ICCF Community Homes - Blueprints, Spring 2020

In This Issue A Message from Our CEO Impact of You We're in This Together Community Homes Initiative

Blueprints SPRING 2020

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO ICCF BOARD OF DIRECTORS Johana Rodriguez Quist, Chair Literacy Center of West Michigan Rhoda Kreuzer, Vice Chair Partners in Action, Inc. Marjorie Dood, Treasurer BASIC Benefits LLC Arlen-Dean Gaddy, Secretary Erhardt Construction Jamecia Adams Keller Williams Realty Kevin Einfeld BDR Custom Homes Lee Hardy Calvin University, Retired William Jackson Spectrum Health Teresa Jones Christian Reformed Church in North America Jason Kuiper Inontime, Inc. Andrew Miedema Great Lakes Region of the Wesleyan Church Tom Paarlberg Greenridge Realty Cameron Young Behler-Young Company

Dear ICCF friends and partners, On March 12, we woke up with our suits and dresses pressed and ready for the 2020 Houses to Homes gala. Hours later, our team had made the difficult decision to cancel the entire event as the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic could no longer be ignored. We realized quickly that the control we thought we had over our plans and schedules was not guaranteed. Over the last several weeks we’ve heard from our residents and neighbors about jobs lost, schools closed, and struggles to afford food, utilities, and rent.

In good times and bad, we are guided by three principles: respectful compassion, restorative development, and pursuing justice as God requires of us. Right now, because of the crisis, we’re focused on respectful compassion. In the previous Blueprints, you saw how ICCF’s Housing and Family Services Department came into 2020 with a new focus on Resident Engagement and forming one-on-one relationships with all of ICCF’s residents. At the time, I wrote: We want to rejoice with those who are rejoicing, and come alongside and support those who are hurting.

We didn’t know that this year would bring a pandemic that upended all of our lives, but God was preparing us to be a blessing to our neighbors who are hurting. Our staff have proactively reached out to residents to connect them with resources to weather this season, and generous donors have stepped up with crisis funding. As of early May, we have served 150 families, some of whom you’ll meet in this Blueprints, through supplemental food, help with utility bills, and rent assistance. We hadn’t planned or budgeted for this, but the community stepped up and said that, for all the loss we are going through, we want to do whatever we can so our neighbors don’t have to go without food or shelter.

Thank you for coming alongside us and our neighbors with your prayers and support during this season of uncertainty. God intended homes and neighborhoods to be places of connection, and this crisis has us missing that connection. We look forward to the season following this crisis, a season of rebuilding and pursuing a more just community. I have faith that in time we will be able to gather once more working shoulder to shoulder advancing the mission we’ve been given.

Grace and Peace,

GO GREEN & STAY UP TO DATE WITH ICCF Sign up for the e-version of Blueprints today!

Contact Marie Tiemersma Eakin at mtiemersmaeakin@iccf.org or call (616) 336-9333.

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Ryan VerWys President and CEO rverwys@iccf.org

B L U E P R I N T S Spring 2020

IMPACT OF YOU: RENEWING HOMES FULL OF MEMORY BOB VAN STRIGHT

Construction Volunteer My first answer to “What should I be when I grow up?” was a carpenter. My father was an insurance agent, but one of my most significant memories is watching him finish the attic space of our house to create bedrooms for me and my two sisters. Many life experiences have led me to appreciate the many steps of planning, design, and hours of effort required to make a building an appropriate space to live. I find great joy in making a house into an enjoyable place to call home.

Homes can provide security. Homes can provide a place where relationships grow, where learning happens and where love is realized. Homes give space for families to flourish. Houses provide opportunity for a space to become a home. Without the security of shelter, development of a nurturing family is severely challenged.

My church sings a worship song that includes these words: “The houses you labored to build, will finally with laughter and joy be filled . . . and all that is broken be healed.”

Each time I sing those words I can’t keep back the tears, thinking about the painting, the repairs, and the work that, in a small way, gave opportunity for the joy that some family has when hanging a picture on the wall of their new home.

I currently am working on a great house on Banner Street.

Two things are significant about that house. First, it is a charming bungalow that reminds me of one of the first houses that my wife and I owned. More importantly, the upstairs is completely finished, ceiling and walls, in tongue and groove knotty pine. I am reminded of my upstairs bedroom that I watched my dad finish; ceiling, walls, closets and trim, all completed in tongue and groove knotty pine.

I am so thankful for the work of ICCF. It was a huge step of vision and confidence that moved them to initiate their Community Homes Initiative. I believe it is having a great impact in providing affordable homes in Grand Rapids. I am so thankful and glad for the opportunity to participate in a very small way in moving that vision forward. B > Thank you Bob for your committment to ICCF and our community— we are so grateful for your support and service!

Without exception, every one of the many houses that my wife and I have lived in over the years was a significant remodel project. After retirement I spent 2 years working with my son to finish a small apartment building in California that he designed and built and rehabbing a home in Missouri for my daughter. After that, I was looking for a new project.

I remember thinking, “Perhaps I can find something to do while waiting for the next construction opportunity.” I emailed Katie, ICCF’s Volunteer Coordinator: “I need a job.”

She had a job for me.

One by one, I started renewing homes that ICCF had purchased in the Community Homes Initiative so that they would be ready for families. I am now working on my fourth house for ICCF. While working on the first house I remember the powerful moment when a young woman came to the front door, asking if she could come in to “just look around.” With excitement, she explained that she was hoping to soon move into the house with her family.

