Title
Proclamation honoring Ellen Schulmeister
Memorandum
PROCLAMATION
Honoring Ellen Schulmeister
May 15, 2017
WHEREAS, Ellen's remarkable career as a leader in the fight to end homelessness in our community began in 1987 when she moved to Ann Arbor with her family and started volunteering with the Breakfast Program at St. Andrew's Church; and
WHEREAS, In 1988 Ellen began working at St. Andrew's as the Business Administrator where her responsibilities included managing the Breakfast Program. Thus began her long journey of providing human services to those less fortunate, particularly those in the community that were experiencing homelessness; and
WHEREAS, The Shelter Association started as a small 25 bed rental unit on Division Street before moving to an old church on Huron in 1984. As the only shelter in town it suffered from overcrowding and underfunding despite the hard work and strong commitment from its members; and
WHEREAS, In 1996 the Shelter Association came to the City of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County and stated they would be cease to exist and be forced to close its doors for the winter unless the City and County could contribute funding to keep it afloat. An agreement was reached and has resulted in the Shelter Association becoming a high functioning not-for-profit that not only runs the Delonis Center but provides leadership to end homelessness in our community; and
WHEREAS, Ellen helped design, fundraise and lead the search for a centralized location for the new shelter. In 1998 she was hired as the Shelter Executive Director and through a community initiative and the sponsorship of Sister Yvonne Gelise and the St. Joseph Mercy Health System formed the Washtenaw Housing Alliance; and
WHEREAS, The Delonis Center opened in 2003 and Ellen continues to serve as its Executive Director. Ellen helped design and execute the Winter Program including the winter warming center and helped draft the County's Blueprint to end Homelessness. Most recently she p...
Click here for full text