Concerts for Caring: Musical series raises funds to help Detroit's homeless

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Trunino Lowe, Pierce Giglonski, Noelle Prouty perform at the first Concert for Caring at Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church.

Detroit is the only city with a music genre named after it. So it’s only natural that when a group wants to raise awareness and funds for the homeless population, this act of compassion would come with a concert.

Patrick Prouty, City of Detroit Composer Laureate, has set up a series of monthly jazz Concerts for Caring, which run from January to March, to raise awareness and funds for the city’s homeless population. He has combined the resources of the City Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship (Detroit ACE), with Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church and United Way for Southeastern Michigan (UWSEM) to get the money where it is needed.

These jazz concerts are free at Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church at 629 East Jefferson Ave. There is a donation box for funds for the homeless, as well as information on where to donate needed supplies and volunteer opportunities.

The first show took place Jan. 10 at the church and was a casual affair featuring a variety of jazz genres performed by Gayelynn McKinney’s Straight Ahead Trio and The JC Heard Jazz Week @ Wayne State All-Stars. The next two concerts will also be at the church on Feb. 22 and March 22, both beginning at 3 p.m. Artists are to be announced.

Prouty says his goal is to have the concert series continue, and he hopes to make it a monthly tradition. The number of charities for which they raise money may widen.

The need will certainly outlast a three-concert series.

Around 8,500 Detroiters are going through a stage of homelessness each year. This is according to a 2023 report from the City of Detroit Housing and Revitalization Department (HRD), the Homeless Action Network of Detroit (HAND), the Detroit Continuum of Care, and the Barbara Poppe and Associates (BPA) Consulting Team.

“I live downtown,” says Prouty. “These homeless people are my neighbors.”

Formerly a teacher at U of D Jesuit, Prouty worked there with Julie Berra, now the director of music and liturgy at Saints Peter and Paul, who helped bring the concerts to the church.

The crowd listens to the jazz stylings of the evening set aside to raise funds and awareness of the needs of Detroit’s homeless.

The venue was chosen because of the church’s connection to the Pope Francis Center. The church provides hot showers, warm food, and laundry Monday through Saturday.

Patrick Prouty, City of Detroit Composer Laureate.

The center’s other location, the Bridge Housing campus at 438 St. Antoine St., provides a place for homeless individuals to stay and get back on their feet. It includes 40 studio apartments where single residents can stay for approximately 90 to 120 days with access to intensive medical, respite, psychological, addiction, social, and job-readiness services, as well as housing advocacy and support.

Bridge Housing normally has 31 residents at a time. However, when cold weather is too extreme, a “Code Blue” is called, more shelters are opened, and they break out the cots and house around 85 people. During a Code Blue, more overtime pay for staff is required, more volunteers are needed, more utilities are used, and supplies go faster. Unsurprisingly, January has had multiple blue codes.

Marion Hayden of the Straight Ahead Trio.

Even on a normal day, things given out at the church, like toothbrushes, winter gear, and socks, run out before the day’s end. The energy cost of perpetually running showers, laundry, and a kitchen come to about $7,000 a day, according to Adrienne Polumbo, the Center’s director of communications.

The need for permanent housing is about more than just being inside and warm. Finding a job without a permanent address is almost impossible, as most employers require a regular address. Being able to stay at Bridge Housing helps with that issue.

One man who had been living in hotels across the city for years was able to find long-term housing because of Bridge Housing services, which helped him get back on his feet. Polumbo says he told her, “I never thought I would amount to anything until now.”

Bridge Housing deals directly with the root cause of homelessness, in part by treating the trauma that led to becoming unhoused.

“I have never met any homeless person without trauma of some kind,” says Father Tim McCabe S.J., CEO of the Pope Francis Center.

Gayelynn McKinney’s Straight Ahead Trio performed at the first of what is hoped to be a concert series to raise funds for those in need in Detroit.

He says Bridge Housing uses a trauma-first approach in part because of his own work with the homeless, but also from traveling around the country to find and adopt the best practices with the best track record of ending chronic homelessness.

Donations to The Pope Francis Center can be made at the next concert or at the church located at 438 Saint Antoine Street on Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.; Tuesday: 12–1:30 p.m.; and Thursday: 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. The greatest need is for:

Socks
Undergarments
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Razors
Warmers
Hats
Gloves

The concert series is supported by the United Way of Southeastern Michigan (UWSM).

“We are excited to support the City of Detroit’s Concerts for Caring series because it brings people together around a shared commitment to help our neighbors meet their basic needs,” says Dr. Darienne Hudson, United Way for Southeastern Michigan’s President and CEO. “This series is a meaningful way to raise awareness and resources for families across our region, and we are proud to partner in an effort that connects community, culture, and impact in a tangible way.”

Donations to UNSM can be made at the following locations:

United Way Fulfillment Center, 13660 Stansbury Ave., Detroit, MI 48227 Hours: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Monday–Thursday
The Fisher Building (Main Floor), 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202 Hours: 24 hours/7 days a week
MiSide, 2835 Bagley, Suite 800, Detroit, MI 48210 Hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday–Friday
Franklin Wright Settlements, 3360 Charlevoix, Detroit, MI 48207 Hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday–Friday

United Way is looking for:

Home Goods: Bedding, blankets, bed frames, mattresses, dressers, toddler beds and bedding, pillows, lamps, sofas, end tables, ottomans, bookshelves, dining tables, chairs, and highchairs.
Kitchenware: Bakeware, pots and pans, small appliances (Crockpots, coffee makers, toasters), utensils, glassware, dinnerware, knives, cutting boards, oven mitts, and dish towels.
Household Basics: Batteries, cleaning supplies, mops, brooms, buckets, dish soap, laundry detergent, hand soap, hangers, trash bags, dishwasher pods, laundry baskets, light bulbs, and paper products (tissues, paper towels, toilet paper).

The Pope Francis Center works with a wide array of other organizations in the city to help end chronic homelessness in the city and is always looking for volunteers. All staff and volunteers are instructed to look those they help in the eye, both to show they care and preserve their dignity.

McCabe has a request for those passing by a homeless person.

When you see a homeless person on the street corner, he says, even if you don’t give them money — and so many people don’t even carry cash these days — do not look away, make eye contact. Remember, these are people in need who want to know that they are seen.