GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority has approved up to $50,000 to support a storage program for people experiencing homelessness, though one board member argued the program falls outside the authority’s mission and could unintentionally prolong homelessness.
The Personal Belongings Storage Program, launched by the city of Grand Rapids and Mel Trotter Ministries, provides secure bins for homeless residents to store identification cards, medications and other personal items at 40 Williams St. SW.
But the program faces a shortfall now that federal pandemic relief funding that supported the initiative since its launch in 2021 has expired…