelter services and officially opened at the end of November. Our guest today is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Hospitality Network at Alpha House. Her name is Shonagh Taruza. And thank you so much, Shonagh, for making time for us today! And congratulations on the opening!
Shonagh Taruza: Thank you for having me, David! And, yes, it's a very exciting time!
David Fair: It is quite an undertaking to bring something like a new shelter to life. Now, while Alpha House East opened about a month ago, take us through the process of getting to that point.
Shonagh Taruza: Oh, David! The process started actually before I even joined Alpha House. You know, the original location on Jackson Road, what we're now calling Alpha House West, was also a community collaboration. And it was Trinity Health, which was St. Joe's at the time, that offered the Alpha House location on Jackson Road to the Interfaith Hospitality Network, which is a group of churches doing a rotating shelter. Trinity gave them that building in 2001. When I joined the organization in January of 2023, I had actually come fresh from working as a chaplain resident at St. Joe's, the main hospital. And so, I knew all of them, the former colleagues. And I noticed as soon as I started that the original six bedrooms just really weren't enough. And I said, "Do you have any other buildings that we could use for a shelter?"
David Fair: And you found one!
Shonagh Taruza: And we found one! So, it kind of seems like the stars all aligned at the right time. So, I requested the building in the summer of '23. And then, finally in April, Trinity came back and said, "Let's make this happen!"
David Fair: Well, while we can be comforted by the fact that more shelter space is available now, the fact it is necessary, well, that remains a huge concern. For its part, in a 2024 report, Trinity Health identified housing insecurity as a top priority. You can mark it as a top concern in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County government and throughout the region. You've been ingrained in this work for some time now. Why, in your estimation, with all the attention being directed to this issue, is the problem getting worse instead of better?
Shonagh Taruza: It's getting worse because the systems in place are failing right now. You know, there's so many things that go into someone losing their housing. Unfortunately, it's primarily Black women. You know, when I look at my statistics, it's 98% Black women. And by the time they come to the shelters, they've faced one crisis or the other, either they've lost their employment, their employment doesn't pay them enough to be able to pay for the rents in Washtenaw County, they've had childcare issues, medical issues, mental health struggles, issues with transportation. If we had all of those services working well, people wouldn't wind up in the situation they're in.
David Fair: We're talking with Interfaith Hospitality Network and Alpha House Executive Director Shonagh Taruza on WEMU's Washtenaw United. To understand the mission of an organization, sometimes I find that answers can be found in the motivations of its people. You are an artist. You're a minister. You identify as Black, queer, and a single mother. These are all segmented parts of our population that have, in one way or another, been marginalized and minimized. What in your life experience brought you to this line of work?
Shonagh Taruza: Well, lots of things brought me to this work. I'd say the most recent would be my experience as a Black woman living in Washtenaw County and a single parent. When I was a minister, I used to work with Alpha House on the church side of things because my former congregation was one of the founding members of the Interfaith Hospitality Network. And when I sensed that it was time to do something more, something different, the opportunity came up, and I just jumped at it. For years and years, I've been doing different types of volunteer homelessness services ministry. I was on the breakfast at St. Andrews Board, and we also had a Friday evening outreach when I was a member of the Vineyard Church. So, I'd been in this work for a while, and it just seemed like such a natural fit.
David Fair: You know, the societal dialog about gender and race these days seems filled with misunderstanding, misinformation, and, in a manner, often filled with anger and rage. Sometimes, that makes people scared to talk about it, but we really have to talk about it. How do you see race and gender in the context of increasing housing insecurity?
Shonagh Taruza: You know, we have to be talking about who's being impacted. When we don't talk about the actual who, it's very easy to make decisions that are lacking in understanding, in compassion, in empathy for those being impacted. We need to be talking about all of this. We need to be talking about the systems in place that are hurting people, that are forcing them out of their homes. We need to be talking about how we're choosing to spend our money, our taxpayers' money, where we're prioritizing the community needs. We need to be talking about how we can just get on better as neighbors right now. You know, there's so many forces that are trying to divide us all right now. And we need for people like you, David, and your listeners and everybody to be having those difficult conversations, to be doing the introspection as individuals, as organizations, as taxpayers, as the Washtenaw County community together.
