Housing Resources, Inc

The mission of Housing Resources is the assurance of housing for socially or economically vulnerable residents of Kalamazoo County. For the past 40 years, HRI has provided housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness or in a housing crises. 

Staff work with our partner agencies and congregations to routinely provide:

• Coordinated Intake and Assessment:  HRI is the community’s primary clearinghouse for housing solutions offering a centralized process to assist homeless or at-risk households.  HRI works with community partners to leverage and coordinate community resources to ensure effective shelter diversion and rapid re-housing.  HRI prioritizes households based on the severity of their housing crisis andd determines the most appropriate response for the situation presented. 

• Homeless Prevention:  HRI is Kalamazoo County’s lead private agency focusing on reducing evictions for low-incom residents.  HRI plays a central role in the Kalamazoo County Eviction Diversion Partnership offering on-site services at the court and financial resources to avoid homelessness and recurrence of eviction. 

• Rapid Re-housing:  HRI has a long-standing commitment to exit homeless households from a shelter or unsustainable housing situation to new housing in the hopes of eliminating repeat episodes of homelessness. 

• Permanent Supportive Housing:  For families chronically vulnerable to housing instability and repeat episodes of homelessness the combination of permanent, versus temporary, housing subsidies and supportive services is very effective.  HRI supports 55 scattered site subsidized rental units for families where a member of the household has a disabling condition.

Permanent Affordable Housing: To address the local scarcity of affordable housing options and increase the opportunity for low-income households to avoid homelessness HRI developed and operates two apartment communities: The Rickman House and Rosewood Community. HRI has units of permanent affordable housing, many of which include supportive services for those with special needs.

HRI is a leader in the fight against homelessness in Kalamazoo County. And like many communities, affordable housing is in short supply in Kalamazoo. Annually the agency responds to the overwhelming need of homelessness in our community, providing assistance to those in need with homeless prevention grants and rental subsidies, helping connect tenants and landlords and provide support services for families with school aged children. These funds directly relieve the strapped budgets of those who were homeless or about to lose their housing, helping them to regain their emotional and financial footing.  

HRI’s answer to the growing homeless problem is not just about survival. It is about long term solutions like employment, more affordable housing, services to address personal challenges and preventing homelessness by fostering self-sufficiency.  HRI helps hundreds of people tackle the barriers creating their housing crisis every year.  We also link to community services to assist with the range of related factors impacting housing stability.