Kalamazoo Housing Advocates was founded in 2022 by a dedicated social worker, Sarah Cain, and it emerged from her 15+ year journey serving the unhoused in diverse capacities.
Through this experience, she recognized the daunting hurdles faced by homeless individuals in Kalamazoo County in obtaining and retaining stable housing. These obstacles ranged from limited access to community resources to inadequate knowledge of rights and conflict resolution skills.
Simultaneously, landlords lacked awareness of the challenges endured by those in unstable housing, often resulting in avoidable disputes leading to families losing homes.
Sarah assembled a compassionate team with a deep understanding of Kalamazoo County’s housing crisis, drawing from both professional expertise and lived experiences of homelessness.
This diverse collective encompasses mental health, substance abuse, and legal backgrounds, as well as landlords with direct community engagement experience.
Collaboratively, this diverse team crafted a program aimed at dismantling barriers pervasive within Kalamazoo’s housing landscape, resulting in the launch of the nonprofit, and obtaining 501c3 status in 2022.
Guided by the principle that “Housing is a human right,” KHA is committed to creating lasting change through a multifaceted approach. This includes housing placement, dispute resolution, holistic support services, community engagement, and advocacy.
We collaborate with area agencies and landlords in Kalamazoo County to work together to support those who are unhoused or unstably housed.
Our Mission
Support, educate and advocate with those who are unhoused and/or in housing that is unstable. In collaboration with landlords and community partners.
Our Vision
To cultivate a community where everyone has the tools to secure and sustain safe and affordable housing.
Our Values
Dignity.
Love.
Housing is a Human Right.
Let’s Break The Cycle
Kalamazoo Housing Advocates is a nonprofit working to break the cycle of homelessness in Kalamazoo County. Our focus is on prevention and ensuring that clients facing housing instability maintain their homes.
In doing so, we provide tailored services to our clients that address the varied root causes of homelessness, including long-term, personalized assistance with life skills and connections to appropriate care for mental health and/or substance abuse disorders.
Where To Begin?
At the heart of our approach is recognizing that landlords are pivotal stakeholders in the process of home retention. We actively foster positive relationships between landlords and tenants through education and communication.
We especially focus on the underserved and most vulnerable populations within our community including BIPOC and LGBTQ+ clients as well as those with particularly fragile rental histories and individuals with previous convictions.
Where To Begin?
At the heart of our approach is recognizing that landlords are pivotal stakeholders in the process of home retention. We actively foster positive relationships between landlords and tenants through education and communication.
We especially focus on the underserved and most vulnerable populations within our community including BIPOC and LGBTQ+ clients as well as those with particularly fragile rental histories and individuals with previous convictions.
It Takes A Village
We recognize that intergenerational poverty and homelessness in Kalamazoo County is the result of systemic inequities, including institutional racism, economic disparities, lack of affordable housing, and limited access to education and healthcare for the BIPOC community.
Therefore, our collaborative approach to end intergenerational poverty and homelessness for Kalamazoo County brings together various stakeholders including government agencies, community organizations, and local landlords in order to create sustainable change for our unhoused clients.
Questions? / Interested In Volunteering?
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