Open Doors

In 1970, a group of local business people formed a new organization to support young people in the downtown area of Kalamazoo.  The organization was called Kalamazoo Youth Ministry.

Our founders believed that they had to get to know people before they could know how to help them.  So, they opened a drop-in center called The Open Door at 418 Ranney Street that was open every evening for coffee and conversation.

Right away this group learned that some of the young people who came to the drop-in center had nowhere to sleep at night.  So, after the drop-in center hours, they turned The Open Door into an emergency shelter for young men.  This small three bedroom home continued to serve as a drop-in center and a shelter for men until 1983 when the men’s shelter was moved to the big yellow house at 414/416 Ranney Street.

The Open Door drop-in center continued at 418 Ranney for several more years until Vineyard Outreach Ministries began using the property for their pastoral support and homework clubs for children and adults in the Vine neighborhood.

In 2004, Vineyard Outreach Ministries moved to their current property at 811 S. Westnedge and Open Doors started the Residence Community for Working People at 418 Ranney.  This was the first building in our affordable housing program.  Three local churches rehabbed, redecorated, and furnished the building for its use as an affordable home for three working men who had previously been homeless and who had lived at the Open Door and gotten jobs and saved money to start a new life.

Each resident at 418 Ranney has a locked, private bedroom.  The residents share the common areas of the house: kitchen, living room, and bathroom.

We are grateful for this home which was built in 1900 and has provided a launching ground for so much service and partnership over the past 44 years.

ABOUT OPEN DOORS KALAMAZOO

At Open Doors Kalamazoo we partner with low-wage working men and women to empower them to support themselves and their families and overcome or avoid homelessness. Through housing, partnerships, and advocacy, Open Doors Kalamazoo has been helping individuals and families overcome homelessness since 1970. We seek to provide solutions to the housing crisis faced by low-wage working families in our community. As families are strengthened, so is our community.  Learn more at www.opendoorskalamazoo.org

The impact of the housing crisis on our neighborhoods is huge with more empty houses and an increasing number of local residents falling into homelessness.  The Restoration Initiative is a collaborative response to this crisis; an effort to revitalize a neighborhood and to bring more affordable housing to Kalamazoo.

A group of local churches and non-profit organizations have worked together to purchase a brand new house in the Kalamazoo North side neighborhood which will provide affordable housing to a local working family.  This new home built by Habitat for Humanity volunteers has two bedrooms, one full bath, an eat-in kitchen with built-in cabinets, and a living room area perfect for a working family.  Additionally, the home is an Energy Star house which will help keep energy costs low for residents.

The home was built by Habitat for Humanity which has decades of experience working with volunteers and families to build and rehabilitate housing.  The property will be owned and managed by Open Doors Kalamazoo, an organization that has filled the great need for affordable rentals in our community by providing subsidized apartments and housings units to the formerly homeless.  Community Homeworks provides support for low-income homeowners by organizing home repair and maintenance trainings and will provide these trainings to the family moving in to the home.  Michigan United, formerly the Michigan Organizing Project, has been organizing in Kalamazoo-area churches for years around the issue of housing justice and hopes to provide the people-power and fundraising capacity to rehabilitate and purchase the house.  The steering committee includes members from the following churches: First United Methodist Church, The River, St. Catherine of Siena, and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.  Local church membership will provide the labor to finish and furnish the house.  

This new home was purchased for $10,000.  The house needs an additional $10,000 of work to be ready for a deserving family to move in.  So far, we have raised $12,355 of our $20,000 fundraising goal.  We need support from individuals and organizations to complete renovations and move in a deserving family.  Click on the donate button below and direct your donation to the Restoration Initiative to support our efforts.  All individuals, faith institutions, and community organizations are welcome to participate, regardless of their affiliation with the partner organizations.

Upcoming Volunteer Dates:

4/12/2014 9am-1pm Paint Day
5/17/2014 9am-1pm Spring Cleaning Work Day (outside work)

Kalamazoo, MI – Open Doors Kalamazoo is expanding its affordable housing program for low-wage workers who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. “This expansion will allow 15 working families to avoid or overcome homelessness,” said Rick Stravers, Executive Director of Open Doors Kalamazoo.

The organization purchased a 15-unit apartment property at 3611 Duke Street in Kalamazoo. The property consists of three buildings with eight 2-bedroom apartments, three 2-bedroom townhouses, and four 1-bedroom apartments. Open Doors Kalamazoo was able to purchase the new property for $320,000 – a remarkable deal when you consider that it will provide homes to 15 households. An additional $52,000 worth of upgrades to the buildings are expected to be added including new roofs.

The purchase and upgrading of these apartments was made possible by a grant from the Vandomelen Foundation. “The Vandomelen Foundation provided the means for us to expand our capacity to serve families in need. For their support we are grateful. Through their support of Open Doors, the Vandomelen Foundation hopes to improve the lives of homeless children and their families” Stravers said.

Open Doors Kalamazoo now provides 95 units of housing to help low-wage workers avoid or overcome homelessness ranging from single rooms to studio apartments and 1- to 3-bedroom apartments scattered throughout the city.

Residents in Open Doors Kalamazoo’s affordable housing program enjoy affordable homes coupled with personal support for maintaining employment and stability. The cost is affordable to workers earning minimum wage.

“We recently were able to provide a 2-bedroom apartment to a mom with two children who has held a steady job for two years. She takes home about $1,000 a month and was paying $580 monthly for rent, leaving only $420 for all the other expenses for her family. In Open Doors’ housing she will now pay $350 monthly for a 2-bedroom unit,” Stravers said.  The need for lower cost housing for working families facing homelessness is intense,” Stravers said. “We are grateful to the Vandomelen Foundation and all our donors and volunteers who make it possible for families like these to have stable, affordable homes.”

ABOUT OPEN DOORS KALAMAZOO

At Open Doors Kalamazoo we partner with low-wage working men and women to empower them to support themselves and their families and overcome or avoid homelessness. Through housing, partnerships, and advocacy, Open Doors Kalamazoo has been helping individuals and families overcome homelessness since 1970. We seek to provide solutions to the housing crisis faced by low-wage working families in our community. As families are strengthened, so is our community.

Links to News Articles Covering the Acquisition:

MLive Article: Open Doors Kalamazoo uses grant to purchase 15-unit apartment complex to help low-income families

Second Wave Media Article: Open Doors offers more affordable housing