GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Around 700 people in Kent County could lose access to temporary or long-term housing programs if a federal policy change is made permanent, according to the Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness.

The change could impact 70% of the Kent County’s Continuum of Care (CoC) funding for such programs - or about $7 million - according to Courtney Myers-Keaton, the Grand Rapids coalition’s CoC director.

The CoC program provides nonprofits and state and local governments with funds to help end homelessness, offered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Myers-Keaton said her group coordinates applications for CoC funding by dozens of homeless assistance agencies in Kent County.

That money is then distributed to serve about 1,000 Kent Coun

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