Kalamazoo County commissioners authorized up to $250,000 to support the county’s 2026-2027 winter homeless shelter response, without yet deciding which budget the money will come from.
The board approved the allocation at its July 21 meeting for the United Way of South Central Michigan/Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care, which will administer a competitive request-for-proposals (RFP) process to fund day shelter, overnight shelter, emergency “Code Blue” extreme weather capacity, diversion services, and safer parking services for the coming winter season.
Funding source still undetermined
The board’s approval authorizes the spending itself but leaves open whether the money will come from the county’s 2026 Housing Millage Fund or its Golden Ratio-Board Priorities fund. During discussion, commissioners floated splitting the amount between the two funding sources, but did not reach a final decision; county staff said the specific funding source can be determined later, before a resulting contract comes back to the board for execution.
How this fits into the broader effort
The county’s contribution is expected to combine with a contribution of up to $497,044 from the City of Kalamazoo’s Emergency Shelter for Extreme Weather Project budget, along with a contribution from the United Way of South Central Michigan/Continuum of Care still to be determined by its own board. Separately, Ministry of Community is returning $87,000 in unspent funds from the 2025-2026 Winter Solutions effort, which will be applied to the 2026-2027 RFP. The Continuum of Care has recommended a total combined budget of $700,000 for this year’s effort.
This is the second year Kalamazoo County, the City of Kalamazoo, and the Continuum of Care have coordinated funding through a single competitive RFP process, following a first-year effort in 2025-2026 that county staff said expanded shelter capacity and improved coordination among service providers.
Several new resources have come online since last winter that are expected to shape this year’s approach: The Landing Place, a shelter dedicated to families experiencing homelessness, is now open; a permanent, year-round medical respite program serving people who need ongoing recuperative care has been established; and Housing Resources, Inc. now provides centralized, 24/7 coordination for shelter referrals. County staff said these additions mean this winter’s funding can focus more heavily on adults and individuals not already connected to those specialized programs.
Timeline
The Continuum of Care plans to release the RFP in late July or early August, with contracts expected to be finalized by October. The resulting contract term would run from November 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027. Once a funding source is determined and a contract is developed, it will return to the Board of Commissioners for approval.
