A Grand Rapids storage program that helps people experiencing homelessness keep their belongings off downtown streets is fighting to stay funded after federal pandemic relief money dried up.
The program, launched in 2021 in partnership with Mel Trotter Ministries, provides storage bins for personal belongings. It started with 158 bins and has grown to 265. An estimated 800 people currently use the bins to store 10,000 pounds of personal belongings. Since the program began, it has reached a significant number of people in need.
“We have served just over 2,800 unique individuals since the beginning of the program,” Connie Bohatch, Grand Rapids Senior Managing Director of Community Services, said.
For several years, the city used $200,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to pay for the program. With that money exhausted, the city committed $100,000 from its refuse budget this year to keep it running…