September 29, 2024 • 13 mins
On this segment of West Michigan weekend, Phil Tower speaks with Kelli Dobner, Chief Growth Officer at Samaritas Michigan.
Kelli joined us to discuss the new Samaritas “Neighbors Not Numbers” campaign, which is all about breaking down the myths and misconceptions about affordable housing. Many people think it impacts only the unemployed or poor, but in reality, it impacts many people, including teachers, people in the service industry, and college grads in the first years of their profession.
Samaritas, a non-profit with a long history in West Michigan, works with vulnerable populations, from foster care children to refugees to those overcoming substance abuse issues.
The organization’s work in developing affordable housing for community residents has expanded. With Neighbors Not Numbers, they hope to gain more attention and support from policymakers across the state to address the issue.
The campaign focuses on public education, dispelling misconceptions about affordable housing, and encouraging local leaders and community members to understand the importance of sustainable housing solutions.
Online: Samaritas “Neighbors Not Numbers” Campaign
Kelli joined us to discuss the new Samaritas “Neighbors Not Numbers” campaign, which is all about breaking down the myths and misconceptions about affordable housing. Many people think it impacts only the unemployed or poor, but in reality, it impacts many people, including teachers, people in the service industry, and college grads in the first years of their profession.
Samaritas, a non-profit with a long history in West Michigan, works with vulnerable populations, from foster care children to refugees to those overcoming substance abuse issues.
The organization’s work in developing affordable housing for community residents has expanded. With Neighbors Not Numbers, they hope to gain more attention and support from policymakers across the state to address the issue.
The campaign focuses on public education, dispelling misconceptions about affordable housing, and encouraging local leaders and community members to understand the importance of sustainable housing solutions.
Online: Samaritas “Neighbors Not Numbers” Campaign
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan Weekend is
a weekly program designed to inform and enlighten on a
wide range of public policy issues, as well as news
and current events. Now here's your host, Phil Tower.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
This is West Michigan Weekend from my Heart Radio. Thank
you so much for tuning in. Once again, I'm your host,
Phil Tower, and it is my pleasure in this segment
to focus on an important housing issue. We have all
heard for months now, if not the last several years,
about the housing crisis in West Michigan. Specifically, it's not
just about having enough housing for people who need to
(00:40):
rent or are aspiring to own a house. It's all
about housing afford affordability, and Smartas is on the frontline
in this issue. Smartas of Michigan. We are pleased to
welcome in this segment Kelly Dobner. Kelly is the Chief
Growth Officer at Samaritas here in Michigan. Kelly, first of all,
(01:00):
welcome to the program.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Thanks so much, Phil. I'm really excited to be talking
with you today about this issue.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Kelly, you work with Samaritas here in Michigan. You are
a chief Growth, chief growth officer. I hope I can
say that as many times as I need you in
this conversation.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
But you are focused who's.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Been spending a lot of times on a new and
important program for Samaritas, Neighbors not Numbers, which is all
about breaking down the myths and misconceptions about affordable housing
here in Michigan. It's an issue all across the state.
Before we jump into that, give our listeners please and
overview of Samaritas. You do a lot of impactful things
(01:38):
and have been for decades here in Michigan and across
the country. Give us the thirty thousand foot view of Samaritas.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
You got it.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Well.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
This is a special year for us because Samaritas is
celebrating ninety years of surveying Michigan. We are all about
putting compassion into action and four core areas of impact
day and that is our Child and Family Services. We
want to create strong households, but thriving communities. We focus
(02:08):
on refugee resettlement in West Michigan in particular is a
huge area for us for that. Substance use and mental
health is our third area of impact and housing is
our fourth, and we like to leverage all of those
areas of expertise and partners in our community so we
(02:29):
can all most holistically serve our neighbors in West Michigan
and across the state.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
You know, Kelly, it's interesting when we sit for a
moment and ponder what a house is and what the
issue of housing is. It's such a fundamental need and
it impacts though so many other things. It impacts safety,
it impacts the ability to have enough money for food,
so it speaks to food scarcity and hunger and poverty.
(02:58):
It just has a huge impact. But here's the reality,
and you've got a wonderful page at Samaritas dot org
forward slash neighborsh not dash numbers. If you just go
to the Samaritas website and type in neighbors, you'll find it,
but fourteen percent increase in one year alone in the
cost of rent here in our state, Michigan, in fact,
(03:19):
one of the most expensive states in the country for rent.
