Grand Rapids Celebrates Women’s Housing Initiative Year

News Summary

Heartside Landings in Grand Rapids marks its first year of providing innovative housing for chronically homeless women. Offering autonomy and extensive support services, this landmark program is seeing impressive results, including a significant decrease in emergency medical visits among residents. With partnerships and funding from local organizations, the initiative aims to continue its success and serve as a model for tackling homelessness across the nation.

Grand Rapids Celebrates a Year of Hope and New Beginnings for Women in Need

In the heart of Grand Rapids, a remarkable initiative is wrapping up its first year, and it’s all about creating meaningful change for women facing homelessness. Opened in January 2024, Heartside Landings is a innovative housing program run by Dégagé Ministries specifically designed to support chronically homeless women—a demographic often overlooked in traditional shelter settings.

A Unique Approach to Long-Term Housing

Located at 129 Jefferson Ave., Heartside Landings offers something refreshing: a sense of autonomy that typical shelters often fail to provide. Residents enjoy single and two-person rooms, making them feel more at home. This program is believed to be the first of its kind in Michigan, and one of the few in the entire country, focusing on long-term transitional housing for women grappling with complex barriers to stability.

Comprehensive Support Services

What sets Heartside Landings apart is not just the physical space but the extensive support it offers. With services that include medical, psychiatric, and case management, the program caters to women struggling with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, along with substance use disorders. Many of these women previously found it challenging to succeed in standard group shelters, often consuming an overwhelming portion of staff time and resources due to their complex needs.

Research indicates that women with such complexities represent only about 10% of the shelter population while consuming 60% of shelter resources. That’s a staggering imbalance that Heartside Landings aims to rectify. Through targeted care and support, significant improvements have been observed among the current residents. The program has successfully fostered better physical and mental health, enhanced community ties, and even stronger family relationships.

Impressive Results in Just a Year

Year one has brought fantastic results that truly highlight the effectiveness of this program. Notably, the facility has reported an incredible 87% reduction in emergency medical service calls and a whopping 65% decrease in emergency room visits. Among the 25 women residing at Heartside Landings, one has even seen a complete cessation of emergency room visits since joining the program. These numbers speak volumes about the positive impact of comprehensive treatment and dedicated support.

Partnerships That Make a Difference

Thanks to collaborative efforts with organizations like Network 180 and Catherine’s Health Center, residents have immediate access to mental health and preventative healthcare right on-site. Trinity Health Grand Rapids, which has leased the facility to Dégagé, has also generously contributed by donating furniture to create a welcoming environment for the women.

Funding for Heartside Landings in its first year has primarily come from philanthropic donations, including the notable DeVos Family Foundation, the Jandernoa Foundation, and the Frey Foundation. What’s more, all inicial residents remain in the program after a year, with half of them already prepared to transition into independent housing. This lays the foundation for showing that many women, with the right support, can ultimately find success in permanent housing.

Looking Ahead

The future looks bright for Heartside Landings. Dégagé Ministries is on the lookout for both local and state government funding to sustain this essential program. It aims not only to continue its operations but also to serve as a model for addressing chronic homelessness across the nation. The unique approach of Heartside Landings demonstrates a sustainable method of tackling the root causes of homelessness, giving hope to many and setting a high standard for similar initiatives.

As Grand Rapids continues to nurture this beacon of hope, the community thrives together, making it clear that with compassion and support, lasting change is achievable. Heartside Landings stands as a testament to what can happen when communities rally together to support their most vulnerable members.

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Additional Resources

• MLive: First-of-its-kind homeless shelter in Michigan sees success after one year
• Fox 17: Dégagé Ministries’ innovative approach to keeping women housed yields impressive results
• Wood TV: Program for women who are homeless yields staggering outcomes, nonprofit says
• WZZM 13: New downtown Grand Rapids shelter
• Wikipedia: Homelessness in the United States