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
As one of the founding staff members of The Next Door, I praise our Mighty God for what He accomplished back then and through the many who have followed me! —Jane Harmon