Michigan Business Beat | New Kent County Initiative Reimagines What Accessible Housing Looks Like

Jeffrey Mosher has a conversation with Salvador Lopez KConnect President and Housing Kent’s Interim President Reaching out with incredible news from KConnect's new equitable housing initiative "Housing Kent" - they have organized a way to increase access to affordable housing and decrease homelessness for families, children, and youth of Kent County. They have placed an intentional focus on eliminating racial biases and disparities in Kent County. Through their work and the common agenda and roadmap, they have created we hope to see real change happen for these marginalized groups in Kent County. Organization to Create Equitable Housing System, Focuses on Eliminating Racial Disparities The Housing Kent organization is the result of 130 public and private sector, nonprofit, and philanthropic organizations that came together to examine the homelessness crisis over a three-year period Grand Rapids, Mich - Housing Kent’s mission is to increase access to affordable housing and decrease homelessness for families, children, and youth, with an intentional focus on eliminating racial disparities in Kent County. The organization will accomplish this by focusing on the entire spectrum of the system from those who have no housing to those who are housed by choice. A specific emphasis will be placed on eliminating housing insecurity for Black and Latinx children and families, who are disproportionately impacted. The number of people in the homeless system grew by 37% in Kent County between 2017 and 2019, with the largest growth being seen in families with children. Exacerbating this economic vulnerability are sharp breaks in the data along the lines of race and ethnicity. Nearly one in six African American children in Kent County accessed the homeless system at some point in 2019 compared with one in every 130 White children. “A staggering number of our neighbors are homeless, constantly moving from place to place,” said Salvador Lopez, KConnect President and Housing Kent’s Interim President. “Without a dramatic red