DETROIT – A woman living inside the Detroit Rescue Mission and Ministries women and children’s shelter says she and her daughter were asked to leave after she sounded the alarm on safety concerns in an anonymous interview with Local 4.
The woman, named Natasha Slater, is sitting on-the-record with Local 4 after capturing the moment she was asked to leave on tape.
“I was just trying to step up for us as mothers because at the end of the day, we still human beings, we still have feelings,” Slater said on Wednesday.
On Saturday, she told Local 4 in an anonymous interview that there were men living inside the shelter and the shared bathrooms didn’t lock.
Local 4 got inside the shelter Saturday night to ask the shelter’s CEO Dr. Chad Audi.
“Is this a women and children’s shelter?” Local 4’s Kyla Russell asked.
Yes, women and children,” Audi said.
“So there are no men?” Russell asked.
“There is if they are married,” Audi said.
“How many dads are here?” Russell asked.
“Maximum we ever had was five,” Audi said.
“So how do I lock that? Can you lock that?” Russell asked when trying to lock the shared bathroom door.
“We don’t lock the rooms because there’s children,” a shelter staff member said.
After Local 4 aired the story, Slater worried that staff could tell it was her who sounded the alarm. She ended up in a meeting with the leadership on Tuesday.
Slater said at first a woman from the shelter spoke to her about an incident with another resident and a concern with her daughter.
Then, it took a turn. Slater recorded the conversation.
“People are scared. People are scared because the news been up here,” a staff member said on the recording.
“Whoever was exposing them, the staff members are mad because they feel they are going to lose their jobs,” Slater said.
Slater says they told her she needed to be out by noon on Tuesday.
She told a friend, who called the police.
The police came and Natasha says the shelter’s story changed. She says the shelter told police Natasha could just be transferred to a different room in the same shelter or move to another shelter within their organization.
When Local 4 reached out to the shelter for comment, they said that is what they offered all along.
“They changed it as soon as the police came and everything, they changed it up,” Slater said. “I was just shocked because they just told me I couldn’t stay, so I am confused. The police said “well let me go talk to them.” Miss Lawrence kept saying ‘you can stay, we don’t want you to be homeless.’ I’m like, that was weird because you all were just telling me I had to be out by noon.”
Slater moved to another spot in the shelter for the night, but was scared for her safety.
Wednesday morning, she woke up to the good news that Detroit Power Detroit Community Outreach had a place for her.
She moved out two hours later.
“I’m just happy,” she said. “I am just happy to be in a better environment. It’s a relief for me and my baby.”
“The concern regarding room arrangements was raised by the resident herself. In response to her expressed concerns, and consistent with our standard practices, she was offered two options: relocation to a different room within the same shelter with no shared bathroom, or transfer to another Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries location. The resident chose to move to a different room, and that request was immediately accommodated. While DRMM was aware that the resident had spoken with the media, that fact played no role in any decision regarding her housing or care. At no point was she asked, directed, or pressured to leave our shelter. Subsequently, and entirely by her own decision, the resident chose to transition to a separate organization—Detroit Power -which provides transitional housing through a two-year program rather than emergency shelter services. This transition was not initiated by DRMM. Any suggestion that DRMM retaliated against a resident due to media involvement is inaccurate. Our actions were guided solely by resident dignity, safety, and appropriate program placement. Due to privacy protections, we cannot comment further on individual case details. We stand by the facts outlined above and expect them to be reflected accurately.”
Detroit Rescue Mission and Ministries