The search for housing can be its own form of trauma. For Tamika Williams a $1,215 unpaid rent payment has been standing between her and a place to stay for her and her two children as she has visited agency after agency since September of 2022. But there appears to be help on the horizon.
At Pathway Home potential homeowners will talk about their goals, be enrolled in KNHS financial readiness and homebuyer's education courses, be teamed up with HUD-certified coaches at KNHS, and learn "all the basics on what it means to go from a renter to a homeowner." Learn more about this approach to keeping people housed.
One-time grants through the RentAble program, funded by the City of Kalamazoo and overseen by the Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care, are now available to help individuals and families offset rent increases, housing application fees, and pay security deposits. Grants can also be used to help catch up on past-due rent, past-due utility bills, and other related expenses. Read on to find out how it works.
Growth in both housing prices and population in Kalamazoo's Oshtemo Township has put the township board on alert. The area's fastest-growing community is working to formulate a housing action plan. After surveying residents, the township drafted a plan which will be presented at the township meeting Thursday, April 13, 2023
Progress is being made in finding a home for the POD community for the unhoused. Here's the latest.
Real estate developer Jamauri Bogan, 26, is creating an affordable housing and commercial project on the Northside that is "outward-focused and centered around serving people." Zone 32 takes its name from the number Bogan wore in football. He says the sport taught him the power of “we” rather than “me.”
From a position with Downtown Kalamzoo, Inc. to working with the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, Beth McCann helped build up Kalamazoo's cultural image. In her new position as Executive Directory of Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services, she is building community in a different way – through affordable housing. "We need, what, 7,000 housing units right now?" says McCann. "I can't build 7,000, but hopefully, I can make a dent."
KDPS Sgt. Amil Alwan says Public Safety doesn’t have all the answers to homelessness or how to address those suffering from mental health, substance abuse, and other issues. But officers say, “If we build the connections with the community services providers that we have in this area, we can have a unit that can have a hand-off with those other services to help do long-term solutions to these issues.”
In a move to consolidate housing funding requests for housing, the Kalamazoo County Housing's AmpliFund Portal is seeking to become a one-stop funding source for ARPA and county resources.
As the affordable housing crisis continues, some Kalamazoo organizations are finding new ways to provide downpayment assistance to help first-time home buyers purchase a new home.
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