July 27, 2023

HSA Summary – June 2023

HOUSING STABILITY ALLIANCE
June 2023 Meeting Summary and Network Next Steps

The Housing Stability Alliance (HSA) gathered in person on June 9, 2023. Goals included: 1) provide an update on the System Mapping that was presented at the March HSA, as well as a policy and advocacy update, 2) understand the current state of the eviction system in Kent County and 3) share the first iteration of the Eviction Prevention Framework to receive feedback from the HSA. There were 65 people in-person, as well as six who attended virtually.

President Eureka People opened the convening by sharing our shared vision – that every person in Kent County should be stably housed—or better. To ensure that, the HSA will focus on increasing affordable housing, dissolving homelessness, and eliminating the racial disparities in the housing system. Eureka also identified specific and measurable goals tied to those objectives and described the Path to Housing Stability, with its distinct stages across the housing continuum. Senior Director of Data & Policy, Alex Kontras, shared an update on the System Map, and how feedback from the HSA was critical in the updated survey format and including even more organizations in the data collection He then shared an update on the Advocacy Action Alert on Fair Housing Protections legislation on source of income, as well as upcoming policy work being done by the action team.

The HSA was then led in an activity by Senior Director of Community Engagement and Equity, Adisa Chaney, to test their knowledge on the eviction process and the current state of evictions in Kent County. Eviction Prevention Action Team members then presented on the current state of evictions in Kent County, including preliminary data on a survey conducted by the Heart of West Michigan United Way (HWMUW), of those who applied for COVID Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) funds. Next the team presented on the legal process of an eviction, including what the landlord is required to do and what a tenant is required to do.

Following the current state and eviction process presentations, the HSA asked questions related to the CERA data as well as the eviction process. Questions ranged from what zip codes were included in the CERA survey to specific questions related to the eviction proceedings. Attendees could also submit questions in writing if they preferred. The Eviction Prevention Action Team then presented its eviction prevention beta framework. The presentation included key findings that came out of the Eviction Collab Lab in early May—lack of overall funding, particularly pre-legal action; the current system is reactive, not proactive; the lack of coordinated effort in eviction prevention. The framework presented took into account things like ease of accessibility, case management, going beyond the urban core, ongoing public will building, and sustainability.

Table Talk Sessions

Table Talk 1 focused on the Lived Experience Profile of Cathy LaPorte and her role as a landlord in Kent County. The Lived Experience Profiles are part of telling the story of housing across the county, showing the impact the current housing system has on those living in the area. Tables were asked to consider the following questions: 1) What new insights emerged for you? 2) How can this story help improve the way we solve system problems?

During the second table talk, participants were asked to give feedback on the beta eviction prevention framework. Tables were asked to consider the following questions: 1) What do you like about this Eviction Prevention framework? What strengths do you see?; 2) What do you feel is missing from this framework? Is there anything you find confusing? 3) What will you/your organization need to buy-in, support, or align with changes to the eviction system?; 4) How can we get more representation from the rural communities in the county? The Eviction Prevention Framework is in the beta phase. If you have questions or additional feedback, please contact Alex Kontras at alex@housingkent.org. The summary notes from both table talks is available here.

Next Steps

At the conclusion of the convening, members shared their thoughts on the beta eviction prevention framework. One landlord shared that the presentation and discussion gave him a different perspective and will change how he interacts with tenants—from reactive to proactive. Another attendee who works with the 61st District Court to help tenants who are facing a potential eviction, said that she has been waiting for something like this for the past few years and really didn’t think that anything would happen, and is hopeful that change to the system will come.

There is still work to be done on the framework before it is ready to pilot. If eviction prevention is of interest to you, please send an email to info@housingkent.org for more information. If you have not joined one of the action teams, please consider being part of Data & Shared Measurement, Community Engagement, or Policy & Advocacy. To learn more about the teams, please visit our website and complete this form. You can also reach out to info@housingkent.org.

Housing our community is the responsibility of all of us. Please consider joining us to help build this coalition to make Kent County a model for a fair and stably housed community. Thank you for being part of this work.

Driving Directions

Fulton Lot Driving Directions: MapQuest/Google Maps Address 312 W. Fulton, Grand Rapids, MI 49504

From Chicago: I94 East to I196/US31 (Exit 34) at Benton Harbor. Take I196 toward Grand Rapids to US131 South. Take US131 South to Pearl Street exit (keep to the right of the onramp to US131 as this becomes the offramp for Pearl Street). You will then merge onto Mt. Vernon Ave. Continue on Mt. Vernon until you come to a light at Fulton St, turn left here. Under the US131 Overpass, the Fulton Lot will be on your right. Approximately 200 miles from Chicago. PLEASE NOTE: Michigan is one hour ahead of Illinois (EST).

