Woman lived in a Michigan Family Fare store roof sign for a year with a desk, coffee pot

In late April, officers with the Midland Police Department were dispatched to handle a one-of-a-kind case — a person living inside a grocery store sign.

Officers found a woman residing within the sign of the Family Fare market in Midland, where she had set up flooring, a mini desk, printer, computer, coffee machine, food and clothing. It's unclear how the 34-year-old woman got there in the first place.

"They knocked on the door and she opened the door up and they essentially told her 'Hey, you can't be here,' and the interaction was rather brief. She fully understood," Brennon Warren, a public information officer with the Midland Police Department, said.

On April 23, contractors working on the roof noticed an extension cord coming out of the sign's door and realized someone was inside, according to Warren.

The sign sits on top of the actual roof, he said, estimating that it is roughly 10 to 15 feet long and 8 to 10 feet tall, with a depth of 5 feet. The space is completely enclosed. It has a door that is accessible from the rooftop. The contractors had used an extension ladder to get to the roof.

The unidentified woman was released on the scene and does not face any criminal charges. However, if she were to come back to the store, she could be charged with trespassing. Officers did offer her homeless services resources which she refused, Warren said.

"She left without any further incident," he said.

He said store staff were unaware that she was living on the roof, but had seen her in the past. The woman told officers she had been living there for about a year.

Warren said in his decade-long tenure he hasn't come across a situation like this. Neither have his colleagues who have been with the department for 20 years, he said.

"We do see some of our homeless population and we provide them with resources, where to find food and things like that. ... Just trying to provide them as much information as we can possibly give them, and even if it's to get a roof over their head for a few nights or a warm meal," he said.

The woman was able to take a handful of her belongings with her in a bag. Family Fare worked with her to get the rest of her property off of the roof so she could arrange to have it picked up.

She left the roof with the contractors' ladder, Warren said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for SpartanNash, the company which operates Family Fare, said it is proud of its associates for responding to the situation with compassion and professionalism.

The statement went on to say: "Ensuring there is ample safe, affordable housing continues to be a widespread issue nationwide that our community needs to partner in solving. Out of respect for privacy for the individual involved, we will not be sharing further comment."

Michigan faces an affordable housing crunch. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the state has a shortage of 188,895 rental homes that are affordable and available for people with extremely low incomes. In other words, there aren't enough rental homes for a family of four with an average income of $28,030. Twenty-seven percent of renter households fall within this category.

Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @NushratR.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Woman lived behind store's sign with desk, coffee maker for a year