WARREN, Mich. – A homeless shelter run by the Friend of the Father Foundation on 9 Mile Road in Warren has closed after about a year and a half, according to the nonprofit’s CEO, who says the organization couldn’t secure sufficient funding to continue operating.
Raymond Deloatch said the shelter recently began taking in more people referred by other organizations, which he said contributed to the nonprofit falling behind on payments to the building’s owner.
He said the shelter served around 150 people weekly on average.
“I got families that was here with their kids, I had to send them to hotels because I didn’t have the funding to take care of them,” Deloatch said.
He also said the closure displaced people he had been helping get back on their feet.
“I had to release several individuals that just got jobs. I just helped them get their jobs, this is a major bus line for them. Now they got to figure out where they’re going to sleep at night,” Deloatch said.
Deloatch said he went to the Warren City Council for help.
Warren City Councilman Jonathan Lafferty said council members directed the city attorney’s office in January to draft a contract allowing nonprofits to apply for city funding in exchange for providing homeless services.
“City Council had directed the city attorney’s office to draft a contract that would permit the city to enter into contractual services for homeless care,” Lafferty said.
But Lafferty said Mayor Lori Stone hasn’t approved the proposal, so it hasn’t moved forward.
“I didn’t ask for anything. I just wanted to make sure the bill on the building was paid. That’s all I asked for. Nothing else,” Deloatch said. “It’s been sitting there for six or seven months, and no one has said anything else about it.”
In a statement issued Monday, Stone said she was “deeply disheartened” by the closure and noted that the city does not own or operate a municipal homeless shelter.
“The Fiscal Year 2027 budget adopted by the Warren City Council does not include funding for the operation of a municipal homeless shelter,” Stone said, adding that Warren and other Macomb County communities are served by nonprofits that provide emergency shelter and related services.
Stone also criticized some council members in the statement, saying that while several council members have spoken about the challenges of serving Warren’s unhoused population, “their actions have failed to match their words”.
Lafferty disputed that claim, saying the mayor proposes the budget and that City Council could amend it if a contract were brought forward for approval.
“The city cannot just issue a check to a nonprofit for homeless care,” Lafferty said. “There has to be an exchange of services under terms and conditions, liability, insurance, certificates of occupancy, permitting, inspection; all of those things have to be taken care of to ensure safe care of the homeless.”
Deloatch said he is calling on the mayor to help find a solution.
“All I ask for is a little bit of help,” Deloatch said. “If you can reach down and say, let’s work this out, we can; if not, the shelter will remain closed until otherwise.”
Stone said her hope is that the shelter’s board can reevaluate operations, secure sustainable funding and reopen.
She pointed to the WAVE Project shelter, which closed in March 2024 due to funding shortfalls but was reorganized and reopened in December 2025.
Friend of the Father Foundation is trying to raise money independently and hopes to reopen the shelter in the fall.
The nonprofit has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds.
Local 4 reached out to Stone’s office regarding the contract proposed by the City Council but did not receive a response.