News

When Open Doors launched the Residence Community for Working People with a home for men on Ranney Street, an anonymous donor contacted Open Doors and offered to purchase a home for women.

In June 2004 Open Doors purchased a beautiful 4-bedroom home on South Westnedge Park through the generosity of this donor.That summer, local churches prepared and furnished the home for the use of four women who needed places to live. In recent years, the City of Kalamazoo provided funds through a Community Development Block Grant for exterior repairs and for painting the exterior of the building.

The residents have invited the Open Doors staff to a Christmas party at this home for the past several years. In summer, a beautiful shade garden offers a delightful oasis in front of the home. The home faces South Westnedge Park which used to be called Pioneer Park. This park is an example of the “oak openings” or “oak savannahs” that used to exist in many places in Kalamazoo County.

 

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

Open Doors Kalamazoo recently created a monthly giving club, Friends of Open Doors.  Here are a few reasons why you should consider participating.

1. You can make a huge impact on families without homes!
2. It helps us save money!  Online payments allow us to save paper, reduce mailings, and keep administrative costs low.  Lower costs means more of your donation goes directly to supporting families overcoming homelessness.
3. Exclusive benefits!  As a Friend of Open Doors, you will receive special updates, an invitation to a Friends of Open Doors luncheon, and a unique window cling to proudly display your support of Open Doors.
4. Ease and convenience! Your monthly gift will automatically be deducted each month from your credit card.  Receipts will be mailed each January detailing the amount you’ve given over the previous calendar year for tax purposes.
5. Increased stability!  The reliability and stability that comes with monthly donations will help Open Doors plan future work.

• • $30 a month will provide one day of bus tokens for all Open Doors shelter guests to take the bus to work or to look for employment
  • $45 a month will provide all the maintenance on one Open Doors residence home. These homes are kept freshly painted and in excellent repair.
  • $100 a month will provide a home and personal support for one family for a year.

Interested in signing up?  Simply click the donate button below and select the monthly donation option.

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

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