Salter Place Housing Resource Center (HRC)

Debbie Jones-Burt has been with Saginaw County Community Mental Health Authority (SCCMHA) since 1989 and has supervised its Salter Place Housing Resource Center (HRC) since September 2022. The housing services program currently has four staff members who:

  • Oversee a $500,000 annual Permanent Supportive Housing grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD);
  • Provide outreach to homeless individuals with mental illness in Saginaw County; and
  • Coordinate the Healthy Homes Program, a HUD initiative that assists SCCMHA consumers with identifying and eliminating conditions in their homes that may cause, contribute to or worsen health conditions.

According to Jones-Burt, the Salter Place HRC, located at 2723 State St. in Saginaw, also:

  • Provides apartment searches for any consumer;
  • Helps with security deposits for those exiting homelessness or adult foster care homes;
  • Links and coordinates consumers with resources in the community;
  • Refers consumers to other housing agencies in the county: Assists with obtaining housing furnishings and furniture; and
  • Makes available information on pest management, along with training on how to eliminate and avoid household pests.

“We’re an important part of the SCCMHA operation,” she said. “We help provide permanent housing for individuals and families who wouldn’t normally be able to rent or own their own home. We help provide funding, through the HUD grant, and we vouch for those individuals and families to make sure their rent will be paid, and their home will be in good condition.”

Outreach to homeless individuals includes identifying and engaging them, securing safe shelter/housing for those on the street, and linking and coordinating those in need with available mental and physical health services. This also extends to veterans, with outreach workers linking them to U.S Department of Veterans Affairs services that they qualify for and providing services directly to those who don’t.

Howard Fowler is a consumer who recently received services from the HRC and now rents a Saginaw apartment after almost two years being homeless. He is extremely grateful for the help and likes how quiet it is in his new home.

For more information on the Salter Place HRC, contact SCCMHA at 800-258-8678.