Avalon Housing

Statement from Avalon Housing Executive Director Aaron Cooper on the Nov. 2024 election results: The results of yesterday’s election do not change the fact that Avalon remains committed to advocating for budgets and policies that will improve the lives of people in need of supportive affordable housing at ALL levels of government. Locally, we want to say thank you to the Washtenaw County community for its ongoing support of the Public Safety and Mental Health millage. Avalon Housing will continue to work with the county to offer the support people need to exit homelessness and stay housed for the long term, and the millage funding provides important resources for these efforts. Since the millage was originally passed in 2017, Avalon has used a portion of the funding to provide case management, 24/7 crisis call response, peer support and substance use disorder counseling for 600 more people than would have been possible without the millage. Avalon operates on the principle of Housing First, meaning we believe underlying issues can’t be addressed unless a person has a home; the services supported by the millage help make sure people can stay in their homes as they make progress in other areas of their lives. In approving the millage by such a wide margin, county voters have shown a great sense of caring and compassion for our neighbors exiting homelessness. We also applaud passage of the new Older Persons Services millage. As an organization that serves more than 200 seniors across our county, we look forward to working with county leaders to see how we can expand support for older adults in our community. We know that the population experiencing homelessness continues to age, and several of our staff members specifically work with older residents to help them stay healthy and housed. Please consider joining Avalon staff, tenants and volunteers, and our statewide partners in Lansing this coming Wednesday, Nov. 13th at 11am for The Rent Is Too Damn High rally, where we will advocate for several pieces of legislation that protects tenant rights here in Michigan. You can RSVP for the rally at https://ow.ly/zHeN50U1mwW.

Thanks to organizers of the Summit to End Homelessness in Lansing this week -- several Avalon staff members were honored to participate: https://lnkd.in/grrhNWRj

Here's some amazing work by ProPublica on what gets swept away when encampments are cleared out: https://lnkd.in/gqtRqHkH

The Arbordale Apartments are now officially the Bunyan Bryant Apartments (with the Jean Carlberg Community Center)! Thanks to everyone who was able to join us Thursday for the renaming ceremony. By honoring Bunyan and Jean, we pledge to continue their work to make housing a human right for all! https://lnkd.in/gjbHNJrq

Tomorrow we will officially rename our Arbordale Apartments in honor of Bunyan Bryant, the late Ann Arbor activist and UM professor of environmental justice. Here's an excellent piece by Ryan Stanton at Mlive on the reasons behind the renaming: https://lnkd.in/g7-2JN3W

A Yes vote on the Washtenaw County Public Safety and Mental Health Preservation Millage will help Avalon continue to support hundreds of people leaving homelessness with the help they need to stay housed. Executive Director Aaron Cooper explains why: https://lnkd.in/gGzzevpB

The Ann Arbor City Council on Monday approved a resolution dedicating 40% of revenue from the county Public Safety and Mental Health millage for supportive services at Ann Arbor Housing Commission properties. This decision will allow Avalon Housing and other providers to support more than 650 families with services like food pantries, medical care coordination, and mental health support. Avalon's Executive Director Aaron Cooper and Director of Mission Advancement Scott Ellis spoke at the meeting last night on the importance of the millage funding. THANK YOU council members for continuing to help people stay in their homes!

Thanks to everyone from the Antiracism and Health Equity Program at Michigan Medicine's Department of Family Medicine for your volunteer help with landscaping at the Arbordale Apartments over the weekend!

Avalon Housing is so grateful to KeyBank for its generous contribution to our Intensive Case Management team. Support from partners like KeyBank is crucial to helping us provide the services our tenants and clients need to stay in their homes. You can read about our Intensive Case Management team at https://lnkd.in/g5RZaGGd The check presentation on Friday took place at the Grove at Veridian, our 50-unit development under construction on Platt Road in Ann Arbor.

No one in this world should be hungry. The Ann Arbor CROP Hunger Walk raises funds to provide meals for those in our community who need them - and supports programs, including at Avalon, that create greater food security. Join the 50th anniversary walk on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. at Zion Lutheran on Liberty. Visit https://lnkd.in/g8Pk6tU5 for more information!