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. We understand the challenges faced by our clients and believe that everyone deserves respect, dignity, and compassion.
In today’s uncertain economy, we recognize that many community members are only one emergency away from homelessness. We are deeply committed to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in all facets of our work.
Our Mission and Vision
Our mission is to support, educate and advocate with those who are unhoused or in housing that is unstable, in collaboration with landlords and community partners.
Our vision is a Kalamazoo community where everyone has the tools to secure and sustain safe and affordable housing.
We aim to achieve this by reducing homelessness, recidivism, and improving housing stability and retention rates.
Our Values
Our values are:
- Dignity
- Love
- Housing is a Human Right
We treat each and every client as a person deserving of love, compassion and respect. We operate from the belief that housing is a fundamental human right.
A warm, safe place to call home – a space to rest, to heal, and to rebuild – is a gift we often take for granted.
For our clients, it’s the first step towards physical and mental health, safety, access to food and employment.
This is why we focus on securing long-term housing solutions and strive to empower our clients.
Our Values
Our values are:
- Dignity
- Love
- Housing is a Human Right
We treat each and every client as a person deserving of love, compassion and respect. We operate from the belief that housing is a fundamental human right.
A warm, safe place to call home – a space to rest, to heal, and to rebuild – is a gift we often take for granted.
For our clients, it’s the first step towards physical and mental health, safety, access to food and employment.
This is why we focus on securing long-term housing solutions and strive to empower our clients.
Our Approach
Using the proven “Housing First” model, we focus on ensuring that clients retain their homes or move into safe housing as quickly as possible.
At the same time, we operate on the evidence-based understanding that the key to addressing homelessness is shifting the focus from emergency and temporary shelters to long-term, affordable, and stable housing.
Therefore, our team stays closely involved with each client for years, offering continuous support, regular check-ins, and tailored services to ensure they not only secure housing but also maintain it.
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