About Motor City Mitten Mission

Motor City Mitten Mission (MCMM) is a Michigan-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals and families experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, and food insecurity throughout Metro Detroit.

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Founded in 2018, MCMM began as a grassroots effort with a simple idea: take something that was being thrown away and turn it into something that could help someone in need. Volunteers began collecting and recycling plastic grocery bags, transforming them into durable sleeping mats and pillows for people experiencing homelessness. At the same time, we began providing food, clothing, blankets, hygiene products, and other basic necessities to individuals living on the streets.

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What started with plastic bags, sleeping mats, basic necessities, and a small group of people who simply wanted to help has grown into a comprehensive homeless services organization serving thousands of individuals and families throughout Metro Detroit.

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Today, MCMM provides 365-day Street Outreach, emergency response and shelter assistance, our Homelessness to Housing (H2H) Program, the City of Detroit After-Hours Emergency Shelter & Outreach Services Helpline, food assistance, transportation, clothing and basic necessities, housing stabilization support, and other wraparound services designed to help people move from crisis toward greater safety, stability, and permanent housing.

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While our organization and programs have grown tremendously, the heart of our mission has never changed. We believe that every individual deserves to be treated with dignity, compassion, kindness, and respect, regardless of their circumstances.

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From a plastic grocery bag transformed into a sleeping mat to a formerly homeless family walking into a fully furnished home, everything we do is rooted in one simple belief: It's Easy to be Kind!

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Meeting People Where They Are

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Our Street Outreach teams are in the community 365 days a year, meeting individuals experiencing homelessness where they are and providing food, clothing, hygiene products, blankets, transportation, emergency assistance, and connections to shelter, healthcare, behavioral health services, substance use treatment, housing resources, and other critical supports.

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We believe outreach is about much more than handing someone a meal or a blanket. It is about building relationships and trust with people who may have spent months or years feeling forgotten. Through consistent engagement and compassionate support, our goal is to help each person take the next step toward safety, stability, and housing.

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From Homelessness to Home

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Getting someone housed is only part of the journey. Through our Homelessness to Housing (H2H) Program, MCMM helps individuals and families transition into permanent housing by providing furniture, beds, household essentials, delivery and home setup, along with additional wraparound support.

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In 2025 alone, MCMM helped more than 200 households move into and furnish their new homes.

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For someone who has experienced homelessness, receiving the keys to an apartment is life-changing—but walking into an empty apartment can be overwhelming. MCMM helps turn that empty space into a home and provides continued support to help households successfully move forward.

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Responding When Help Is Needed Most

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MCMM also operates the City of Detroit After-Hours Emergency Shelter & Outreach Services Helpline, helping individuals and families experiencing homelessness during evenings, overnight hours, weekends, and other times when many traditional resources are unavailable.

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Our team helps assess immediate needs, locate available shelter and safe alternatives, dispatch outreach teams, coordinate transportation, and connect residents with critical community resources.

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More Than Services—It's About People

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Whether we are serving a hot meal on the streets, helping someone through a crisis, transporting a family to safety, furnishing a new home, or simply sitting with someone who needs to know they have not been forgotten, our approach remains the same:

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Meet people where they are. Listen without judgment. Help however we can. And always lead with kindness.

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Thousands of individuals, volunteers, donors, businesses, foundations, community organizations, and partners have become part of the MCMM family and make this work possible.

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Together, we are helping our neighbors move from crisis to stability, homelessness to housing, and hopelessness to hope.

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Because at Motor City Mitten Mission, we believe...

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It's Easy to be Kind!