We know that getting a new home for a lot
of people who aspire to that, it's very difficult because
home prices have soared. So this Neighbor's not numbers initiative
for Samaritas. This is a really well time thing First
of all, why did you and your leadership at Samaritas
(03:41):
say this is critical and we need to get in
front of this right now.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah, that's a great question. You mentioned at the very
beginning of this time together that the housing crisis that
we're experiencing not only in Michigan but nationwide, and that's
certainly true here. Samartas has always been committed to creating
affordable housing solutions in Michigan. We have sixteen affordable living
communities across the state already today, and we've been offering
(04:07):
thatwork for almost fifty years, specifically, but it's gotten worse.
It's gotten so much worse in terms of the need.
We know that as a state, we're about one hundred
and ninety thousand units shy of the need for affordable
housing units. And when you use the word fundamental when
you talk about housing, you nail it. You know, when
(04:30):
we look at the social determinants of house, housing is
a leading determinant that impacts so many other areas of
one's life. And that is why Samaritas has made a
strong commitment to double down on it's housing solutions that
we are offering the state and its residents. Because of
(04:51):
that when I talked about our core areas of impact,
we have been noticing a tremendous increase in the need
for housing. While we might serve a refugee in one area,
or somebody challenged with substance use disorder, or a child
that's aging out of foster care and preparing for adulthood,
we're finding these common themes as examples. Right, they don't
(05:15):
have affordable housing solutions, and what happens then, right then
you have this cycle of poverty like you described, People
find themselves in need of a lot more than just
housing at that point, and they leave the States in
some cases as well. And Michigan right now is focused
so heavily on retention and attraction in our population growth
(05:38):
efforts that we want to provide that intersection of solution
at Samaritak. How can we help attract people, how can
we help retain our population? And housing is at the
center of that conversation, and so we know that we
need to bring new tools online, new innovative models for
housing that help with generational wealth for our residents. Create well,
(06:03):
what we'd like to do is create, restore, and preserve
affordable housing. And you can't do that unless you start
having a conversation about what affordable housing is and the
consequences if you don't start making those solutions available. And
that's why we wanted to really highlight our Neighbors not
Numbers campaign because it brings light to all of that
and helps pave the way for that development that is
(06:26):
so needed across the state.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Kelly, let's talk about some of the myths and myths
conceptions about affordable housing. People may hear that in the news,
on the radio, on TV, and they're aware of it,
but they might have a lot of misconceptions about it.
What are you hearing from people that they're getting wrong
about the affordable housing issue.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
I don't think people are understanding by and large what
affordable housing is, who qualifies for it? You know. Some
of the myths that I hear regularly er is that
affordable housing create projects, right, you know, the people have
misconceptions from decades ago about what affordable housing can be,
(07:07):
and they visualize more of a project kind of development.
They call it. You know, there's concentrated poverty, that sort
of thing, and truth be told, that's not what affordable
housing is and it's not what it can be. And
We know this because of who we know qualifies for
affordable housing today. When we have a we have a
(07:27):
supply issue, we do not have enough of it. So
that is driving up the costs for not only rentals,
but home ownership opportunities as well. Whether you're you're building
a new home or you're trying to purchase one that
already exists. The supply is down and the demand and
that naturally creates that and that that demand and with that,
(07:51):
when you look at who qualifies for affordable housing, it's
a wide stretch. It's people that we rely on every
day in our lives. And that's what neighbors, not neighbors,
not numbers, really helps to bring light to you know,
it's you, it's your local bank teller, it's your kids'
school social worker, it's your dental hygienis, there is a
(08:12):
person at your at dear barista, at your coffee shop
that you go to every day. It's people that we
need in our communities, that need stable, sustainable, affordable housing
that creates independence. And when you have that, you have
strong households and thriving communities. And that's that's what we're
really need to achieve.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Here and one of the big focuses of your Samaritas
Neighbors Not Numbers initiative. Your campaign is education, but it's
also really empowering people to get involved. We're speaking, by
the way, with Kelly Dobner, chief Growth Officer at Samaritas
here in Michigan. So you've got a captive radio audience.
