Statement from Avalon Housing Executive Director Aaron Cooper on the Nov. 2024 election results:
The results of yesterday’s election do not change the fact that Avalon remains committed to advocating for budgets and policies that will improve the lives of people in need of supportive affordable housing at ALL levels of government.
Locally, we want to say thank you to the Washtenaw County community for its ongoing support of the Public Safety and Mental Health millage. Avalon Housing will continue to work with the county to offer the support people need to exit homelessness and stay housed for the long term, and the millage funding provides important resources for these efforts. Since the millage was originally passed in 2017, Avalon has used a portion of the funding to provide case management, 24/7 crisis call response, peer support and substance use disorder counseling for 600 more people than would have been possible without the millage. Avalon operates on the principle of Housing First, meaning we believe underlying issues can’t be addressed unless a person has a home; the services supported by the millage help make sure people can stay in their homes as they make progress in other areas of their lives. In approving the millage by such a wide margin, county voters have shown a great sense of caring and compassion for our neighbors exiting homelessness.
We also applaud passage of the new Older Persons Services millage. As an organization that serves more than 200 seniors across our county, we look forward to working with county leaders to see how we can expand support for older adults in our community. We know that the population experiencing homelessness continues to age, and several of our staff members specifically work with older residents to help them stay healthy and housed.
Please consider joining Avalon staff, tenants and volunteers, and our statewide partners in Lansing this coming Wednesday, Nov. 13th at 11am for The Rent Is Too Damn High rally, where we will advocate for several pieces of legislation that protects tenant rights here in Michigan. You can RSVP for the rally here.
