2023 Impact Report - Report - Page 8
OUR PROGRAMS
Continuum of Care (CoC)
Kalamazoo County
CoC works with partners to increase coordination and find solutions to the gaps,
inequities, and challenges they experience when working to reduce homelessness.
In 2022, the CoC:
• Administered $1,718,144 in federal funding and $485,820 in state
funding to prevent and address homelessness
• Provided $53,500 dollars in mini-grants to local non-profits serving
the unhoused
• Redesigned the RentAble program to better support ALICE households
in securing or retaining their housing
“I found the experience to be completely life-changing. I visited places I never knew
existed. One of the most significant learnings for me was the power we, as human
beings, have. We are resourceful and resilient. To see how ingenious our residents
are, was eye-opening yet disturbing. I saw individuals living in conditions that were not
meant to be, yet they worked to make it home.”
—Point-in-Time Count Volunteer
Program Assistance Center (PAC)
Statewide
PAC, a Michigan Energy Assistance Program, provides households with direct energy assistance to pay
heat and electric bills, and completes a needs assessment for each client so they are connected with
non-energy assistance services they need.
5,732 households received energy security/self-sufficiency programming or referrals
4,970 households were served using state funding and funding from Consumers Energy
A veteran was living in a home that was falling in on him. While refusing to move or receive service in his
name due to astronomically high bills, he told the PAC Program Administrator he thought he would die in his
house alone in the dark. With PAC’s help, he was able to get the assistance he needed on his utility bill and
secure safe, new housing.
Small Business Support
Kalamazoo County
The Kalamazoo Small Business Grant and Loan programs provide small business owners—particularly
those who identify as women, BIPOC*, or who are located in SPK** neighborhoods—access to financial
resources and capacity building supports.
2022 Highlight: UWSCMI secured federal funding from Kalamazoo County to
expand Kalamazoo Micro-Enterprise Grants countywide in 2023.
Kalamazoo Small Business Loan Fund: $2,277,500 to 188 Businesses (May 2020—Dec. 2022)
61% BIPOC 66% BIPOC and/or female
Kalamazoo Micro-Enterprise Grants: $600,000 to 120 microbusinesses (Jan. 2022—Dec. 2022)
83% BIPOC 69% female
“This was my first time having this type of support, and I think it was great. I come from a
background where we figure it out on our own. The funds allowed me to be able to secure event spaces
and materials for events that reach and connect with community. This has been an amazing experience,
one that I truly appreciate.”
—Ed Genesis, Kalamazoo Micro-Enterprise Grant recipient
*
BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, people of color
**SPK: Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo neighborhoods of Eastside, Edison, and Northside