(08:53):
Kelly Dobner, how can people be activated? How can they
get involved and support this really important Neighbors not Numbers campaign.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Ah, that's a great question. We appreciate that. I mean,
there are lots of ways to engage. You know, we
want to lift up your voice. Reach out to us,
submit a quick questionnaire that gives us your information to
send you information about how you can lift up your voice,
how you can reach out to legislators, how you can
(09:23):
work with us to create more affordable housing solutions. If
you're a landlord, reach out to us. Let us know
that you want to work with us to be a
part of this solution. And at the end of the day,
please donate.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
We're a nonprofit organization trying to trying to create change
in our community here in West Michigan and across the state,
and we need all of the resources that we can
to bring more affordable housing online for for our neighbors.
And that is especially true in West Michigan in the
Skegon those are significant areas of development for Samaritas historically
(10:04):
and most recently with some new exciting projects. So we
we can use all the help that we can get.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah, you can learn more at Samaraitas dot org. Let
me spell that out for you. S A M A
r I T A S dot O r G. There's
a magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner. Just
type in the word neighbors. That'll take you right to
the Neighbors Numbers campaign page and there's a form you
can fill out there. You can click and it says
(10:31):
get involved, and you can also donate. There's a very
easy donate button right in the middle of the page
as well too. We want to mention that as well.
I know Kelly Dobner would be glad if I mentioned
that as well. And again it's at Samaritas dot org
Samaritas dot.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
O r G.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
There are so many components of this, Kelly, and we've
got a couple of minutes left. What else should our
listeners know about your neighbors, not numbers program.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
You know, I think being that voice, understanding who your neighbors,
who your neighbors are, and who they can be, and
the contributions that we all make collectively as a community.
When people have the resources they need, starting with housing,
it makes our community stronger. And I encourage people to
(11:18):
educate themselves, get involved, ask questions, ask the tough questions
so that we all are coming from a place of
fact and truth. And when that is the case, it
sheds lights on opportunities and solutions and community involvement. And
at the end of the day, that's what we're all
here to do. And I will tell you West Michigan
(11:40):
is really really good at that. And it's an honor
to serve this community and we look forward to doing
so together.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
Yeah, and you know what, it's important.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
This doesn't just impact younger people living here in Michigan.
It impacts older people. And that's an area that you
deal a lot with with senior living, with skilled care,
with rehab, memory care, Samaritas. So keep in mind as
you're listening to Kelly and I have this conversation. This
housing issue, this affordable housing issue, impacts people at every
(12:13):
level of life. It's really critical, and I know Kelly
would want me to tell you that because it just
it spans all ages. It impacts kids, and it impacts
seniors who are living unfixed incomes.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
It's a big issue. Again.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Samaritas leading the way helping you with their Neighbors not
Numbers campaign, helping you have a place to get involved.
To be activated again, you can go to Samaritas dot
org and just type in neighbors in the search part
and it'll take you right to the page where you
can sign up to get involved, roll up your sleeves,
or more importantly, maybe just send a check and also
(12:53):
get involved as well. Kelly Dobner, I'm so glad we
had the opportunity to speak with you today. Thank you
for joining us.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Thank you, thanks so much. Phil. I appreciate your passion
around this topic. You nailed some keypoints there. We're grateful
for that.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Well, we're grateful to have you tell this story, at
least a part of it. Again.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Kelly Dobner's chief Growth officer at Samaritas here in Michigan.
Samaritas dot org is where you will learn a lot
more about all the great stuff they.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Do here in the state of Michigan.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
She's been our guest on this segment of West Michigan
Weekend from Iartradio. I'm your host, Phil Tower. That's our
program for this week.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
You've been listening to iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan
Weekend is a production of Wood Radio and iHeartRadio.
This is iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan Weekend is
a weekly program designed to inform and enlighten on a
wide range of public policy issues, as well as news
and current events. Now here's your host, Phil Tower.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
This is West Michigan Weekend from my Heart Radio. Thank
you so much for tuning in. Once again, I'm your host,
Phil Tower, and it is my pleasure in this segment
to focus on an important housing issue. We have all
heard for months now, if not the last several years,
about the housing crisis in West Michigan. Specifically, it's not
just about having enough housing for people who need to
(00:40):
rent or are aspiring to own a house. It's all
about housing afford affordability, and Smartas is on the frontline
in this issue. Smartas of Michigan. We are pleased to
welcome in this segment Kelly Dobner. Kelly is the Chief
Growth Officer at Samaritas here in Michigan. Kelly, first of all,
(01:00):
welcome to the program.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Thanks so much, Phil. I'm really excited to be talking
with you today about this issue.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Kelly, you work with Samaritas here in Michigan. You are
a chief Growth, chief growth officer. I hope I can
say that as many times as I need you in
this conversation.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
But you are focused who's.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Been spending a lot of times on a new and
important program for Samaritas, Neighbors not Numbers, which is all
about breaking down the myths and misconceptions about affordable housing
here in Michigan. It's an issue all across the state.
