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 The Sixty Plus Club meets once a month on Fridays for lunch, fellowship and a short program. Please contact Ryan and Marlene Pelkki for more information.
Religious Action for Affordable Housing helps low income citizens and former prison inmates
Mary Browning, secretary of Religious Action for Affordable Housing, spoke to Westminster’s Sixty Plus Club in January about the important work being done by that and other organizations to aid former prison inmates.
Religious Action for Affordable Housing (RAAH) promotes affordable housing for low income citizens in Washtenaw County by mobilizing the human and financial resources of the religious community – both congregations and individual. It educates, advocates, and raises fund for projects of local non-profit housing organizations. RAAH is currently working with the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, the Washtenaw Housing Alliance, and the Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative (MPRI). A grant proposal was accepted by the JEHT (Justice, Equality, Human dignity and Tolerance) Foundation to match funds raised by these groups to provide supportive housing for twenty people with mental illnesses who have been paroled from prison. RAAH has accepted the challenge of raising $50,000 over a two year period. Housing through this pilot project will cost approximately $39 per person per day as opposed to the $123 per person per day cost of incarceration.
The MPRI program, operating a year now in Washtenaw County, is creating safer neighborhoods and better citizens by helping former prison inmates find housing, employment, educational opportunities, family reunification, substance abuse programs, and hope. Questions about the program may be directed to washtenawmpri@gmail.com.
If you would like to contribute to the RAAH campaign, please send a check made out to RAAH, noting MPRI, to 306 N. Division, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. RAAH is a 501 (c) (3) organization.
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