News

Children are enriching our life at Open Doors.  From 1970 to 2011 we served single adults only.  In our affordable rental community we had rooms to rent, and studio and 1-bedroom apartments, but nothing larger. All that has changed!

We got so many calls from families desperate for housing that we decided to expand our mission in 2011 to serve families as well as single adults.  We received critical help in this expansion from the Van Domelen Foundation, led by Bill and Julia Van Domelen. The Van Domelens had a special interest in serving low-income children. They helped us begin serving families with children. We now have 26 two- and three-bedroom units for families.

Each summer we offer special support to the children in our Residence Community.  We offer arts and activities for children and parents on one Saturday morning each month, ending with lunch.  The two boys pictured above are enjoying the face painting activity on one of our past arts and activities days. Every week we offer lunch and a video for the children of Open Doors.

Children need a home to grow up in. They need a home where they can do their homework, read stories, and keep their clothes and toys organized in one place. Seeing the joy and relief on the faces of a family in housing crisis when they get a home they can afford is life-changing. There’s nothing quite like it.

We close our staff meetings by placing our hands together and saying “Teamwork makes the dream work!”  We know we cannot do our work except as a committed team of diverse people.  Open Doors Kalamazoo is participating in the Stronger Communities Diversity and Inclusion pilot project, a collaboration of the Michigan Nonprofit Association, NEW: Solutions for Nonprofits,  and Nonprofit Network. The primary objective of this pilot project is to advance organizational diversity, inclusion, and equity by completing a comprehensive process which includes these five phases:
1) Assessment
2) Training
3) Developing a Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan
4) Implementation of the plan
5) Evaluation

This process is leading us to deeper connections among our board and staff members. We have also gained a clearer sense of the importance of inclusion as we have listened to each others’ stories about being excluded. We have created a Diversity and Inclusion Committee that will lead us in developing and implementing an annual plan to broaden and strengthen our diversity. We want our staff and board to include strong representation from all the groups of people we serve.

Because “Teamwork makes the dream work!”