Welcome to Dann’s House

It’s easy to GIVE SUPPORT to Dann’s House.

Donations can be sent to our P.O. Box 1711, Traverse City, MI 49685 or by clicking the DONATE tab at the top of our website.

If you prefer, you may make donations of household items on our house WISH LIST or returnable beverage containers for our guys to return and purchase supplies for the house.

Contact us through our contact form and we will schedule a time to pick up your donation.

All donations help our guys to live independently and will help them purchase daily supplies for the house.

Thank you for your generosity!
Dann’s House Board of Directors

Unique Supportive Housing

Dann’s House is a Michigan Nonprofit Corporation that provides supportive housing for people who have experienced chronic homelessness and also suffer from persistent, severe Alcohol Use Disorder. The house does not require residents to abstain from alcohol.

Dann’s House began as part of StonesHouse, a nonprofit formed in 2005 to help communities develop recovery residences and supports.

More than just a roof

The first Dann’s House opened in 2014 in Traverse City, Michigan. The house provides much more than four walls and a roof. It offers consistent support from professional staff and specially trained volunteers, following a Harm Reduction Model. Once housed in a safe environment, residents tend to reduce the amount of alcohol they consume. A Case Manager meets with each resident to help them assess their needs and set goals for their lives. They then work together to access services that will help them meet those needs and goals. A House Manager helps the residents to track their health improvements and make and keep appointments with doctors and counselors. Once they have achieved some stability, most residents even seek employment and volunteering work.

This kind of facility is commonly referred to as a “wet house.” We choose not to use that term because it is pejorative. It implies a “party house” and attempts to define our residents simply by reducing them to their disease.

Dann’s House is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization that relies on support from a variety of sources to fulfill our mission. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.

Featured Resident

Eric

Eric been at the House for almost a year. He is quiet and shy. He suffers from severe anxiety. Most of the time it’s hard for him to be in crowds . He loves to read and he has a deep appreciation for art. He is a big help around the House. A garden plot was tilled up this Spring and Eric found another passion- gardening! At our Wednesday House meetings when we go around the group and ask for a gratitude- Eric always says I love my garden. He is able to reduce his anxiety while caring for the garden. This is beautiful to see.
He has requested more garden space for next year.

New Minivan/Van Needed at Dann’s House

At Dann’s House we operate on a shoe-string budget and funds for nonprofits are very limited. One of the services we support for our tenants is transportation. We offer rides to doctor appointments and other service providers. We also take our guys to get supplies like food and other household items. And sometimes we take them on field trips, just too get them out of the house and enjoying what our area has to offer.

That said, our trusty old minivan is on its last legs. With well over 250,000 miles on this vehicle, the repairs are getting to be to much and no amount of bondo will hold this van together. We need your help.

We are looking for a dependable newer/used minivan so we can keep these important services available to our tenants. If you have a late model minivan in good operational condition, PLEASE consider donating it to Dann’s House. We are a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization and donations can be written off in accordance with IRS tax regulations.

Please consider helping us out by donating or purchasing us a dependable newer/used minivan today. We would greatly appreciate the support.

Sincerely,
The Board of Directors for Dann’s House

Dann’s House has a new fence!

We would like to thank the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation for the grant to cover materials and labor to construct a 90′ fence. We were able to enclose our backyard and offer privacy for our residents and our nearest neighbors. One of our wonderful neighbors even helped with the construction.

Changes at the House

To help support our tenants that have greater mobility challenges, volunteers at Dann’s House have constructed a handicap accessible ramp on the north side of the house. This will make it easier for our tenants to access the home.

Many thanks go out to Staton, Karl, Ken and Tony for making this happen. Our volunteers are what keeps this housing running smoothly and we could not do this work without them. It takes a village as they say!

Karl Keinath Volunteer Extraordinaire!

Karl has been a huge support of Dann’s House. For the past 3 years he has dedicated countless hours of service to rehabbing our duplex. His knowledge and ability to access the needs and then work to complete tasks is amazing. He shows up in his red truck with the supplies and tools needed to get the job done.

Karl is a member and on the Board of Directors at TC Unitarian Universalist church. He and his wife Lauren are proud grandparents and spend time most weekends helping their single parent daughter. He is quiet and kind. Dann’s House is very fortunate to have Karl on our team!

Reflections of Rich Tomey

Rich Tomey was the kind of guy that when you said Rich everyone knew who you were talking about. He did not need explaining who he was he was Rich the person who you called for help. Rich was like a surrogate father to the young friends at Jubilee House and a best friend to those who were older and had been on the streets for a long time. He understood homelessness and addiction and had untold compassion for those who suffer from it.

Rich was part of the “3 Amigos” of the early Safe Harbor days when it was held in the churches of Traverse City. Rich along with Jim Vanderley and Jeff Lewis opened and closed Safe Harbor day and night during the long Northern Michigan winters for many years. These “3 Amigos” made Safe Harbor to what it has become today. A safe haven for people in need. I don’t know if I ever said “Thank You” to the 3 of you for what you did from the love in your hearts for God’s people.

THANK YOU JIM, JEFF, AND RICH You set a high bar for all of us.

Back then there wasn’t a “Needs Coalition” or the city collaboration like now, just the outreach volunteers from the churches who depended on Rich to save the lives of those who would be in danger of freezing to death. Many of those who were on the streets had Rich’s phone number and knew that they didn’t have to ever hesitate to call him when they found themselves with a problem or in danger. Rich would drive the city’s streets at night looking in spots where he knew people were trying to stay warm or because of their addictions out of control and couldn’t help themselves.. He would always put them in his car and bring them to Safe Harbor at night or Jubilee during the day to keep them from being at risk of freezing to death (which unfortunately happened.)

I met Rich Tomey in 2006 shortly after Jubilee House opened at Grace Church. Rich was always my “go to person” if a behavior situation I couldn’t handle at Jubilee arose. I would call Rich on his cell phone and more than not he was already in the city and would get there within minutes. He had a way of talking to a person as a friend that they would listen to him until they could gain control of their emotions and anger. I knew many times he would give a person money to help them out even if it was his last dollar. I learned so much about compassion and love for the human condition of our brothers and sisters in need. Knowing Rich Tomey made me a better person.

To decompress Rich and his canoe would go to his Betsey River, ride down the lazy river loving all the nature along the way. Often if there was a person who he knew needed some “time off” from the struggles of their addiction, he would take that person on a camping/canoe time at the river knowing it would give them the strength they needed to face another day on the streets.

Rich had a deep faith and strong opinions that he never wavered from as long as I knew him. He loved our Native American heritage spiritual beliefs, he loved nature and the natural order of the world. I always remember him with his Eagles feathers in his hat and you would never know what you would find on the dashboard of his car; things like pinecones, old bee hives, rocks, etc. I
never remember Rich complaining about anything. Even when he crashed his motorcycle and had to use a walker he simply tied feathers to the handlebars and carried on.

As mother time takes its toll, as it does to all of us, Rich started to slow down some but not all together. He became the house manager of a wonderful place called Dann’s House where he could continue once again by giving of himself in his special way with his compassion and love for his fellow man.

If ever there is a God’s Angel on this earth one of their names will be Rich Tomey. When we were together and Rich was leaving, he would never say “goodbye” . Goodbye to Rich meant we would not meet again.

Instead he would hug me and say,

‘SEE YOU IN THE ROUNDY ROUND”

I WILL SEE YOU RICH TOMEY “IN THE ROUNDY ROUND.”

REST IN PEACE DEAR FRIEND,

AND FLY WITH YOUR EAGLES

Migigwetch / Thank you

Glenda Andrews

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