By design, tax law is rigid and does not offer much flexibility. When applied to property taxes that leaves few tools available for County Treasurers to help keep people in their homes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, cities and counties across Michigan leveraged American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds to provide tax relief to homeowners and help keep people in their homes. Countless households were provided a financial lifeline and were able to maintain housing amid job losses, sickness, loss of loved ones, and more during the worst days of the pandemic.

Today that financial lifeline no longer exists. Relief funds were spent, programs were cut, and homeowners were left without a source of support while still rebuilding their lives following the pandemic.

Founded in 2025, the Kalamazoo Housing Assistance Fund was established in response to these funding cuts and the elimination of foreclosure prevention grant programs at the federal, state, and local level. We are looking to build an endowment fund to provide a permanent source of foreclosure relief for Kalamazoo County’s residents, so that sickness, job loss, and other life-altering events will not also bring homelessness in their wake.

We’ve seen how public support can help our neighbors stay our neighbors, and with your help, we believe we can do it again.