The Community Plan
Please visit the link below to learn more about the Housing Stability Alliance and to read the Common Agenda and Roadmap entitled “Redefining the Path Home: System Building for Housing Stability in Kent County”

The Housing Stability Alliance works to develop an equitable housing system for all residents in Kent County, specifically focusing on addressing the disparate outcomes for Black and Latinx residents in our community.
Creating an equitable housing system will not happen overnight. It will take decades of hard work and dedication from the entire community. However, if the past two years was any indication that the Kent County communities share a passion for this issue; we are well poised to create change. We’re working to increase access to quality affordable housing and dissolve homelessness in Kent County with an intentional focus on eliminating racial disparities among families, children, and youth and other data-driven priorities.
News and Updates
The First Twelve Months
In May 2018 concerned community stakeholders asked KConnect to bring people together to examine how the housing system is working, establish shared goals, and develop collaborative strategies to reach those goals with a focus on children, families, youth, and people of color. KConnect initiated its work in Fall 2018 and began a yearlong process to convene organizations, funders, and other stakeholders within the housing and homeless system.


The Work Moving Forward
We have promised to deliver a common agenda and roadmap to create and sustain a movement that builds systems between sectors and empowers lived experience to dissolve housing instability and homelessness for children and families from the landscape of Kent County. That work is to be completed in Summer 2020. It is our goal to build the movement that is already underway, and to center lived experience around this system-change strategy.
Housing Stability Alliance Chairs
Mayor Rosalynn Bliss
City of Grand Rapids
Mandy Bolter
Chair, Kent County Commission
Christina Keller
President/CEO, Cascade Engineering
Lynne Ferrell
Program Director, Frey Foundation
Resources and Local News Coverage
Looking for historical resources and local news covered related to housing? Visit our Housing Resources page.
Housing Stability Alliance Partners
3:11 Youth Housing | Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids | Greater Ottawa County United Way | Michigan League for Public Policy |
Access of West Michigan | Essential Needs Task Force | Heart of West Michigan United Way | Resilient Roots Yoga LLC |
Arbor Circle | Fair Housing Center of West Michigan | Hispanic Center of West Michigan | Rockford Construction |
Bohnsack and Associates | Family Promise of Grand Rapids | Housing Next | Sacred Beginnings |
Byrum & Fisk | Flat River Outreach Ministries | HQ Runaway & Homeless Youth Drop-In Center | Spectrum Health |
Calvin University Center for Social Research | Frey Foundation | Inner City Christian Federation | The Eureka Group |
Cascade Engineering | Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness | Irwin Seating | The Salvation Army |
Cherry Health | Grand Rapids Community Foundation | Kennari Consulting | Turner Thole Consulting |
City of Grand Rapids | Grand Rapids Housing Commission | Kent County | United Methodist Community House |
City of Wyoming | Grand Rapids Public Library | Kent Intermediate School District | Urban Core Collective |
Community Rebuilders | Grand Rapids Public Schools | Measurable Change | Westside Collaborative |
Creative Reach LLC | Grand Rapids Urban League | Mel Trotter Ministries | Wyoming Department of Public Safety |
Degage Ministries | Grand Valley State University | Michigan Department of Civil Rights | YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids |
Design Group International | YWCA West Central Michigan |
Tool Table
- January 2021 Alliance Update
- June 2020 APC Housing Update
- May 2020 Housing Update
- April 2020 Housing Update
- March 2020 Housing Update
- February 2020 Housing Update
- January 2020 Housing Update
- November 2019 Housing Update
- October 2019 Housing Update
- June 2019 APC Housing Update
- May 2019 Housing Update
- February 2019 Housing Update
- January 2019 Housing Update
- 2018 Data Summary
- 2018 Data Explainer
- Housing Stability Spectrum
- Common Agenda House Graphic
- Housing Instability Root Causes
- System Findings and Assets
- Housing Stability Alliance Structure
- Shared Measurement System
- News and Stories