On a cold winter evening at the Kalamazoo Public Library, a room full of residents, journalists, and community leaders sat down to wrestle with one of the region’s most persistent challenges: housing that people can actually afford.
The Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative hosted The Affordable Housing Conundrum: New Partners & Creative Solutions, a panel moderated by Gordon Evans of WMUK. Six panelists, including journalists and community practitioners, brought perspectives ranging from rural St. Joseph County to Battle Creek to downtown Kalamazoo.
One of the evening’s first insights came early: the word “affordable” carries a lot of weight, and not always the same weight. Panelist Alek Haak-Frost noted a significant gap between how housing policy defines affordability and what that actually means for someone earning a local wage. In places like Three Rivers and Sturgis, lower rents sound like good news until you factor in lower wages, and the result is a housing market that still doesn’t work for many residents.
The conversation moved through the post-pandemic housing market, where first-time buyers compete against cash offers from investors, and aging housing stock makes renovation costly and complicated. Panelist ordyn Hermani observed that the tone around affordable housing has been shifting as more communities are willing to talk about systemic solutions rather than individual circumstances.
Several panelists pointed to collaboration as the most underused tool available. Shanay Settle described how organizations in Battle Creek deliberately pool resources and focus efforts geographically — targeting specific neighborhoods rather than spreading thin across the region. Sister Patsy Moore shared the story behind a senior living development, describing years of bureaucratic obstacles eventually overcome through the right partnerships.
The panel also took on NIMBY opposition directly. Gwendolyn Hooker discussed the challenges of placing innovative projects, including tiny homes designed for people recovering from substance use disorders, in communities where neighbors resist. One response gaining traction: “Yes In God’s Backyard,” a movement encouraging churches to use their land for housing. Panelists noted that zoning reform, community dialogue centered on facts and dignity, and local election outcomes all shape what’s possible.
Brad Devereaux and others addressed the economics head-on: in most cases, building truly affordable housing requires subsidies. The math simply doesn’t work without them. That means government support, philanthropy, and mission-driven developers who aren’t optimizing purely for profit.
An audience member raised a question that hung in the room: what does the new Kalamazoo Event Center mean for housing affordability in nearby neighborhoods like the Northside? A panelist’s response was direct: the arena creates jobs, and housing should have been built first to support those workers, not after.
The evening closed with panelists sharing what they hope to see in five years: more units, better wages, fewer stereotypes about the unhoused, and more counties, cities, and townships working together instead of past each other.