From Detroit/Lansing: I96 West to I196 West (Gerald R. Ford Freeway) to US131 South. Take US131 South to the Market Street exit (keep to the right of the onramp to US131). Turn left onto Market from the exit. Turn left on Fulton. Under the US131 Overpass, the Fulton Lot will be on your left. Approximately 2 hours from Detroit, and 60 minutes from Lansing.

From Holland: I196 East to US131 South. Take US131 South to the Pearl Street exit (keep to the right of the onramp to US131 as this becomes the offramp for Pearl Street). You will then merge onto Mt. Vernon Ave. Continue on Mt. Vernon until you come to a light at Fulton St, turn left here. Under the US131 Overpass, the Fulton Lot will be on your right. Approximately 30 miles from Holland.

From Kalamazoo: US131 North to the Pearl Street Exit, #85B. Turn left onto Pearl Street and proceed one block beyond the US131 overpass to Mt Vernon Ave and turn left, in two blocks turn left on Fulton St. The Fulton Lot will be on your right. Approximately 50 miles from Kalamazoo.

From Muskegon: I96 East to US131 South. US131 South to the Market Ave Exit. Turn Left on to Market, and then Left on Fulton St. The Fulton Lot will be on your left. Approximately 45 miles from Muskegon.

From Northern Michigan: US131 South to the Market Ave Exit. Turn Left on to Market, and then Left on Fulton St. The Fulton Lot will be on your left. Approximately 150 miles from Traverse City.

KPI 3 — Homelessness

Map

Dora Ferrier Headshot

Dora Ferrier

Executive Assistant

Dora Ferrier proudly serves as the Executive Assistant to Eureka People. Her career has been characterized by substantial contributions in positions focused on enhancing organizational efficiency, relationship development, and community outreach. Dora excels in introducing change management initiatives, ensuring flawless project execution, and boasts certifications in both Microsoft Office and ChatGPT. She also holds a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate, leveraging her expertise to support refugees and non-native English speakers in their community integration efforts. Dora is a skilled public speaker, providing invaluable insight and assistance to child protective workers and law enforcement personnel in identifying signs of child abuse. Dora’s heartfelt mission centers around elevating the quality of life for underprivileged Kent County residents and promoting community empowerment as a catalyst for positive change.

KPI 3 — Homelessness

Cumulative Homeless Count

Source: Continuum of Care System Performance Measures (US Department of Housing and Urban Development)

About Rental Housing Affordability

An estimate of how much annual household income is needed to rent an apartment at a particular price.

Source: Housing Kent

Our Methods
We define housing costs as affordable if they consume 30% or less of gross household income.

About Typical Rent Costs

A measure of typical monthly rent for an apartment in the middle cost tier, defined as the 40th to 60th percentile.
Our Methods
The ZORI is published on a monthly basis. To calculate an annual figure, we take an average of the monthly figures.

About Homeownership Affordability

An estimate of how much annual household income is needed to purchase a home at a particular price.

Source: Housing Kent

Our Methods
We assume current interest rates, a 3% downpayment, and $500 in outside household debt.
Alex

Meet Alex Kontras, M.P.A.

Senior Director of Data and Policy

Alex Kontras is the Senior Director of Data and Policy at Housing Kent. Alex’s passion for housing justice, combined with his experience in public policy, housing crisis response, and data-informed decision-making adds immeasurable value to our team. Previously Alex worked with Public Sector Consultants, translating federal special education policy into data-driven collaboration tools for the Michigan Department of Education. Prior to that, at the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, Alex managed programs in supportive housing, rapid-rehousing, and homelessness prevention. He holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Grand Valley State University and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Calvin University.
Adisa

Meet Adisa Chaney, M.S.W.

Senior Director of Community Engagement and Equity

Adisa Chaney is the Senior Director of Community Engagement and Equity for Housing Kent. An experienced community organizer, facilitator, and thought partner, Adisa has worked extensively with politically and economically marginalized communities to build capacity and support residents’ efforts to effect change in their communities. He currently teaches at the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University Schools of Social Work, principally focusing on courses involving community engagement, grant-writing, and social work in and with communities of color. His work in recent years has included development and administration of several community projects in the metro Detroit area, as well as being responsible for the training and evaluation of community facilitators for foundation initiative. The initiative is a collaborative partnership with an area school district, focused on improving educational outcomes of K-12 youth in economically disadvantaged communities in and around Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

TIana

Meet Tiana Hawver, M.S.

