For 30 years, Community Rebuilders has worked to end homelessness in Kent County. Over the past few years, the organization has been fostering new partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs) and establishing new tools to strengthen its efforts. Community Rebuilders has leveraged the Grand Rapids-area G.R.A.C.E. (Gather Resources and Align Community Efforts) Network to lay the foundation for a cross-sector intervention that addresses not only families’ housing needs, but also other social determinants of health needs—e.g., healthcare, education, and employment—that can make it difficult to maintain stable housing, well-being, and economic stability.
Community Rebuilders engaged Public Sector Consultants to conduct an evaluation of its efforts to end homelessness among Kent County families with a focus on the impact of the partnerships created through the G.R.A.C.E. Network. PSC worked with Community Rebuilders to identify potential short- and long- term outcomes related to their efforts. This report serves as the final assessment. Where data is available, the report compares each outcome measure at baseline—using data collected in fiscal year (FY) 2020 (i.e., October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2020)—to the comparison year with data collected in FY 2022 (i.e., October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022). This report may be used by Community Rebuilders and the G.R.A.C.E. Network to inform current programming and identify potential areas for change.