Samaritas’ Director of Church Relations, Rev. Beth Birkholz, writes…
Samaritas is in urgent need of housing for New American families.
We especially have needs in the Southeast Michigan as well as Grand Rapids areas, and we are open to the Ann Arbor, Lansing and Kalamazoo areas as well for housing. As you may have seen in the news, we are already resettling more people than in the past few years, and the numbers are expected to increase more and more into 2022. This is good news! But we need help to affordably house them as they get on their feet.
These housing options may include apartments, single family homes, or even mobile homes. Not every complex or landlord is open to renting to newly arrived folks, so we are especially seeking connections to landlords, homeowners, and any person with those kinds of connections so it won’t be a “cold call.”
We are exploring creative options so we can resettle more people such as camps, dorms, or sharing space with another family as well. These would be more short-term options, but we will still need affordable housing longer term.
We are open to possibilities to shelter these people, and invite you to contact Pastor Beth Birkholz at bbirk@samaritas.org to then be connected to the appropriate staff member.
Thanks for your prayers and support!