In 2004, the Grand Rapids community decided homelessness would no longer be a way of life for our residents. Over 600 people responded to the call for a new set of priorities for how Grand Rapids would respond to and prevent homelessness.

The group created the 10-year Vision to End Homelessness, a plan that laid out how our community would end homelessness as we know it by 2014. The Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness, a community collaborative of over 70 organizations, is charged with implementing the Vision.

With the Vision as a guide, our community is reframing the response to homelessness. It begins with ensuring that everyone has affordable, quality, and permanent housing. We believe that when everyone has such a roof overhead, our community will be one where people have the roots needed to feel welcome and grow strong.

Making this vision a reality requires critical shifts in how we serve people, think about basic needs, and plan for the future. This is where the Coalition has focused its work, using an approach that puts housing first and:

• Prevents homelessness by helping people maintain housing or access housing and support upon discharge from other institutional systems.
• Re-houses those in crisis by helping people exit homelessness quickly with the resources and serves they need to stay housed.
• Transforms the system by expanding the supply of affordable, quality, and permanent housing and assisting people to secure adequate income to afford and maintain housing.

The Coalition is now working under the umbrella of Roofs to Roots, the identity it unveiled in 2010 to engage people in its work. Through Roofs to Roots, the Coalition will interact with service providers, business and community leaders, and others to build awareness, provide education and training, share success stories, and facilitate connections that influence funding and decision-making surrounding the homeless system.

The Coalition staffing and operations are supported by the City of Grand Rapids CDBG, Kent County CDBG, Kent County Department of Human Services, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Network 180, the Steelcase Foundation and the Grand Rapids Community Foundation.  The Salvation Army Booth Family Services provides in-kind support, and resources to support the community-wide Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).  Community Rebuilders also supports the costs to operate the HMIS for the community partners.

The Coalition's work is supported in part by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.