Tag Archives: shelters

Shelter beds for homeless in Kent County exceed capacity, organizations submit public plea for support

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Community Health, Going Local, Hard News, Health, Kent County, Non-Profits, Our Cities, West Michigan, , , , , , , , , , ,
Kent County shelters are filled to capacity, risking leaving hundreds without access to shelter services during winter (Courtesy, pxhere.com)


By WKTV Staff

deborah@wktv.org

Homelessess is on the rise (Courtesy, pxhere.com)

Homelessness is on the rise, and there is an overwhelming demand for shelter and other services as winter approaches.

According to the latest data, the number of individuals and families needing shelter far exceeds the supply of shelter beds in Kent County. Based on trends and current bed capacity in our community, an estimated 100 to 300 people could be without access to shelter services on the coldest winter nights.

According to the Point in Time count, there were 723 individuals experiencing homelessness in Kent County in 2018. In 2023, that number sharply increased to 1,239 individuals experiencing homelessness.

Current shelters cannot sustain increase in need

Non-profit leaders of Dégagé Ministries, along with Mel Trotter Ministries, Family Promise and AYA Youth Collective fear they will not have enough shelter and provisions to accommodate the increased demand for shelter during the winter months.

Even with the new bunks at Dégagé, they are unable to meet the current need for beds (Courtesy, Dégagé Ministries)

Dégagé provides the only emergency shelter for women in the area. They are seeing up to 125 women a night in the shelter, many experiencing homelessness for the first time.

They are doing all they can to make arrangements to accommodate 150 women per night. Funding limitations, however, will make it difficult to sustain that figure during the winter.

The leaders of Mel Trotter Ministries, Dégagé Ministries, Family Promise of West Michigan, and AYA Youth Collective, alongside the Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness, are releasing an open letter to the West Michigan community.

The letter below outlines the need for this community and its leaders to identify both near and long-term solutions to address the homelessness crisis.

A plea to the public for support

To the West Michigan community:

We present this message to our community with a sense of great concern and urgency as our region’s coldest winter months are fast approaching.

Economic hardships, the loss of supportive resources from COVID, and a shortage of affordable housing have combined to worsen the already difficult situation facing men, women, youth, and families experiencing homelessness in West Michigan. The shifting landscape is presenting an increasingly dire situation for people living on the street and an overwhelming demand for the non-profit service agencies that provide compassionate care, meals, services, and shelter to those in need. 

Unable to meet the demand

Shortages include location, space and staffing (Courtesy, pxhere.com)

Making matters even more challenging is that just like other employers, some non-profit agencies are facing a worker shortage and a funding shortfall. Adding temporary shelter beds this winter, as has happened in the past, is a significant challenge because there are simply not enough workers to ensure a safe environment for overflow guests.

What’s more, the funding needed to provide additional staffing and a location for overflow shelter space is not presently available. Therefore, non-profits simply cannot meet the demand.

We are committed to providing compassionate support to as many of our neighbors in need as possible, while maintaining a safe environment for all. However, when the population growth of individuals experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity in our community far exceeds the limited amount of shelter space, we are faced with difficult decisions and risk loss of life.

Our collective community efforts to address the homelessness crisis must include both near and long-term solutions. Of immediate concern is the urgent need to find shelter workers and shelter bed space. At the same time, we remain focused on initiatives to increase affordable housing, create more access to mental health resources, strengthen workforce development and employment opportunities, and more.

The rising issue of homelessness is one facing our entire country, and an issue that is of paramount importance in West Michigan. Collaborative work between agencies, governmental partners, and community leaders is happening to create a long-term cohesive strategy. As non-profits, we are doing great work, but we can do even more with increased funding, more staff, and more shelter rooms to meet this growing need.

Limited shelter space increases risk of loss of life (Courtesy, pxhere.com)

How you can help save lives

With your help, we can save lives this winter by protecting unhoused individuals, youth, children, and families from extreme, life-threatening temperatures. To learn more or join us in our efforts to combat homelessness, visit us at our websites below.

We remain resolute in our commitment to serve those in need in our community, and we stand ready to continue partnering with our community leaders in taking steps toward finding a sustainable solution that benefits the entire region.

