In February, two young children experiencing homelessness died of carbon monoxide poisoning after spending the night in their mother's van outside Hollywood Casino, amid below freezing temperatures. 

That news saddened and angered many in Detroit. As a result, the city doubled funding for homeless shelters and increased outreach to people on the street who are experiencing homelessness. 

But Detroit housing analyst Alex Alsup says that report doesn’t get to the root of the homelessness problem. Instead, Alsup suggests the city should lobby state lawmakers to continue the Pay As You Stay law, which will be phased out in July. That program, in addition to the, Homeowners Property Tax Exemption and the Detroit Tax Relief Fund, have prevented thousands of potential foreclosures — and many possible cases of homelessness — over the past decade. 

The Metro Producer Sam Corey sat down with Alsup to discuss his recent analysis that he explored in his Substack, “The Chargeback,” and why he believes these laws are preventing homelessness and need to be kept around.

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