GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Officials in Kent County are launching a campaign to help end homelessness in the county.
Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalyn Bliss and leaders from nonprofit groups held a meeting Thursday afternoon in the Ryerson Auditorium in the Grand Rapids Public Library to talk about the initiative. It is called the "100 in 100 campaign" ... an effort to find permanent housing for 100 homeless people within 100 days. That way, they don't have to be in an emergency shelter for a long time.
"But rather, can get housed by choice as soon as possible. And we can do that through these collaborative efforts," Thelma Ensink said. She is executive director of Degage Ministries.
Degage and others who help the homeless have noted it is becoming increasingly difficult to find housing for many people, as the cost of renting or owning a house has risen significantly - especially for the community's most vulnerable citizens.
The sooner they can find housing for the homeless, the less time they will have to spend in emergency shelters.
"As we've been looking at our data as partners over the past few years, we've noticed that within that 10 percent of our most vulnerable, there are about 3 to 5 percent of that population that have complex needs," Ensink said.
She said mental-health issues and substance abuse disorder are often occurring at the same time.
"Every donation plays a vital role in helping us combat homelessness in our community. Your generosity has the power to impact lives and create lifelong positive impact," Degage posted on its Facebook page.
This a link to the donation page: https://degageministries.org/donate/
###
Degage Ministries Executive Director Thelma Ensink speaks at an event in the Grand Rapids Public Library auditorium announcing details the '100 in 100' collaboration to help the homeless find permanant housing. Photo: Source: Clark Communications