Sincerely,

Dennis Van Kampen, CEO, Mel Trotter Ministries

Thelma Ensink, Executive Director, Dégagé Ministries

Tenisa Frye, CEO, Family Promise of West Michigan

Lauren VanKeulen, CEO, AYA Youth Collective

Local foundation encourages residents to ‘feed the shelter’

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Pets/Animals, ,

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Many shelters in the U.S. struggle to feed the pets in their care and communities, especially as inflation impacts food costs and donations. Throughout March, BISSELL Pet Foundation is raising awareness to encourage community support for shelters with its “Feed the Shelters®” campaign. The foundation is calling on pet lovers nationwide to donate food to their local shelter to make a lifesaving difference for a hungry pet.

Volunteers donate food items to the Kent County Animal Shelter. (Courtesy, BISSELL Pet Foundation)

“Donating food to your local shelter makes a difference for pets in need—whether it fills bowls in the shelter or for pets in need through community food assistance programs,” said Cathy Bissell, Founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation.

Resources are stretched thin at Michigan shelters—and shelters nationwide—as these organizations experience longer stays for pets, increased owner surrenders and staffing issues. Shelters are community assets dedicated to keeping people and their pets together. Whether open admission or private, shelters support their communities through pet food assistance programs, free and low-cost community clinics, obedience classes, reuniting families with stray pets, and much more. At BISSELL Pet Foundation, we are committed to supporting shelter,  and our “Feed the Shelters” campaign allows us to spread the love for all that shelters do and raise awareness to drive food donations.

“We hope our “Feed the Shelters” campaign will get community members through the doors of their local shelter to not only make a lifesaving food donation, but to also learn more about getting involved at their shelter,” said Bissell.

Participating in “Feed the Shelters” is easy:

  1. Find your local shelter’s wish list and see what food they need.
  2. Visit your shelter and take a photo or video of you dropping off your donation.
  3. Share your donation photo/video on social media with #FeedTheShelters and tag @Cathy_Bissell and @BISSELLPets
  4. Tag your friends and family to participate!

All year long, BISSELL Pet Foundation receives requests to help hungry pets from our network of more than 5,700 shelters and rescues. BISSELL Pet Foundation keeps bellies full by providing Feed the Shelters program grants to animal welfare organizations across the country. Grant recipients can then offer meals to their pets and donate meals to the neediest pets in their communities through pet food pantries and other lifesaving pet food resources. Since the program’s inception in 2020, the foundation has provided 1,850 904 meals to hungry pets.

BISSELL Pet Foundation fights shelter overcrowding

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Non-Profits, Pets/Animals, Recreation, , , , ,
Cora, a one-eyed, 9.5-year-old dog was all to find her fur-ever home in the Empty the Shelters: Big Dog and Cat Crisis campaign. (Supplied)

By Brittany Schlacter
BISSELL Pet Foundation

More than 1,800 dogs and cats found forever homes over the course of six days through the emergency “Empty the Shelters: Big Dog & Cat Crisis” event with BISSELL Pet Foundation. The event was hosted in 97 shelters in 29 states. BISSELL Pet Foundation aided shelters experiencing overcrowding by sponsoring reduced fees for harder to place pets, including adult cats and large and senior dogs.

Approximately 808 adult cats and 997 large or senior dogs were adopted during the event hosted Aug. 16-22, 2021, including 33 cat and 49 dog “foster failures,” (when a foster family plans to adopt the pet) and a total of 1,887 animal lives were touched because of the effort.

Since Jan. 2021, BISSELL Pet Foundation has helped find homes for 12,427 pets and provided $927,100 in direct funding to the shelter partners through “Empty the Shelters.”

 

“With shelters struggling with overcrowding across the country, the adoptions through this emergency ‘Empty the Shelter’ have opened up space to help another 1,805 pets in need,” said Cathy Bissell, founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation. “We thank our partner shelters for the incredible work they did to help these pets find families, and of course a heartfelt thank you to all of the people who chose adoption and gave these pets a second chance at life.”

While thousands of lives were saved, here are just a few notable adoption stories from throughout the country:

  • Cora, a one-eyed, 9.5-year-old dog in Cummings, GA, found a fantastic home to live out her golden years after four months in the care of Animal Ark Rescue.
  • A diagnosis of kidney disease didn’t stop Sassy, the 14-year-old calico from Carsonville, MI, from securing her forever home during Sanilac County Humane Society’s event.
  • Houston Humane Society adopted out one of their longest residents during this emergency Empty the Shelters. Shelby, a six-year-old dog, found her family after 150 days at the shelter.

The next “Empty the Shelters” event is scheduled for October. For more information on adopting or donating to “Empty the Shelters,” visit www.bissellpetfoundation.org/empty-the-shelters.