Grand Rapids Area Housing Continuum of Care

Links to Resources Related to Ending Homelessness

The following web links contain a good range of information, but should not be considered comprehensive. Please use the links listed below as a starting point for further research or in-depth inquiries. These links have been checked for viability as of November 2004. If any don't work for you, try typing the title or name in a search engine.

State and Local Plans to End Homelessness

Washtenaw Housing Alliance: Washtenaw County, Michigan’s Blueprint to end homelessness: 10 year plan
Chicago Continuum of Care (pdf): Chicago, Illinois’s 10 year plan to end homelessness
Community Shelter Board: Columbus, Ohio’s 10 year plan to end chronic homelessness
Bring LA Home: Los Angeles, California’s 10 year plan to end homelessness
Ending Long-term Homelessness in Minnesota (pdf): State of Minnesota’s 10 year plan to end homelessess
Other National Plans: Other National plans can be found at the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH).
The Greater Bridgeport Area- Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness (Bridgeport, Connecticut)

Reports and briefs on Housing and Homelessness

“The State of the Nation’s Housing 2004” (pdf): Well-researched, up-to-date overview by Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
“The New York/New York Agreement Cost Study”: An influential study led by Dennis Culhane showing that providing housing to those most in need is virtually cost neutral compared with maintaining the status quo. The cost of document is $5.00.
Federal government definition of homelessness
“Why not in our community?” Removing barriers to affordable housing (pdf): An update to the report of the Advisory Commission on Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing.
The United States Conference of Mayors: Hunger and Homelessness Survey (December, 2004) (pdf): A status report on hunger and homelessness in American’s cities- A 27-city survey.
“How Many People Experience Homelessness?”: National numbers on homelessness for 2002.
“Out Of Reach: America’s Housing Wage Climbs” (2004): Provides data for states, counties, and metropolitan statistical areas on housing affordability.
“Working Hard, Earning Less: the Story of Job Growth in Michigan” (pdf): Data on the number and percentage of new jobs of various categories, and how much they pay. Compares those amounts to a “livable wage”, which is defined.
“The Cost of Homelessness”: Brief overview of studies on what homelessness and some of its associated problems cost to society as a whole.
“What Will It Take To End Homelessness?” (pdf): Quick overview by researcher Martha Burt.

City, County and State Government Websites

Kent County, Michigan: This website contains information about the county courts, government, law enforcement, health and human services, culture, leisure and news.
Kent County Emergency Needs Task Force (ENTF)
Kent County Family and Children’s Coordinating Council
City of Grand Rapids, Michigan: City of Grand Rapids website contains information about the city government and services.
Grand Rapids Community Development Department
State of Michigan: This is the official state government web site and it covers the executive, legislative and judicial branches of state government, with links to state offices.
Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA): State government agency that is partnering to end homelessness and that generally “provides financial and technical assistance through public and private partnerships to create and preserve decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income Michigan residents.”
Mental Health Commission: State government agency that is partnering to end homelessness and that generally “provides financial and technical assistance through public and private partnerships to create and preserve decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income Michigan residents.”
Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Network of West Michigan
Grand Rapids Housing Commission
Kent County Housing Commission
Wyoming Housing Commission
The Rapid: Public Transportation for Greater Grand Rapids

Additional Local Resources

Fair Housing Center of Greater Grand Rapids
The Community Research Institute at Grand Valley State University: The Community Research Institute is at Grand Valley State University. CRI's mission is to assist nonprofit organizations in the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland Metropolitan area with the acquisition of information and technical skills that will help them to understand the evolving needs of the community, plan programs, solve problems, and measure outcomes.
The Michigan Interfaith Trust Fund: (formerly known as the Michigan Housing Trust Fund) The mission of this organization is to “foster economic and social justice by providing loans and technical assistance for affordable housing and economic development through Michigan.”
Creating Community for a Lifetime: As stated on this website “Creating Community for a Lifetime is an ambitious, long-term, community-wide initiative launched in early 2004. The initiative seeks to help build a framework for long-term planning to address the challenges and opportunities presented by an aging community. The initiative is not a non-profit organization but an independent coalition convened to explore ideas about what constitutes an elder-friendly community and to articulate a shared vision for Kent County.”
“We Can Do Better: Helping Prostituted Women and Girls in Grand Rapids Make Healthy Choices” (pdf): Primer on the realities of prostitution in the Grand Rapids area, including its relation to housing and homelessness.
Neighorhood Indicators/Community Data Working Group: The mission of the Neighborhood Indicators /Community Data Working Group (NICDWG) is to create neighborhood-level indicators of environmental, physical, demographic, economic and cultural conditions which can be used to evaluate and monitor the health of Grand Rapid's neighborhoods.

National Organizations

Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness (MCAH): MVAH mission is “to decrease the incidence of homelessness, improve the quality of services provided to people who are homeless, effect systematic change at the root causes of homelessness, and increase communication among Michigan's homeless service providers.”
National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH): This homepage provides links to NAEH’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness, to many state and local plans to end homelessness, and much more.
National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH): Working on “Bringing America Home” campaign, which is designed to provide secure and decent housing for everyone in America. Has links to facts, research, local groups, and much more. About 30% of its board are people who are or have been homeless.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Resources about homelessness
Interagency Council on Homelessness
National Low Income Housing Coalition
Urban Institute: A nonpartisan economic and social policy research organization.

Related/Miscellaneous

“Giving Voice to Homeless People in Policy, Practice and Research: Evidence and arguments for including homeless people in decisions affecting them at all levels; recommendations for action.
“Job Training for the Homeless Demonstration Program” (pdf): Lessons learned on what is needed to make job training for homeless people effective.
“Prostitution: A Violent Reality of Homelessness” (pdf): Information from Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
Delancey Street Foundation: This is a self-help movement of ex-convicts, homeless people, and addicts who have turned their lives around by working together in a structured program. Assistance is available for others to start similar efforts.
Community land trust information: This site by the Institute for Community Economics gives an overview of community land trusts, which are a means of providing ownership to low and moderate income people on a permanent basis while eliminating or minimizing future subsidies.
Energy Star: This is the webpage for Energy Star, a program with which HUD has partnered to promote energy efficient homes and apartments.
Kent County Family and Children’s Coordinating Council