A Veterans Memorial Park-area business owner is demanding more action on city homelessness in the wake of a stabbing that took place just outside his shop.
No one has been arrested so far in the stabbing, which occurred across the street from the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum. Officials have yet to release the identities of either the victim, who suffered minor injuries, or the suspect as the investigation is ongoing.
Michael Hyacinthe is the co-founder of Has Heart coffee shop, a business located across the street from the park. The shop is dedicated to honoring veterans with a goal that no visitor with former military service has to pay for a cup of coffee.
A passerby who witnessed the stabbing told Hyacinthe the victim had allegedly been shouting racial slurs before he was attacked.
Hyacinthe, a veteran himself, said he was arriving at the shop on the day of the stabbing when he witnessed a family in tears hiding near the patio of his shop. He said he then recognized a man nearby who was bleeding and screaming that he had been stabbed.
“I quickly rushed the family into the steps of my coffee shop,” he said. “I think the kids actually saw the person who was stabbed bleeding and screaming. It’s almost as if they went into shock.”
The family was on its way to the Children’s Museum when it encountered the stabbing victim, Hyacinthe said.
After helping the family relax and offering the kids free ice cream, Hyacinthe said he recognized the victim as a homeless individual from the park who often asked him for money and slept outside his shop. While he usually does not carry cash, Hyacinthe said he had money on him that day which he intended to offer the individual.
“I was going to call him and say ‘Hey, I’ve got some money for you today,’” he said. “Three minutes later, he is the one who is stabbed.”
While Hyacinthe said his proximity to the park helps fuel his veteran-first business approach, he also lamented persistent problems which he claims lead to a proliferation of homeless individuals in the area. He identified a lack of housing and resources to combat mental health and substance abuse as key factors.
“This is a very, very big problem that I don’t think can be defined just by one thing,” he said. “I think a solution can come from a collaborative group. I truly believe the future belongs to those who create it together.”
“I think mental health plays a key role in many of our individuals who are houseless,” he added. “I think it’s a collaborative response. I don’t know if it’s one person to blame.”
Veterans Memorial Park is a known gathering location for members of Grand Rapids’ homeless population. Several online reviews of the park lament the fact that it is sometimes made inaccessible to the public due to the proliferation of individuals sleeping there and using drugs.
The location is one of several throughout the city where homeless individuals congregate. The Grand Rapids Police Department this month arrested 18 persons in Heartside Park, 11 of whom on felony charges.
The Downtown Pathways Project, a public-private partnership launched earlier this year, has worked to make chronic homelessness functionally zero in Grand Rapids. That program was successful in helping to meet its goal of housing 100 individuals in 100 days.
The City Commission in May voted to provide $100,000 to a program creating storage lockers for homeless individuals. That program had previously been supported by federal dollars.
Write to jackson@grherald.com