Avalon Housing held the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony of its new building in Ypsilanti. Located at 206 N. Washington St., this 22-unit affordable housing complex will provide supportive housing for residents fighting homelessness or struggling to maintain consistent housing.
According to Avalon, 14 units will target people making less than 60% of the area’s median income, costing $825 per month for those respective units.
Scott Ellis, Interim Co-Executive Director and Director of Mission Advancement at Avalon, described opening their new housing location as a community-wide partnership. Noting multiple funding sources were necessary to build the North Washington location.
“When Avalon builds affordable housing, it takes a lot of different funding sources to make it happen,” Ellis said. “The main source of funding is a low-income housing tax credit that we work with the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) and the state to secure. We also have partnerships from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, Bank of Ann Arbor and Corporation for Supportive Housing to help fund this project.”
According to the Avalon website, their goal is to provide immediate, safe and permanent housing to anyone experiencing homelessness, working with private landlords and local housing commissions to provide housing support. Ellis says their goal is to keep residents from falling back into homelessness.
“When we do affordable housing and the supportive wraparound services, we see that over 95% of the time, people will stay housed. That is the main goal,” Ellis said. “We work on their individual goals. This could be improving their physical or mental health, or we often see that when folks move into housing like this, the emergency room is no longer their primary source of medical care. They are connected to doctors, and their instances of isolation and loneliness drop dramatically.”
According to Ellis, the Ypsilanti project began six years ago, with its development and construction taking nearly two years to complete. Ellis credits the community for helping make this project a reality.
RELATED: Affordable Mental Health Resources in Ann Arbor
“Avalon exists because our community wants us and the residents to succeed,” Ellis said. “Part of that success is coming around Avalon with support, with volunteers, philanthropy, and advocacy on the local, state and national level for better budgets and policies for people in need of supportive housing.”
In addition, the property will also offer four accessible units to accommodate those with disabilities. According to Avalon, each resident can receive supportive services to assist with appointments, food, and health care.
Dan Meisler, Avalon’s Communication Manager, says tenants can receive services voluntarily, including case management, with social workers assisting each tenant with their individual goals.
“None of our services are required,” Meisler said. “We have a partnership with Packard Health, where Dr. Ravi makes house calls to our tenants. We have a host of services that help support people as they leave homelessness and move on to the next phase of their lives.”
In the Ann Arbor area, Avalon operates 30 properties with more than 500 units across several cities in Washtenaw County, including Dexter and Chelsea. According to their website, their new Ypsilanti location will provide case management to help clients navigate health, social, and legal services. Additionally, these services include help with substance abuse disorders and recovery through support groups and harm reduction services.
“We are proud and happy to be in Ypsilanti.” Meisler concludes, “Homelessness is a countywide problem, and we will continue to work to meet that problem.”
Antonio Cooper is a freelance journalist from Detroit, Michigan. His coverage of music festivals and interviews with local celebrities appeared in The E-Current Magazine, The Detroit Metro Times, XXL Magazine, RichMagDigital, The Ann Arbor Observer, and Pop Magazine.