Communications Manager

Tiana Hawver is the Communications Manager for Housing Kent. Tiana has over 15 years in marketing, public relations, and communications, including 10 in marketing and media. Prior to joining Housing Kent, she served as the Office Coordinator for the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University for five years. Tiana is a gifted speaker and writer, and produced a documentary, “Reconnecting the Dots,” sharing her journey as an adult adoptee reconnecting with her birth family. Tiana has a Master of Science in Communication from Grand Valley State University.

Housing Kent Headshots Eureka 32

Meet Eureka People, M.A.

President

Eureka People has answered the call to lead as President of Housing Kent’s efforts to dissolve homelessness, increase affordable housing, and eliminate the shocking racial disparities in the housing system in Kent County. Prior to accepting this position, Eureka spent 10 years as Principal Consultant of her own strategy and facilitation consultancy specializing in systems change for nonprofits, foundations, and government. In this capacity, she developed strategies for a foundation initiative, facilitated the design of a school district’s nationally recognized attendance campaign and strategic plan, facilitated a nonprofit’s community development project, and facilitated another nonprofit’s board of trustees leadership experience program, among other projects.  She then guided the Housing Stability Alliance network to the building of a roadmap to address housing inequities and racial disparities. It was this that led to her being asked to apply to lead further housing efforts here in Kent County.

Eureka’s career before extensive consulting in Kent County included several years as VP of Finance and Operations for the National Community Development Institute in Oakland, California. She also served three years as Associate Pastor of Assimilation and Discipleship at Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. Before being drawn to humanitarian and nonprofit work, with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Eureka worked as a Project Engineer for Eli Lilly & Company in Indiana.

Eureka has recently moved to Grand Rapids and looks forward to getting to know her new home and to leading our community to greater awareness of and motivation to addressing and healing one of our most pervasive and limiting societal problems.

Eureka holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, M.A. in Theology.

Operationalizing the Common Agenda and Roadmap

With the release of the community plan in August 2020, KConnect completed the work that it had committed to accomplishing when agreeing to take on the project in 2018. The four co-chairs of the Housing Stability Alliance – Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, Chair Mandy Bolter, Lynne Ferrell, and Christina Keller – committed to moving the Alliance forward. However, without a backbone organization focused solely on advancing the movement, it lost momentum. It was apparent that it was necessary to quickly get a backbone in place in order to keep the work moving forward. After a series of discussions, KConnect agreed to partner with the Alliance co-chairs to temporarily take the lead to create a nonprofit organization that served as a backbone for the Alliance’s work.

The role of KConnect was NOT to serve as the Alliance backbone. However, we served as temporary support to launch the permanent backbone that became Housing Kent. Launched in February 2022, the new organization is its own 501c3 with its own bank account, bylaws, and five-year budget.

The Second Phase

We delivered a common agenda and roadmap that has created and sustained a movement to build systems between sectors and empowers lived experience to dissolve housing instability and homelessness for children and families from the landscape of Kent County.

The scope and agreed-upon purpose of the last six months of work is presented to the side. Creating an equitable housing system will not happen overnight. It will decades of hard work and dedication from the entire community. However, if 2019 was any indication that the Kent County communities share a passion for this issue, we are well poised to create change.

Scope

Recognizing the disparate overrepresentation of families of color among homeless populations, our work through June 2020 will be focused on creating a community framework that will reduce the disparity in our housing efforts over the next five years.

Purpose Statement

Increase access to quality affordable housing and dissolve homelessness in Kent County with an intentional focus on eliminating racial disparities among families, children, and youth and other data-driven priorities.

Getting Started: The First Twelve Months

In May 2018 concerned community stakeholders asked KConnect to bring people together to examine how the housing system is working, establish shared goals, and develop collaborative strategies to reach those goals with a focus on children, families, youth, and people of color. KConnect initiated its work in Fall 2018, KConnect began a yearlong process to convene organizations, funders, and other stakeholders within the housing and homeless system. Together we will develop a comprehensive community plan specifically calling for equitable outcomes for children and families.

This work was originally anticipated to be completed in December 2019. However, in October 2019, after careful consideration and reflection, the Board of Trustees approved a request from the Design Team for a six-month extension in order to create a more comprehensive community plan. During the final months, the teams will move into a collaborative designing phase.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of our work is to align and connect system-level interventions that address homelessness and increase access to housing. Strategies must be intentionally designed with the end user in mind and targeted to people of color.

Mission Statement

The mission is to increase access to affordable housing and decrease homelessness for families, children, and youth, with an intentional focus on eliminating racial disparities in Kent County.