TARGETED HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Direct Cash Grand Rapids

Direct Cash to Prevent Youth Homelessness

📍 Michigan

(From left) Mads Ladow, Prevention Specialist at As You Are Youth Collective, and Slaynne De La Cruz, PSY’s Director of Program Development and Growth.

What is Direct Cash Grand Rapids?

The Targeted Housing Assistance Program helps prevent youth homelessness in Grand Rapids by combining immediate financial assistance with comprehensive supportive services. Fifty young people ages 18–24 in Grand Rapids who are experiencing a housing crisis are eligible to enroll. Recent community counts show that more than 350 young people in Kent County—where Grand Rapids is located—slept outside or in emergency shelters during a recent three-month period, reflecting both street and “hidden” homelessness like couch-surfing. These numbers underscore the need for prevention programs like this that can intervene early and keep young people housed.

Direct Cash Grand Rapids: By The Numbers

50

youth ages youth ages 18-24 participating in the program

$2.5K

average amount of $2,500 offered in a one-time payment

1-3

months of supportive programming

(From left) Mads Ladow, Slaynne De La Cruz, and Atti Betts, Youth Consultant for Direct Cash Grand Rapids.

THE LATEST

Direct cash Grand Rapids Moves into Next Phase

As of March 2026, our partner As You Are Youth Collective, working in coordination with two youth consultants, has begun recruiting young people to apply, developing individualized housing plans, and distributing funds to help implement those plans.

Point Source Youth and AYA will partner with Johns Hopkins University to collect survey data and conduct one- and six-month reviews to evaluate the program’s effectiveness.