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU's Washtenaw United. And today, our guest is Shonagh Taruza. Shonagh is Executive Director of the Interfaith Hospitality Network at Alpha House. Shonagh, let's talk a little bit about what Alpha House East has to offer. As I understand it, there are 30 individual units. How many people can that house?
Shonagh Taruza: So, the beautiful thing about Alpha House East is the rooms are different sizes. There are some that are larger. And we could, we're not going to, but the rooms could accommodate families of like six, eight, some of the larger rooms, but that's not ideal. And then, there are some rooms that are little bit smaller that can fit families of maybe two, three. And so, this means that we were able to figure out what's the best fit for for our clients. Not only do we have Alpha House East, but we have Alpha House West. And we have six master lease houses where we can accommodate the larger families. And so, the different range of shelter options means that we can meet a family, find out where it is they work, and a lot of them work on the east side of the county. Where would you like to be? What type of resources can we provide you? For instance, we know that Alpha House West, which is smaller, is more suitable for the younger moms, the moms with babies, because it's a more intimate setting. And then, we could have Alpha House East for families who are a bit more independent because the units have their own private bathrooms and ample closet space. And it's suitable for families who are a bit more independent. Having Alpha House East has opened up a whole realm of possibilities in sheltering. Unfortunately, because of one of the grants we receive, we have to put a 120-day cap on shelter stays for those shelters who are receiving that funding. Alpha House East does not receive that funding, which means that we can absorb people who might have gone past 120 days but just need a little bit more time just to get that housing lined up or something else. So, it's going to benefit the community in so many ways beyond just providing the space. It gives us flexibility, the ability to pivot, the ability to help people separate from some of the regulations that are coming down from the federal level.
David Fair: So many people, in talking about this in a political manner, consider shelter services a community handout instead of a community hand-up. What resources do you provide to those you serve to move to a place of housing stability beyond just the stay at Alpha House?
Shonagh Taruza: Yes. So, sheltering is never just about this day. As soon as someone arrives at a shelter, and this is both Alpha House and Delonis, we'll do an intake assessment. And then, once you're admitted to shelter, we're assigning you a case manager. If it's not on day one, it's day two or three, but as soon as possible, we're assigning you a case manager who's going to sit down with you and get a good grasp of your situation and then figure out what it is you need. Do you need help with employment resources? Do you need to do some more training? Do you need help with child care? Do you need help with transportation? Can we start getting those housing applications started? And this is in week one. We start working on the housing plan. And then the case manager will meet with them weekly just to check in on their progress and to figure out do you need to go visit Michigan Works today? Do you need to go and apply for a job at St. Joe's? We're always with them, journeying with them, and available on site anytime they need any kind of advice or guidance. So, our goal really is to empower people. And the shelter piece of it is secondary, unfortunately. We're trying to receive people in and give them everything they need to go out and thrive and be successful. It's just becoming harder and harder as things change, as they've changed over the past ten months.
David Fair: Well, there are a lot of people that feel exactly that way, like the country and the world is in a downward spiral. There's a lot of angst out there, and often with very good reason. But I sense that when you talk about systems and oppressive systems, that you also see this as a time of opportunity. How so?
Shonagh Taruza: Oh, absolutely! You know, the systems that have been in place haven't really been serving people well. And also us as a society, we haven't been functioning how we should be. We're already working on improving that with all the changes that are coming about. I'm really hoping that we can be broader in our thinking beyond housing and homelessness as a Washtenaw County community because that's what's going to help us to rebuild the new. Let all these systems fail, so that we can start afresh and build from ground up and tailor it to what the people in our community need. But I'm feeling very encouraged and hopeful by some of the work that we're doing collaboratively in Washtenaw County.
David Fair: Thank you so much for the time today, Shonagh! I appreciate being able to talk with you!
Shonagh Taruza: David, thank you so much for the opportunity! And thank you everyone who's listening!
David Fair: That is Shonagh Taruza. She is Executive Director of the Interfaith Hospitality Network at Alpha House, which recently opened the Alpha House East Shelter on the main campus of Trinity Health. For more information, visit our website at WEMU.org. Washtenaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way for Southeast Michigan, and you hear it every Wednesday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting from the campus of Eastern Michigan University!
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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