Resource Agency's Homepage
'Connecting the Homeless & Poor to Local Resources'
Ambassadors of the Light Resource Agency
We are a newly formed non-profit referral agency. We assist the homeless and poor (below the Federal poverty level), in the central Grand Rapids area (specifically Kent County), by connecting them to the appropriate resources and other non-profit agencies, for basic living needs such as food, shelters, clothing, hygiene, medical, dental, psychiatric, job assistance programs, lists of subsidized housing, and etc.
Aren't there any referral agencies downtown
that already do this?
No. You might be surprised to learn that there are over 100 non-profit agencies, programs, and churches in the Central Grand Rapids area that work with and assist the homeless and low-income; however there is not one referral agency in downtown Grand Rapids that is specifically geared towards assisting the homeless and low-income individuals and couples finding the appropriate resources and improving their quality of life.
How are we different from United Way?
Whereas their focus is on families & children (i.e. their Family Resource Guide), we are specifically geared towards helping the homeless and low-income individuals and couples in the central Grand Rapids area find the resources and agencies in Grand Rapids that will assist them. For if you are a family or women with children it is very easy to get help in Grand Rapids, however, if you are homeless & a single man, woman, or even married couple without children, you have to find the agencies that will help you, that's where we come in; we provide free referral services for the homeless & poor in the Grand Rapids area. Further,since transportation is a major issue for those that are poor, the majority of our resources are either in walking distance or accessible by public transportation, such as by bus.
The need
Every month, there are usually at least 20 to 50 new homeless or low-income individuals that show up either on the streets of Grand Rapids, at the missions (Guiding Light & Mel Trotters) and/or at the soup kitchen (God's Kitchen), most of whom have no idea where anything else is or where to go to get basic necessities of life and to work on the things needed to get back on their feet or their life back in order. Every week, we have individuals that ask us for our assistance to help them find or tell them which agencies do clothing, food pantry, & hygiene, and work programs. This is a great need. Therefore, we have started a referral agency to assist these individuals.
Our goal
is to connect those that need and want help, to the appropriate agencies and resources for that help. Many of these individuals just need the information provided to them. We believe by assisting these individuals, providing them the information and referring them to the appropriate agencies and resources that we can help them to improve their quality of life and even get some of them off the streets and into their own apartments once they obtain the required paperwork, such as i.d, social security card, birth certificates, police reports, etc. and know which apartments are on the subsidized housing lists.
Some of the agencies that call us for assistance or clients call from: Catholic Social Services, Degage's, God's Kitchen, Womens' Resource Center, Park Church, F.U.M.C., Kent County Probation Dept., Spectrum Butterworth Hospital, and yes even United Way.
Ambassadors of the Light
Resource Agency
P.O. Box 230312
Grand Rapids, MI 49523
(616) 459-7955
Email:
AmbassadorsoftheLight@yahoo.com
Fulton Street Bridge, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Are you homeless?
Thanks to a generous donation from
New Life Church in Mount Penn, PA ,
our resource guide has been made public.
If you live in Grand Rapids and you are homeless, low-income, or new to the streets of Grand Rapids,
click on the link for
2009 Resource Listing for Grand Rapids Note: If you print at the library it will cost you around $8, you can ask your casworker, doctor, or counselor, or a church to print it for you for free. They are allowed to print it partially or entriely as long as they give it to you free of charge.
(Free Web Pages)
(Free Email)
? 2004-2008 Ambassadors of the Light Resource Agency
