DETROIT, Mich. — Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has announced the construction of two new mobile offices. The offices are being built to serve Central and Western Michigan.
Benson previously launched a mobile office at the Pope Francis Center in Detroit. For several months, the office has served the homeless, senior centers, foster care facilities, and other communities in Southeast Michigan. The new offices for Central and Western Michigan will serve rural areas that have challenges accessing the internet.
The offices are located in the lobbies and shared spaces of community organizations. They offer nearly all Secretary of State transactions, with the exception of testing. This includes applying for and renewing a driver’s license and state IDs, updating addresses, registering to vote, and transferring vehicle titles.
“One of the first and most important needs to get people into housing is having state-issued identification,” said Father Tim McCabe, executive director of the Pope Francis Center. “Until a person has that, there is no chance of getting housed. I am so grateful that when I called Secretary Benson’s office, they suggested a Secretary of State Mobile Office as a way to expedite the process so that we can get people off the streets as quickly as possible.”
“We continue improving our services to make government work for the people of Michigan,” said Secretary Benson. “We’ve doubled the number of services available online, installed self-service stations at grocery stores across the state, and will soon bring services directly to the doors of people in Central and Western Michigan who face the most barriers and need the most assistance.”
The offices are expected to be in the field by the end of summer.
