City Hosts Pop-Up Event for New Municipal ID
The card offers identification opportunity, discounts.
The city hosted a pop-up event at Lasky Recreation Center tonight for residents looking to apply for the Detroit ID.
It’s a new card that city officials say is “for everybody.” Former prisoners, undocumented immigrants and homeless people may particularly benefit: they sometimes lack the documentation necessary to obtain a state ID, but they may qualify for the new municipal card.
To get the Detroit ID, residents present a variety of documents with assigned point values, which must add up to a certain total to qualify for the card. For example, a letter from a Detroit homeless shelter confirming residency in the last 30 days, an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card and an expired Driver License presented together would qualify [see full list of documents below or here].
The Detroit ID can be used during interactions with the Detroit Police Department and to open accounts at One Detroit Credit Union, the Detroit Public Library, DTE and the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. Certain museums and businesses are also offering discounts to customers. See a list of the participating agencies.
By just after 5 p.m, about 25 people had applied and qualified for the new ID at the recreation center. One of them was Spanish-speaking Maria (who asked that WDET not use her full name). She came out to the pop-up because she didn’t have the proper identification needed to open a bank account.
“It makes me feel like the government knows that we’re here and that I can finally identify myself,” she told WDET through a translator after qualifying for the Detroit ID. “I feel a deeper sense of belonging here.”
Maurice Turner came down to the pop-up after getting off work in Oak Park. He says he already has a state ID but he’s interested in the savings offered to card holders. “A lot of the museums in the city, you get a discount there,” he says. Turner also wants to take advantage of the savings at the Michigan Science Center and the Museum of African American History. “I was excited about that because my wife and I go down to Midtown a lot,” he says.
Interested residents who missed the pop-up event can apply for the card in person at Patton Park Recreation Center in Southwest Detroit or the Samaritan Center on the city’s east side. The city’s website recommends scheduling an appointment before coming down. The card costs $25.
Scroll through the below list to see what document combinations can qualify residents for the Detroit ID.