Before we jump into that, give our listeners please and
overview of Samaritas. You do a lot of impactful things
(01:38):
and have been for decades here in Michigan and across
the country. Give us the thirty thousand foot view of Samaritas.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
You got it.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Well.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
This is a special year for us because Samaritas is
celebrating ninety years of surveying Michigan. We are all about
putting compassion into action and four core areas of impact
day and that is our Child and Family Services. We
want to create strong households, but thriving communities. We focus
(02:08):
on refugee resettlement in West Michigan in particular is a
huge area for us for that. Substance use and mental
health is our third area of impact and housing is
our fourth, and we like to leverage all of those
areas of expertise and partners in our community so we
(02:29):
can all most holistically serve our neighbors in West Michigan
and across the state.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
You know, Kelly, it's interesting when we sit for a
moment and ponder what a house is and what the
issue of housing is. It's such a fundamental need and
it impacts though so many other things. It impacts safety,
it impacts the ability to have enough money for food,
so it speaks to food scarcity and hunger and poverty.
(02:58):
It just has a huge impact. But here's the reality,
and you've got a wonderful page at Samaritas dot org
forward slash neighborsh not dash numbers. If you just go
to the Samaritas website and type in neighbors, you'll find it,
but fourteen percent increase in one year alone in the
cost of rent here in our state, Michigan, in fact,
(03:19):
one of the most expensive states in the country for rent.
We know that getting a new home for a lot
of people who aspire to that, it's very difficult because
home prices have soared. So this Neighbor's not numbers initiative
for Samaritas. This is a really well time thing First
of all, why did you and your leadership at Samaritas
(03:41):
say this is critical and we need to get in
front of this right now.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah, that's a great question. You mentioned at the very
beginning of this time together that the housing crisis that
we're experiencing not only in Michigan but nationwide, and that's
certainly true here. Samartas has always been committed to creating
affordable housing solutions in Michigan. We have sixteen affordable living
communities across the state already today, and we've been offering
(04:07):
thatwork for almost fifty years, specifically, but it's gotten worse.
It's gotten so much worse in terms of the need.
We know that as a state, we're about one hundred
and ninety thousand units shy of the need for affordable
housing units. And when you use the word fundamental when
you talk about housing, you nail it. You know, when
(04:30):
we look at the social determinants of house, housing is
a leading determinant that impacts so many other areas of
one's life. And that is why Samaritas has made a
strong commitment to double down on it's housing solutions that
we are offering the state and its residents. Because of
(04:51):
that when I talked about our core areas of impact,
we have been noticing a tremendous increase in the need
for housing. While we might serve a refugee in one area,
or somebody challenged with substance use disorder, or a child
that's aging out of foster care and preparing for adulthood,
we're finding these common themes as examples. Right, they don't
(05:15):
have affordable housing solutions, and what happens then, right then
you have this cycle of poverty like you described, People
find themselves in need of a lot more than just
housing at that point, and they leave the States in
some cases as well. And Michigan right now is focused
so heavily on retention and attraction in our population growth
(05:38):
efforts that we want to provide that intersection of solution
at Samaritak. How can we help attract people, how can
we help retain our population? And housing is at the
center of that conversation, and so we know that we
need to bring new tools online, new innovative models for
housing that help with generational wealth for our residents. Create well,
(06:03):
what we'd like to do is create, restore, and preserve
affordable housing. And you can't do that unless you start
having a conversation about what affordable housing is and the
consequences if you don't start making those solutions available. And
that's why we wanted to really highlight our Neighbors not
Numbers campaign because it brings light to all of that
and helps pave the way for that development that is
(06:26):
so needed across the state.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Kelly, let's talk about some of the myths and myths
conceptions about affordable housing. People may hear that in the news,
on the radio, on TV, and they're aware of it,
but they might have a lot of misconceptions about it.
