Opening Doors to Housing Choice
The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan (FHCWM) joined the G.R.A.C.E. Network to be part of a coordinated, holistic response to addressing family homelessness. The G.R.A.C.E. Network acknowledges illegal housing discrimination as one of many complex issues impacting homelessness and housing stability. No one should lose access to housing that they qualify for simply because they have children or because of their race, skin color, disability or any other protected characteristic. Like the G.R.A.C.E. Network, the FHCWM has long recognized the relationship between housing and health care, education, transportation, employment, etc. Whether you rent an apartment, live in a condo, or own a house, your housing means much more than your address. It affects your commute, it might lead you to shop at one grocery store over another, and if you have children, it may affect your choice of schools. That’s why, at the FHCWM, we work to make sure that the door to fair housing is always open.
“The G.R.A.C.E. Network coordinates systemic solutions for families to be able to obtain and retain housing of their choice.”
Elizabeth Stoddard, Director of Advocacy
We hope that the Network demonstrates the inherent value of collaboration in helping families achieve and maintain housing and wellness. We also hope that the Network highlights the collective impact of the resources within our community and that homelessness can be rare, brief and non-recurring with a coordinated, systemic approach that is also person-centered. It is imperative that systemic problems are met with systemic solutions. We are stronger when we work together, and our community deserves us at our best!
The FHCWM is a private, non-profit fair housing organization committed to providing comprehensive fair housing services, including education, outreach, research, advocacy and enforcement.