New Health & Human Services Complex

[GRDadof3]

$27 million deal would relocate Human Services from Franklin

And apparently the deal has already been approved

The $27 million deal involves the state, Kent County, Grand Rapids Public Schools and the city of Grand Rapids and would create one central city location for human service needs, including food stamps, cash assistance, job training and health clinic care.

I know this may cause some uproar, but does anyone else see a problem with continuing to consolidate non-profit agencies and missions in the Sheldon area?

[PetersJH]

I have a problem with this development. This may come off as insensitive, but I wouldn't mind seeing the missions, etc. pushed further south down Division and away from the downtown area altogether.

[Rizzo]

I see a centralisation of services and a product of this might be segregation.

[bostonsquaremom]

$27 million deal would relocate Human Services from Franklin

And apparently the deal has already been approved

The $27 million deal involves the state, Kent County, Grand Rapids Public Schools and the city of Grand Rapids and would create one central city location for human service needs, including food stamps, cash assistance, job training and health clinic care.

I know this may cause some uproar, but does anyone else see a problem with continuing to consolidate non-profit agencies and missions in the Sheldon area?

The DHS would be moving just over a 1/4 mile down Franklin,so it's not going far from it's current location. I'm a social worker who works with homeless and precariously housed families, and tranportation is a huge issue for them, so the more they can get accomplished in one trip, and not have to traipse all over town, the better. I don't think it's centralizing services much more than there already is, and there are still lots of agencies located outside of the Sheldon area around town. I can think of some in the East Hills/East Fulton/Eastown area (Salvation Army Booth Family Services, Community Rebuilders, AOS of Arbor Circle, and there's probably more.)

Northern Kent County could use more access to services--there were plans a few years ago to put a DHS office at 10 Mile and 131, but I'm not aware if anything ever came to fruition. People in Sparta, Rockford, Cedar Springs, Sand Lake and other areas north of GR in need of DHS services generally must come to GR's DHS office, and either get there in cars that are in various stages of disrepair or rely on the kindness of friends or family for rides to GR, as ITP buses don't run up there.

[fotoman311]

Had to dig for this one.

In a short blurb on WGVU today, they stated that this project is expected to open by June 1st, 2009 and that it is currently coming in around $500,000 UNDER budget. How often does that happen?

This week's PedalGR ride, BicicletaGR, a tour of GR's Latino neighborhoods, on 8/20 will be going by here, so I'll see if we can't get some photographs. The map for this route should be up at http://www.pedalgr.com very soon.