LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Ingham County leaders are expressing concern and calling for transparency regarding a local homelessness agency that is facing an IRS debt .
“I think the best way through it is, you know, to identify the mistake, fix the mistake,” says Ingham County Commissioner Todd Tennis of the financial crisis at Advent House Ministries. “Move forward.”
Advent House Ministries has acknowledged it has an IRS debt but has declined to disclose how much the debt is or from what payroll tax years that money is due.
2023 Advent House Ministries Download
Tennis says the agency is a “vital partner” in the county’s work to address the crisis in homelessness and housing instability. A partner that has received Ingham County tax dollars for years, he says.
In the last three years, county commissioners have given the agency a total of $48,750. The 2023 grant contract shows the $18,750 grant was to support the agency’s weekend day shelter. Advent House provides the region’s only weekend day shelter, allowing individuals a warm, dry place and reprieve from the weather.