Gary Beyer, the President of the board of Good Samaritan Ministries (GSM), presented about housing issues in Ottawa County. GSM was founded in 1969 by local churches and organizations. For the last 12 years, it has been the local Housing Assessment and Resource Agency (HARA) in Ottawa County. There is only one HARA in each county in Michigan. 53% of the staff at GSM have experienced poverty and/or homelessness.

 

GSM works primarily with the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population, which earns between $15-18/hour. Many in this population are spending 50% of their income on housing.

 

GSM works to prevent homelessness, create housing solutions, form sustainable partnerships, and offer supportive services.

 

The Ottawa County Eviction Prevention Program (OCEPP) works with tenants and landlords to prevent eviction and bring the tenants to self-sufficiency within 3 years. GSM works with landlords to promote renting to tenants who qualify for their supportive programs. These tenants are low-risk renters because of the support that they receive. The Circles program is one of the supportive programs where participants regularly meet with mentors.

 

Another GSM program is the Empowered Housing Program which tries to divert people from the area shelters by finding alternate housing.

 

In the past year, 162 clients found permanent housing, 33 rentals were created, 1859 children were helped, and 4313 housing assessments were performed. 75% of people participating in the Circles program reduced their debt.