Why Their Voices Matter – AYA Youth Collective

By Andy Allen, Vice President of Placement, AYA Youth Collective AYA Youth Collective (AYA) is a non-profit organization in Grand Rapids, MI that supports youth aged 14-24 who are experiencing housing insecurity. Everything AYA does is built upon, centered around, and imagined through the voices, opinions, and criticism of young people with lived experience who […]

The New Housing Reality

“To really thrive, you have to have everybody. The vibrancy of the city (of Grand Rapids) is the attraction. It shouldn’t be available only to certain people. It’s not accessible for everyone.” In an NBC News story from July 21, 2023, Diana Olick reported that growing home prices nationwide are pricing new homeowners out of […]

Meant For This

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“You see mental health challenges on the rise, and my clients ask me if the system was designed for us to fail. People are working 12-hour shifts and spending all of their money on rent…and there’s a trickle-down effect where it’s definitely an equity issue. A system issue.” It was a sunny afternoon in March […]

In the Room Where it Happens 

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“I don’t like to see people struggling. It’s policies and politicians that keep people struggling because of inequity. All communities are impacted—black, white, everyone.” Deondre “Dee” Jones is a familiar fixture to some around Grand Rapids. He can be found attending City Commission and County Commission meetings, typically with his headphones piping his tunes into […]

Affordable Housing, a Landlord’s Story 

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“How much profit is enough? There are too many property managers and owners who are gouging the consumer…” According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2020 Kent County showed a population of 657,974. Of that population, about 10% were Black/African American, and approximately 8.04% of people identified themselves as having at least two races. While […]

A Place to Call Home

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“We moved around a lot. With four boys in my family, we would tear up the apartment. Then we’d get kicked out and have to find a shelter that had space to take us…” Imagine for a moment a child moving around frequently because the family has been asked to leave their apartment, the reason […]

A Home on the Hill

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“It adds stress and anxiety…if I spend money on something I need, I wonder if I am messing myself up for later in the month.” Imagine for a moment your ideal home in Kent County. What does it look like? Where is it located? How challenging would it be for you to live there? Most […]

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Driving Directions

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

From Chicago: I–94 East to I–196/US–31 (Exit 34) at Benton Harbor. Take I–196 toward Grand Rapids to US–131 South. Take US–131 South to Pearl Street exit (keep to the right of the on–ramp to US–131 as this becomes the off–ramp 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 US–131 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: I–96 West to I–196 West (Gerald R. Ford Freeway) to US–131 South. Take US–131 South to the Market Street exit (keep to the right of the on–ramp to US–131). Turn left onto Market from the exit. Turn left on Fulton. Under the US–131 Overpass, the Fulton Lot will be on your left. Approximately 2 hours from Detroit, and 60 minutes from Lansing.

From Holland: I–196 East to US–131 South. Take US–131 South to the Pearl Street exit (keep to the right of the on–ramp to US–131 as this becomes the off–ramp 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 US– 131 Overpass, the Fulton Lot will be on your right. Approximately 30 miles from Holland.

From Kalamazoo: US–131 North to the Pearl Street Exit, #85B. Turn left onto Pearl Street and proceed one block beyond the US–131 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: I–96 East to US–131 South. US–131 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: US–131 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

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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 2 — Rental Housing Affordability

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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.

Source: Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI)

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.

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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.