B L U E P R I N T S Spring 2020

Volunteer Bob Van Stright has renewed four houses with ICCF to create safe, affordable, beautiful homes for our neighbors

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WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER Crisis Relief for Families in Need We are so grateful for this community’s generous support. Together we are forming a protective community to lend a helping hand. All over this city we are sending this message: “You are not alone - we are all in this together.”

Enjoy stories of positive impact from our neighbors below. We are in this together, and we will get through this together.

Destine Destine and her family live in a Community Homes Initiative property. She was feeling overwhelmed when the coronavirus shutdown began and needed help to keep her home. We were able to provide supplemental food and rent assistance to help their family stay afloat.

“We had been in a home under a previous landlord and it was horrible. The previous landlord didn’t do much to fix our home and left it in poor living conditions. ICCF helped us find a new home in a better location. They are always willing to help us when situations arise. The impact this [rental and food assistance] has had on us is wonderful. We feel as though we can trust ICCF to do what they say they will do.”

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B L U E P R I N T S Spring 2020

Tony Tony is a young man who has lived in our affordable multifamily housing for almost three years. During this pandemic, we have been able to provide him with rental assistance and referral to a local food pantry.

“I received relief money and I tremendously appreciate it. I know I told you guys before, but I thank you for referring me to a food bank. I am honored to know such a wonderful organization. I apologize for the many ‘thank you’s’ I send - I just want you and all of ICCF to know!”

LaRhonda & Chris LaRhonda & Chris rent from ICCF in one of our newer affordable multifamily developments. When the shutdown began, Chris was not allowed to continue working. They were concerned but grateful that LaRhonda’s job was considered essential, and started taking steps to try and live off just one income. Then the situation went from bad to worse as LaRhonda suffered a stroke in March, and had to be off work for a time. With a health crisis on top of everything else, ICCF was able to step in and help bridge the gap. With rental assistance, having a safe home is not a worry for them.

“On behalf of our family we would like to say thank you ICCF for assisting us during this difficult time. May God continue to bless and keep each of you and your families safe.”

Gifts of Love When we asked you to give and support families during this crisis, you stepped up! Over $5,000 of in-kind gifts to our emergency shelter included gift cards, nutritious food, kids’ activities, and toiletries to assist local families. Your overwhelming financial support came in to help with utility bills and provide rental assistance, food, cleaning supplies, and transportation. So far 150 families have been impacted by your gifts! > Check out more ways to help at iccf.org/crisis-relief.

B L U E P R I N T S Spring 2020

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COMMUNITY HOMES INITIATIVE

Latoya was a single mom who grew up in Grand Rapids. She became a mother at a young age, but worked hard to get a good job in the medical field. She and her two kids received help through the Wyoming Housing Commission, living in one of their subsidized rental homes for 14 years. She attended one of ICCF’s Intro to Homeownership classes in 2016 and in 2019 she set the lofty goal of becoming a homeowner. She wanted to be independent!

Latoya attended another round of Intro to Homeownership and found out about ICCF’s Community Homes Land Trust through her fiance Nick, a local contractor who had been hired to work on the Community Homes Initiative properties.

In January 2020 she achieved her goal and became a homeowner! She and Nick were married in February and they began their new life together in a home that they love.

ICCF purchased 177 properties from an out-of-town investor in 2017 to renew homes, maintain affordable rental rates, and provide homeownership opportunities.

Since the inception of the Community Homes Initiative, we have renewed 102 homes to create safe, beautiful, affordable homes for our neighbors living on the margins.

The housing crisis in Grand Rapids has not stopped during this coronavirus shutdown… but neither has our work of restoration. Enjoy a few of the transformations below!

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LONG-TERM VISION IN A TIME OF CRISIS During times of crisis, when an “all hands on deck” approach is needed to meet immediate needs, it’s still important to occasionally step back for a wider view.

Michigan’s state-wide “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order has slowed the coronavirus and saved lives. But it has also shown how staying home to stay safe is just not possible for moms, dads, children, and grandparents who do not actually have safe, affordable, appropriately-sized homes.

That’s why ICCF’s underlying mission for housing justice is so important. And, that’s why ICCF needs the generous support, not only of donors concerned for the immediate crisis, but also those committed to ICCF’s vision to affect meaningful long-term change, not just now, but for the years and decades to come.

B L U E P R I N T S Spring 2020

“Asking people to consider joining a Legacy Society with a gift in their will is not like planting seeds of corn to be harvested in a few months. It’s more like planting a forest of trees that will take years to mature and will provide a thriving habitat for generations.”

Kurt Knoll, Barnabas Foundation

> For more information about Homes & Hope, visit

iccf.org/planned-gifts, or contact Hank Kroondyk, ICCF Planned Giving Specialist, at (616) 336-9333 x403 or hkroondyk@iccf.org.

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920 Cherry Street SE Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506

GENEROUS IN-KIND DONATIONS AT FAMILY HAVEN, OUR EMERGENCY SHELTER Find more ways to help at iccf.org/crisis-relief OUR MISSION

Equitable Opportunity | Affordable Homes | Thriving Neighborhoods P: (616) 336-9333 | ICCF.ORG

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID GRAND RAPIDS, MI PERMIT #313