The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects are still being felt in health care systems across the nation. It's the same in rural Michigan communities. We spoke with Munson Healthcare and Trinity Health Grand Haven and Shelby Hospital to hear their perspectives, concerns, and future outlooks.
Michigan has a huge housing shortage. To address this need, many communities are utilizing community land trusts, like ICCF, to ensure affordable homeownership for generations to come.
Corktown Health has evolved and grown from offering end-of-life services during the HIV/AIDS epidemic to providing primary care for the LGBTQ community. Through financial support from IFF, and through partnerships with local organizations including MiGen, the health network continues to provide a life-changing impact on the patients it serves.
Organizations, nonprofits, developers, and school personnel are working to address the teacher housing shortage head-on. A group of local Northern Michigan schools have banded together to form an educational consortium to address the issue and create a model of future educator housing developments near Traverse City.
Community health workers perform essential roles in delivering physical and mental health care and increasing health care access for Michigan residents.
Following the prosperity of their winery and tasting room in Croswell, 3 North Vines undertook an expansion, introducing a taphouse and eatery to downtown Lexington in 2021. Co-owner Kristi Nichols-Shopbell shares a look into their journey establishing the winery and their vision for 3 North Lexington.
As part of the Make it in Michigan Strategy, the state of Michigan has new finance tools and opportunities to convert vacant land into housing via the Transformational Brownfield Fund and tax increment funding. The State Land Bank Authority and Michigan Community Capital are working with state, local, and federal organizations to develop attainable workforce housing in their communities.
The Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County recently launched a new program available to entrepreneurs in several Michigan counties that is designed to connect entrepreneurs with training and resources conducive to growing their businesses.
Established by Governor Whitmer, the Growing Michigan Together Council works to develop a long-term plan of action to address many issues of concern across the state. Different goals include jobs, talent, and people; infrastructure and places; PreK-12 and higher education, and revenue. Block by Block spoke with the Executive Director of the Growing Michigan Together Council and Michigan’s first Chief Growth Officer Hilary Doe, and Melvin Henley at Community Economic Development Association of Michigan to hear about the council’s report.
As Kent County grows faster than the rest of the state, the community looks at ways to address its ongoing housing shortages. Through government entities, upcoming developers like Housing Next, and seasoned community development financial institutions like IFF, Grand Rapids has a collaborative plan in place to address the issue.
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