“When we look at a house like this we see history, we see story, we see family, we see value and hope. We see good bones.”  A house like this makes no sense to any real estate investor.  It’s not a house you can flip for profit. The current real estate values in Muskegon's core city neighborhoods don’t make a house like this profitable in any way. It took close to $60,000 in materials and necessary contracted work to bring this house back to life, and that's not accounting for the countless hours of volunteer work that have been put in.

15% of Muskegon County residents have a certified disability, 25% higher than the national average. 41% of Muskegon county residents live at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty level,  22%* higher than national average. These numbers alone are sobering, so this month we are taking the opportunity to educate ourselves about the links between poverty and health, health and poverty.

AmeriCorps Week is a celebration of all things AmeriCorps – the people and programs who have committed to "Get Things Done" in thousands of locations across the country. We are taking this opportunity to highlight the AmeriCorps who help keep our programs running and to say a big THANK YOU for the work that they do.

Check out what we, our neighbors and partners were able to do in 2017.

The cost of healthcare can cripple a family.  Even when wise health decisions are made, exercise is frequent and diet is healthy, the “unforeseen” can blow a hole into anyone's reality. 

We have shared some of our favorite ideas below in the hopes that you will be inspired and encouraged to get involved and live into the reality that we OWN (create, shape, mold) our community and neighborhoods of Muskegon

Redlining is the historical practice of denying services to residents of certain areas based on the racial or ethnic composition of those areas. Redlining in Muskegon resulted in some neighborhoods being underdeveloped, buildings being abandoned, businesses failing, increasing social problems and the removal of any incentives to invest.

For many years, a group of our neighbors has sought to provide high quality, new toys, and gifts for hard-working families in the core city Muskegon neighborhoods at an affordable price. Every child sees the same commercial yet Muskegon County’s ALICE population (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed) struggle to afford basic household necessities.

What do you get when you blend Pathways for Better Health of the Lakeshore and Community Health Workers, Hackley Community Care, Mercy Health, MSU Extension’s Cooking Matters, Community enCompass’ McLaughlin Grows Farm and medical patients residing in the core city neighborhoods?