An increasing number of school-aged students are being officially recorded as being homeless in Kent County. Nearly 600 additional Kent County students were counted as homeless in the 2017-18 school year, the most recent numbers released by the Michigan Center for Performance and Information on K-12 students.

Residents are expected Friday to begin moving into Garfield Park Lofts, a 36-unit affordable housing development that officials say represents the first new commercial construction in the Southeast Side neighborhood in nearly three decades.

Nearly 8,500 people in Kent County experienced homelessness in 2018, according to the Coalition to End Homelessness.

When students in Kent County schools are identified as homeless, district coordinators have items ready — school uniforms, backpacks, coats, school supplies, bus passes, even mattresses. What’s become more and more difficult is helping families find adequate shelter.

West Side rents doubled or even tripled in recent years, driving out families with children and hurting enrollment in GRPS schools. The increases are driven by new high-rise apartments and condos, the bustling bars and restaurants along Bridge Street NW and a major influx of college student renters, he says.

A nonprofit serving homeless families in Grand Rapids has closed a shelter it opened in February on a temporary basis. Family Promise of Grand Rapids stopped providing shelter at Fulton Manor, 1450 Fulton St. E, in late December. Nearly 400 families were provided temporary shelter at the facility between February and December.

The Kent County Land Bank’s 119 remaining properties have been transferred to its state counterpart. State Land Bank Authority officials said Friday, Feb. 28, that they finalized an agreement with Kent County to take on its now-dissolved land bank's properties.

If you don’t often think about the plight of those experiencing homelessness in West Michigan, Sara Schade has a message for you. Now is the time to care.

COVID-19 is showing up in Grand Rapids’ homeless population in considerable numbers, although health officials have worked hard to contain spread of the infection. So far, 55 people have tested positive for the virus, with most being isolated at a designated isolation center at the Guiding Light facility on Division Avenue.

About 57 families experiencing homelessness are currently being put up in hotels in the Grand Rapids area to keep them safe from the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19.

Two local nonprofits recently announced a merger to provide greater support for youth facing homelessness. HQ, a drop-in center for homeless and runaway youth, is joining forces with longtime partner 3:11 Youth Housing to provide circles of support for the vulnerable population.

Grand Rapids needs 'a lot' of new housing to meet demand, avoid displacing residents. ... A new study, conducted for the city of Grand Rapids by Housing Next, estimates that the city needs 5,340 additional apartments and 3,548 owner-occupied condos, townhomes or single-family homes by 2025.

Public housing authorities in Michigan received $8.1 million in CARES act funding to help families during the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson announced $472 million nationally in CARES Act funding to help low-income families, including $8.1 million to 61 PHAs throughout Michigan.

Grand Rapids leaders are hoping to increase the city’s affordable and low-income housing stock with vacant properties. At their Tuesday night meeting, city commissioners unanimously approved vacant property sale criteria that favors lower-income housing projects on the properties.

Last week, the City of Grand Rapids Commission approved providing up to $250,000 for rent and mortgage assistance to Grand Rapids residents meeting Grand Rapids Community Foundation’s La Lucha Fund eligibility requirements. Residents impacted by COVID-19 can apply for funds and receive up to $500 of rent or mortgage assistance for their households.

A nonprofit housing developer plans to transform a 1930s-era funeral home on Grand Rapids' Northwest Side into a 38-unit apartment building designed to serve people with special needs and low- to moderate-income residents.

A Columbus, Ohio-based development company wants to demolish a funeral home on Grand Rapids' Northwest Side and build two, four-story apartment buildings for low- to moderate-income residents.

The Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness reports that in 2018 there were just over 65,000 homeless in our state. Nearly 15,000 are in the Grand Rapids area. MCAH stats also show that 34% of single adults over age 25 are women and 49% of youth ages 18 to 24 are women. Area nonprofits are working hard to address the needs of the female demographic, to provide housing and services to all women including pregnant teens and transgender women.

“I’ve never seen this,” Robb Munger, president of Exodus Place, said. “It’s at a point with all the services we have, and they’re getting overwhelmed. I’ve never seen camping at Heartside Park.”

An emergency shelter and warming center is opening in the Heartside neighborhood to address a pressing need for housing for those experiencing homelessness in Grand Rapids.

While many homeless have pitched tents in what has become a high-profile tent city in Grand Rapids’ Heartside Park, she is part of the growing hidden homeless. “There is a lot of tents down here, and they have been popping up more and more as time goes by,” Sumner said. “The further we get into this COVID thing, the more they pop up.”

First National Bank of Michigan is making a $1 million investment to support affordable housing development in partnership with Cinnaire and the Michigan Bankers Association Service Corporation.

The number of families in Kent County homeless shelters has doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to Cheryl Schuch, executive director of Family Promise.

Grand Rapids elected leaders have given initial approval on tax exemptions for six proposed affordable and low-income housing developments in the city. If all six projects are completed as planned, they would bring 299 apartment units to the city, of which 78 units are anticipated to be permanent supportive housing serving people with disabilities or chronically homeless.