FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 13, 2023
Genesee Health System Awards Grants to Several Local Shelters
Genesee County, Michigan – Genesee Health System has awarded grants totaling $200,700 to five (5) local shelters in Genesee County to support health and wellness for vulnerable populations.
Local shelters were given the opportunity to apply for up to $50,000 to support one of several objectives. Those objectives included the ability to serve additional people, expand the capacity of hours of operation, and/or expand the calendar months the facility can provide shelter or warming/cooling center services.
Grants were awarded to the following shelters:
- Shelter of Flint – to refurbish an off-site house. The home will create the ability to move larger families and/or individuals who need special accommodations out of the emergency shelter and into this stand-alone property. This will have the added benefit increasing shelter beds and flow. It is anticipated that at least 40 additional people can be sheltered over the year.
- Catholic Charities – adds to the Warming Center operations, resources, and staffing to provide essential assistance and a haven for those with nowhere else to turn during the harsh winter months.
- Genesee County Youth Corporation – to assist their outreach team in helping individuals who have myriad reasons why they cannot partake of services offered by traditional shelters and who need an emergency hotel stay. GCYC will work in partnership with the coordinated entry system and community partners to navigate reaching the most vulnerable of homeless persons to access these funds.
- My Brother’s Keeper – funding for a full-time Community-Based Housing Navigator. This position will be responsible for providing assistance and support to homeless individuals and veterans in the following areas: housing-focused case management, housing readiness, accessing housing assistance programs, and permanent housing placement.
- Carriage Town Ministries – to outfit a house on their campus, currently not used for residential purposes. This will increase occupancy in this home from zero to five, freeing up five beds in their shelter.
“We know that many of Genesee County’s most vulnerable citizens, some who are working through mental health and/or substance use disorders, sometimes show up on the doorstep of shelters and warming centers seeking help, especially when temperatures plummet, and it is impossible to continue to live in tents, cars, and other unsafe locations,” said Danis Russell, CEO of Genesee Health System. “We have always worked closely with our shelter and warming center partners to ensure that individuals have a warm place to stay while they are working on problems that have contributed to their homelessness. The shelters and warming centers have often found themselves with more individuals in need than they have capacity. These grants will allow them to expand that capacity for these vulnerable citizens.”
Genesee Health System provides services and support to Genesee County residents who are adults and children with developmental disabilities, adults with serious mental illness, children with serious emotional disturbances, and adults and children with substance use disorders, with a focus on the health of the whole person.
Program funded by Genesee County Community Mental Health Millage funds. Your tax dollars at work.
Read more about the Mental Health Millage at geneseethefuture.org.
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