Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries is the largest provider of homeless housing and services in the southwest Michigan area. Founded in 1933 as a Depression-Era soup kitchen, it now provides residency-based recovery programs, services for the mentally ill, supportive services, and aftercare in a multi-campus, comprehensive ministry. A Shelter From Their Storm demolishes, replaces, and expands a facility for homeless women and children, fathers with children, LGBT youth, and persons who have suffered abuse.
Though located in a historic district, the old building is not a historic building, nor is it consistent with the aesthetic of the neighborhood. The newly constructed and rehabilitated 65,045 sq. ft. building’s design complements the historic district in which it is located, and features 242 beds, multipurpose rooms, community rooms, a medical recovery room, day room, offices, reading room, and an elevator for increased accessibility. Services offered to residents will include case management, mental health services, counseling, tutoring, daycare, job training, legal assistance, housing referral services, literacy classes, parenting classes, and a health clinic for medical and dental care.