In 1982, a coalition of partner organizations came together to create Coalition on Temporary Shelter (COTS) to offer support to Detroiters in need of shelter. Early in our history, our residents were often single men and single-parent families. Over time our residents diversified, and our organization made necessary shifts to expand our support for families and create opportunities for them to succeed.
COTS then introduced the Passport to Self-Sufficiency™ (PTS) framework in 2015. Through this program, we assist families in reaching their housing, economic, health, education, and career goals as they overcome homelessness and break the cycle of poverty for themselves, their next generation, and beyond.
COTS’ innovative PTS is a trauma-informed, research-based, transformative whole family approach. We designed it to create poverty-resistant families and is the overarching framework for all our work.
All our programs and services, including shelter operations; childcare; affordable, and permanent supportive housing; case management; and mobility coaching are provided within the PTS framework. PTS focuses on building the executive functioning skills of COTS families. Skills such as impulse control, mental flexibility and memory are essential for families to be able to navigate today’s complex and demanding challenges to permanently end the cycle of generational poverty and homelessness.
2022 marks 40 years of COTS effectively supporting Detroit families. We have expanded and focused our operations. We have also refined and steeped those operations with PTS. By implementing the PTS framework, we lift up Detroit families in need — and by extension the Detroit community in which we operate.
This year, we will be able to officially introduce our newly renovated staple facility, Peterboro Arms, located on Peterboro between Cass and Woodward. This affordable housing apartment community houses 56 two- and three- bedroom apartments and is also the location of COTS Administrative Offices.
We will be telling aspects of our story over the course of this year as we celebrate our past 40 years of service. We encourage you to follow the name COTS in the news and on social media to hear our exciting successes and new developments.
And now that we’ve persevered 40 years, we prepare to build on the foundation already well laid. The Passport to Self Sufficiency continues to develop and improve — and we look to broaden its reach. We study its results and follow the data to make the future for our families ever brighter.
Help us celebrate our 40th anniversary. Join us and Create Opportunities To Succeed. Partner with us and help continue the mission through sharing your time, talents, or treasures.
Visit us at: cotsdetroit.org to make a gift or to discover other ways to help Detroit’s families succeed.
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