Fight Against Homelessness

My name is Laura and I am a part time Americorps Member serving at West Michigan Therapy in Muskegon Heights. West Michigan Therapy is a nonprofit agency that houses homeless individuals and families through its housing programs. In 2009, there were a reported 2,214 homeless persons in Muskegon County. Of the homeless persons, 710 of them were children. On any given day that year, there were 325 homeless individuals and children in the shelters in Muskegon County. In 2010, West Michigan Therapy's housing programs served 1,321 of the 2,214 homeless persons in Muskegon County which is over half of the homeless served by one agency! The stability of permanent housing with the care of supportive services has given our housing clients new hope and a sense of self-determination.

West Michigan Therapy has had a very positive effect on the community at large and is continuing to receive a high demand of need for housing assistance. However, right now there is a huge gap between State and Federal funding support West Michigan Therapy received to run its housing programs and provide these services in an effective manner, allowing our clients' continuing stability. Without funding support, West Michigan Therapy has created workshops and groups to help serve members in the community by providing them with useful information about resources and housing options in the county. I help facilitate the Housing Stability Workshop which goes over information about subsidized housing lists, food truck information, temp agency lists and information as well as many, many more resources.

Due to this gap in funding, West Michigan Therapy is holding a "Million Quarters Drive" fundraiser with the ultimate goal of raising a quarter of a million dollars to ensure that these housing programs are maintained and expanded to provide essential case management services to families that are homeless or to prevent them from becoming homeless. This fundraiser has many different parts that are working together to raise the money. West Michigan Therapy is participating in food night at some local restaurants, attempting to have high school students sell chocolate candy bars, and planning a sleep out event in the future with all of the high schools in Muskegon County. It mimics the life of a homeless individual with students sleeping in boxes and/or participating in activities that help them understand how difficult it is to be homeless. West Michigan Therapy is also selling years of its history, there are twenty-five, to local businesses that are willing to sponsor and help raise money for the fundraiser. With the help of community members and local students, West Michigan Therapy plans to reach its goal and continue to fight against homelessness.

Why Should We Protect National Service in Michigan?

Times are tough here in Michigan, but you don’t need me to tell you that. It might as well be painted in bright red lettering across our state.

You see it in the smallest of places—like the face of a child who has worn the same clothes to school for the last week, or the single mother having to put back food in the grocery store checkout lane.

You can see it in your neighborhood—one foreclosed house after another, shops quietly closing their doors for good.

You watched it on the news as the once thriving Michigan auto industry was brought to its knees in front of the world.

You can see the entire state of Michigan’s struggle physically when you head south on 75 to Detroit and see the skeleton of Michigan Central Train Depot. Michigan has a lot in common with this haunting old building—both have a vibrant past and beauty that are not apparent at first glance anymore.

But there is one thing that Michigan does not have in common with this building—Michigan is not abandoned.

While you read this there are Michigan residents serving in our communities, devoting their time to help and restore Michigan. They serve long hours, steadfastly and silently supporting Michigan residents who need it the most. They serve in nonprofits throughout Michigan, for very little pay, yet they make measurable positive differences in our state.

These people are AmeriCorps members.

AmeriCorps members tutor children in your schools. They work one-on-one with people who have, or are at-risk, of losing their housing. They do their best to keep foreclosures from happening, and they help secure affordable housing for those who don’t have it.

They help connect our state’s neediest families and individuals with services that can give them a hand up and out of poverty. In the last two months, AmeriCorps members in the Michigan Campaign to End Homeless have helped over 2,500 Michigan residents get connected with crucial services, by planning one-day community connect events. They have recruited over 100 volunteers and helped over 700 unemployed people at these events.

That’s right--this has all been accomplished since the turn of the new year!

From 2010 to 2011 they amassed even greater numbers by assisting or leading in the planning of numerous connect events statewide that served over 10,000 people. One third of these guests were unemployed, while many others were in a housing crisis or literally homeless.

And that's not even the tip of the iceberg. These numbers don't include the countless people members help individually every day at their service locations (You can read about that in their blogs!). It also doesn’t count what other programs in the state, as well as throughout the entire nation, have accomplished.

Michigan needs AmeriCorps members to fight poverty, help educate our children, and prevent homelessness. Especially in what might someday be considered Michigan’s darkest hour.

We know Michigan needs this program because we have lived through one of the greatest recessions of our country’s history, in one of the hardest hit states.

We have seen it. We have felt it. We will not give up.

Member serving in AmeriCorps will continue to improve our communities. We will continue to get measureable results. We will continue to help people who are in times of crisis.

But we have a crisis of our own. Congress wants to cut funding, and effectively eliminate AmeriCorps, as well as over 47,000 other people who serve the nation. They want to cut programs that have been acting as the backbone of our state and country—doing what nonprofits don’t have the time or resources to do. We can’t let them.

It will be a struggle to keep the funding, but we cannot and will not give up.

We will not abandon Michigan.

***This was written on my own time, as a private citizen***

Making A Difference

My name is LaSar'a Johnson. I am a full-time AmeriCorps Member with the Michigan's Campaign to End Homelessness Program. Currently, I am serving at Every Woman's Place/Webster House Youth Services, located in Muskegon, MI.
Every Woman's Place (EWP)/Webster House Youth Services (WHYS) is an agency that offers programs to battered men and women, homeless and at-risk of becoming homeless individuals, and runaway youth. Here at EWP/WHYS, I am serving as a Tenant Based Rental Assistant (TBRA). The TBRA Program helps to house homeless and at risk of being homeless families and youth in Muskegon, Newaygo and Oceana County.
During my term of service, I have had the pleasure of meeting great people, and was also able to participate in various activities. Many of the activities were very heart-warming. Some of these activities include carving pumpkins for Harvest Day, making Christmas cookies, and scrap-booking for Valentine's Day with the domestic violence survivor's children. The children had so much fun that they begged their parents to stay a bit longer. The sight of this touched my heart so much. I was happy that in the midst of such turmoil in these kids life, that for even one day, they were able to have fun.
Another occasion occurred while conducting casework to a young lady, who was an "unofficial" client. She was considered "unofficial" because our program had no additional finances to assist her with housing. As more time went by, the young lady had begun to get more and more disappointed. I attempted to keep her encouraged by congratulating her on her minor accomplishments and by also reinforcing positive attitudes, since she had had difficulty in positive reinforcement for herself. After about 3 months of active casework, the young lady shared with me that she had been interviewed and accepted for a job. During the conversation, I shared with the client that more money had opened up and that we would be able to assist her for approximately 2-3 months, if not longer. She was very excited at the fact that her luck was beginning to change; I was happy to be a part of her excitement.
One special occasion that sticks out as most meaningful to me occurred when I was given the opportunity to coordinate, along with another AmeriCorp Member, Oceana County's 1st Annual Project Homeless Connect. Myself, as well as the other AmeriCorp member had never conducted an event such as this one; however, it was an honor to be able to partake in history in Oceana's Continuum of Care 1st Annual Project Homeless Connect Food Drive. Through this event, we were able to provide 5,000lbs of food, via Feeding America in Western Michigan to 185 families, and were also able to donate 100 bags full of laundry detergent, bath soap, tissue paper, t-shirts, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and feminine hygiene products.
The Project Homeless Connect Food Drive turned out to be such a successful event. I was excited to be able to not only make history in Oceana County, but even more excited to see the expressions of gratitude on people's faces who were benefiting from out hard work and services we offered. Although it had begun to rain and get dark and chilly outside, myself, another AmeriCorp Member and the volunteers remained on site until every morsel of food had been given away. We were able to serve each and every person who had come out to participate.