Community enCompass - Housing
Our neighbor Frank worked his entire life, enjoying the benefits of stable housing and a job. But when his job was outsourced, Frank’s health deteriorated. He was forced to spend all his savings keeping his head above water, but eventually lost his home.
Community enCompass believes that housing is fundamental to one’s ability to be and achieve their best. That's why we’re dedicated to providing affordable, quality housing and eradicating homelessness in Muskegon. For many of our working neighbors, the cost of housing is too high, and the quality too low. Many like Frank are just one unexpected situation away from losing everything.
Community enCompass has provided affordable housing for almost 30 years through our Bethany Housing, maintaining 32 units of housing in the core city neighborhoods. That means we are a landlord to 32 families. We do housing in part to provide affordable housing for working-wage families, but also engage tenants in community life as neighbors. We work to have strong relationships with our tenants that allow us to connect them with each other and to what’s happening in the neighborhood. Frank is one of those neighbors, who after securing housing, was able to focus on his health and regain employment. “So many kids in this generation don’t see ‘everyday people’ like me going to work. Kids around here, they watch me going to work everyday in uniform and that means something.”
Community enCompass also rehabs neglected, vacant properties in the City. We find the worst houses on the block, rehab them, and sell them to create quality, affordable home-ownership opportunities for neighbors who want to own a home, but can’t afford the rising cost of homes.
VOLUNTEER NOW and join us in this neighboring movement in the City! Partner with Community enCompass and support our work with neighbors in core-city Muskegon.
When our board and staff attempt to identify the reason why Community enCompass exists, we end up with phrases like “Neighborhood Transformation,” and “SHALOM in the City.” Lofty dreams for a rag-tag team of people who are often stumbling towards good. The year-end process of digging through data always makes me wonder..... how will we know once we’ve arrived? How will we know when our neighborhoods have been transformed and we taste SHALOM?