Dana Bledsoe holds her one-year-old daughter Kiara close, playing peekaboo to keep her smiling. Her nine-year-old daughter, Nakia, watches TV, their belongings packed in bags beside them. They have nowhere to go.
Dana, who is cognitively impaired, once had a stable home with her grandmother, but after her passing, she was left without support. She spent a year in a shelter, but when her time there ended, the system failed her.
Now, her sister, Raquel Bledsoe, has spent months making desperate calls to shelters across Detroit, Warren, and Sterling Heights, only to hear the same response—“We’re full.”
The housing crisis for families in Detroit has reached a breaking point. The Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries Shelter for Women and Children is at capacity with 45 women and 80 children.
The Samaritas shelter in Westland has a 900-person waiting list. The lack of available resources has left families like Dana’s on the brink of homelessness.
Dana’s struggle comes just days after the tragic deaths of two young children who froze in a minivan inside a Detroit casino garage.
Their mother had sought help but was unable to secure shelter. The heartbreaking incident has exposed the urgent need for emergency housing options for vulnerable families.
Local officials, including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, have vowed to improve the city’s response.
“I want to make sure that when people call, they get very clear options,” Duggan told Fox 2 News, acknowledging the system’s failure to provide adequate support.
Fox 2 News, which broke Dana Bledsoe’s story, is working to find long-term housing for the young mom and her daughters.
Dana’s, her story underscores the devastating reality faced by many Detroit families—families who, despite their best efforts, remain trapped in a system that offers more roadblocks than solutions.
“It’s unfortunate that kids had to pass away for this issue to finally get attention,” her sister Raquel told Fox 2 News.
But for Dana and her daughters, time is running out—and they need help before it’s too late.
