**The ALICE Crisis: Half of Lansing Can't Make Ends Meet** The sharpest lens through which to understand Lansing's housing problem is the ALICE framework. ALICE stands for Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, and Employed — people who work, often multiple jobs, but still can't afford the basic cost of living. In Michigan overall, 14% of households fall below the Federal Poverty Level, but another 27% live above poverty yet still can't cover basic expenses — making a combined 41% of Michigan households financially insecure by the ALICE Threshold. Lansing fares worse than the state average. Among larger cities in the region, Lansing's ALICE rate sits at 50% — meaning half of all households in the city live below the threshold where they can reliably cover housing, food, transportation, childcare, and healthcare. The racial disparity is stark: 62% of Black households and 44% of Hispanic households fall below the ALICE Threshold, compared to 38% of White households. Single-parent families are especially precarious, with 75% of single-female-headed households with children living below the ALICE Threshold. The ALICE population occupies a cruel middle ground: they earn too much to qualify for most public assistance, but not enough to weather any financial shock. A car repair, a medical bill, or a landlord raising rent by $100 a month can be enough to push an ALICE household into crisis or homelessness. --- **Homelessness: A Growing Emergency** The numbers on literal homelessness in Lansing have been climbing. On any given night, at least 515 people are unhoused in the city of Lansing, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness — an 8.19% increase since 2019. That figure almost certainly undercounts the true scope, since the federally required Point-in-Time count takes place in the dead of January, when freezing temperatures drive people indoors and make them harder to find. At the county level, the numbers doubled in a single year. In 2023, PATH (Project for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness) counted 232 people experiencing homelessness in Ingham County — up from 111 the year before. Shelter directors describe the change in visceral terms. The director of Advent House said that at the beginning of 2023, numbers increased by 300%, and that outreach workers who used to find one or two people in need every other day are now encountering five to fifteen people every single day. City Rescue Mission, which has served the community since 1911, provided food, shelter, and services to around 89,000 individuals in 2024 — roughly 243 people per night. That figure illustrates just how overwhelmed the system is: a 113-year-old institution is now its most strained. Importantly, the problem is not contained to Lansing's own population. Shelter directors report that people are being actively directed to Lansing from other states — including Chicago and the South — because Michigan offers more robust services, further straining local capacity. --- **The Root Causes** Several forces are converging. The most fundamental is the mismatch between wages and rents. According to the Michigan Statewide Housing Plan, 62% of renters in East Lansing are considered rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. As rents have risen sharply — one-bedroom units up as much as 35% year-over-year in some reporting periods — workers in the service economy, childcare, healthcare support, and delivery sectors have found themselves priced out. The pandemic amplified these stresses. Post-pandemic inflation hit low-wage renters hardest, and the expiration of emergency rental assistance programs left many households in arrears. Racial inequities in access to housing have persisted, and the longstanding statewide ban on rent control in Michigan means cities like Lansing have no legal tool to moderate rent increases, no matter how severe. Mental health and addiction intersect with homelessness, but advocates are careful to challenge the oversimplification. As one outreach founder put it, "addiction or mental health issues don't always factor into becoming homeless. Some of these people are just like us, but they had no family or safety net when things went wrong." --- **What Models Are Being Used — and Debated** The dominant evidence-based model in homelessness policy is Housing First, which holds that stable housing must come before addressing other challenges like addiction or mental health. Advocates in Lansing, including the "Rent Is Too Damn High" coalition, support a Housing First framework backed by significant state investment in direct services, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing. At the city level, the response has been more piecemeal. Rapid Rehousing — short-term rental assistance combined with case management — is one active approach. As recently as August 2025, Lansing's Department of Human Relations and Community Services outlined plans for a "ModPod" community of 50 tiny homes (each about 200 square feet) as a temporary bridge for people without shelter, alongside a rapid rehousing component designed to stabilize people before connecting them to permanent housing. The plan emerged partly in response to controversy over the city's attempts to displace homeless encampments. At the state level, MSHDA invested $2.15 billion in affordable housing in fiscal year 2024, supporting the construction, rehabilitation, or purchase of 12,421 homes statewide. Governor Whitmer has committed to building or rehabilitating 115,000 homes by 2027, and programs like the First-Generation Down Payment Assistance Program offer up to $25,000 in help for qualifying first-time buyers. Meanwhile, Michigan's Interagency Council on Homelessness — created by executive order — is responsible for maintaining a statewide action plan coordinated with federal "Opening Doors" strategy. But these systems face a significant new threat: changes at HUD under the current federal administration are putting Housing First funding at risk nationwide, with COCs (Continuums of Care) potentially facing deep cuts to rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing programs they have relied on for decades. --- **The Bottom Line** Lansing's housing crisis is not simply a shortage of units — it is a systemic mismatch between what the economy pays workers and what housing costs. Half the city lives below the threshold of basic financial stability. Homelessness is visibly rising, shelters are full, and the affordable housing waitlists stretch for months. The city is experimenting with new models like ModPod communities and rapid rehousing, the state is investing at record levels, and tenant advocates are organizing with renewed urgency. But with federal funding for Housing First programs now uncertain and Michigan's rent control ban still in place, the structural forces driving people out of stable housing remain largely intact.
**ALICE / Financial Insecurity** 1. United Way ALICE Michigan Report — https://www.unitedwayalice.org/michigan 2. United Way ALICE Michigan Household Survival Budget / demographics — https://www.unitedwayalice.org/michigan **Homelessness Statistics** 3. National Alliance to End Homelessness — Lansing, MI profile — https://endhomelessness.org/ending-homelessness/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness/city/?id=56301 4. City Rescue Mission of Lansing (2024 Annual Report / Impact) — https://www.crmlansing.org 5. Michigan PATH program / Ingham County 2023 count — https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/keep-mi-healthy/mentalhealth/path **Local News & Reporting** 6. Lansing State Journal / MLive reporting on shelter overcrowding and outreach — https://www.mlive.com/news/lansing 7. Advent House Ministries — https://www.adventhouse.org 8. "Rent Is Too Damn High" Lansing coalition coverage — https://www.lansingstatejournal.com **City Policy & ModPod / Tiny Home Initiative** 9. City of Lansing Department of Human Relations and Community Services — https://www.lansingmi.gov/218/Human-Relations-Community-Services 10. Lansing ModPod / Tiny Home Community Plan (2025) — https://www.lansingmi.gov **State of Michigan Housing Policy** 11. Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) 2024 Annual Report — https://www.michigan.gov/mshda 12. Michigan Statewide Housing Plan — https://www.michigan.gov/mshda/about/statewide-housing-plan 13. Governor Whitmer 115,000 Homes Initiative — https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news 14. MSHDA First-Generation Down Payment Assistance Program — https://www.michigan.gov/mshda/homeownership/homeownership-programs/first-generation-homebuyer **Federal Policy & Housing First** 15. HUD Continuum of Care / Housing First policy overview — https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/coc/ 16. Michigan Interagency Council on Homelessness — https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/adult-child-serv/housing/homeless-programs/michigan-interagency-council-on-homelessness