Tribune Local News

MUSKEGON — Kids Belong has received a $40,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Muskegon County to support its FIRST PLACE program for aged-out foster youth. The award comes from the Child & Family Services Fund and the West Shore Mental Health Fund at the Community Foundation.

Jeff Steele, executive director of Kids Belong, said the funds would be used to help build on-site office space for mental health support for the First Place program, which currently consists of 8 apartments for former foster youth who are learning independence.

“We’ve seen a real need to support the youth in our program with mental health services from the beginning of First Place,” Steele said.  “We are helping young people become independent through supportive housing, but mental health access remains a challenge.  We are excited to be able to build space to provide counseling services on-site for our program participants.  We intend to greatly reduce the lead time required to get those services established.  Our goal is to have a youth who moves into our program be able to access their first counseling session within 48 hours.”

About Kids Belong

Kids Belong was started in 2015 by a group of foster and adoptive families who wanted to see better support for families and youth connected to the foster care system.  They provide foster closets, backpacks and school supplies, and community-building and support events for all foster, adoptive, and kinship families.  In 2023 Kids Belong added the First Place housing program, which helps former foster youth learn independence and tenancy skills through supportive housing.

For more information about Kids Belong, visit kidsbelong.org.

About Community Foundation for Muskegon County

The Community Foundation for Muskegon County was created in 1961 by local residents to improve the quality of life in their community. A publicly supported community endowment, the Community Foundation works with donors, grantees, advisors, and residents to identify and support the issues that shape our area. For more information about the Community Foundation for Muskegon County, call 231.722.4538 or visit muskegonfoundation.org.