News & Info

A collaborative program between the 61st District Court and some Heartside ministries is helping people clean up their records by bringing court to them.

Why is Grand Rapids a destination city for homelessness? How has this steady demand for homeless services grown larger than the needs of our local community warrant? In short: because the services exist here. But these services exist here because there is demand for them.

It's a growing problem in West Michigan. Advocates for the homeless say, each night, there are are nearly 1,000 West Michigan families dealing with a form of homelessness and searching for somewhere safe and warm to stay.

It's the assumption that everybody who is homeless or going into a homeless shelter is on welfare. In reality, very few, if any, of the families who need emergency shelters and assistance get cash assistance.

Application fees for apartments in the Grand Rapids are one of the biggest barriers for people to get their families out of homelessness.

In a study of school districts across West Michigan, we found many of the homeless liaisons tasked with helping children have dual or triple roles in the district suggesting schools don't put a full emphasis on the growing problem.

Grand Rapids shelters and police make special efforts to find and to help the homeless during freezing temperatures.

Cornerstone University has teamed up with Mel Trotter Ministries to provide a degree program on-site at the ministry for staff, graduates of its programs, and the community.

Mel Trotter Ministries is one of a handful of institutions where the homeless can find a place to escape the cold.