What are you hearing from people that they're getting wrong
about the affordable housing issue.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
I don't think people are understanding by and large what
affordable housing is, who qualifies for it? You know. Some
of the myths that I hear regularly er is that
affordable housing create projects, right, you know, the people have
misconceptions from decades ago about what affordable housing can be,
(07:07):
and they visualize more of a project kind of development.
They call it. You know, there's concentrated poverty, that sort
of thing, and truth be told, that's not what affordable
housing is and it's not what it can be. And
We know this because of who we know qualifies for
affordable housing today. When we have a we have a
(07:27):
supply issue, we do not have enough of it. So
that is driving up the costs for not only rentals,
but home ownership opportunities as well. Whether you're you're building
a new home or you're trying to purchase one that
already exists. The supply is down and the demand and
that naturally creates that and that that demand and with that,
(07:51):
when you look at who qualifies for affordable housing, it's
a wide stretch. It's people that we rely on every
day in our lives. And that's what neighbors, not neighbors,
not numbers, really helps to bring light to you know,
it's you, it's your local bank teller, it's your kids'
school social worker, it's your dental hygienis, there is a
(08:12):
person at your at dear barista, at your coffee shop
that you go to every day. It's people that we
need in our communities, that need stable, sustainable, affordable housing
that creates independence. And when you have that, you have
strong households and thriving communities. And that's that's what we're
really need to achieve.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Here and one of the big focuses of your Samaritas
Neighbors Not Numbers initiative. Your campaign is education, but it's
also really empowering people to get involved. We're speaking, by
the way, with Kelly Dobner, chief Growth Officer at Samaritas
here in Michigan. So you've got a captive radio audience.
(08:53):
Kelly Dobner, how can people be activated? How can they
get involved and support this really important Neighbors not Numbers campaign.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Ah, that's a great question. We appreciate that. I mean,
there are lots of ways to engage. You know, we
want to lift up your voice. Reach out to us,
submit a quick questionnaire that gives us your information to
send you information about how you can lift up your voice,
how you can reach out to legislators, how you can
(09:23):
work with us to create more affordable housing solutions. If
you're a landlord, reach out to us. Let us know
that you want to work with us to be a
part of this solution. And at the end of the day,
please donate.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
We're a nonprofit organization trying to trying to create change
in our community here in West Michigan and across the state,
and we need all of the resources that we can
to bring more affordable housing online for for our neighbors.
And that is especially true in West Michigan in the
Skegon those are significant areas of development for Samaritas historically
(10:04):
and most recently with some new exciting projects. So we
we can use all the help that we can get.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah, you can learn more at Samaraitas dot org. Let
me spell that out for you. S A M A
r I T A S dot O r G. There's
a magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner. Just
type in the word neighbors. That'll take you right to
the Neighbors Numbers campaign page and there's a form you
can fill out there. You can click and it says
(10:31):
get involved, and you can also donate. There's a very
easy donate button right in the middle of the page
as well too. We want to mention that as well.
I know Kelly Dobner would be glad if I mentioned
that as well. And again it's at Samaritas dot org
Samaritas dot.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
O r G.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
There are so many components of this, Kelly, and we've
got a couple of minutes left. What else should our
listeners know about your neighbors, not numbers program.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
You know, I think being that voice, understanding who your neighbors,
who your neighbors are, and who they can be, and
the contributions that we all make collectively as a community.
When people have the resources they need, starting with housing,
it makes our community stronger. And I encourage people to
(11:18):
educate themselves, get involved, ask questions, ask the tough questions
so that we all are coming from a place of
fact and truth. And when that is the case, it
sheds lights on opportunities and solutions and community involvement. And
at the end of the day, that's what we're all
here to do. And I will tell you West Michigan
(11:40):
is really really good at that. And it's an honor
to serve this community and we look forward to doing
so together.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
Yeah, and you know what, it's important.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
This doesn't just impact younger people living here in Michigan.
It impacts older people. And that's an area that you
deal a lot with with senior living, with skilled care,
with rehab, memory care, Samaritas. So keep in mind as
you're listening to Kelly and I have this conversation. This
housing issue, this affordable housing issue, impacts people at every
(12:13):
level of life. It's really critical, and I know Kelly
would want me to tell you that because it just
it spans all ages. It impacts kids, and it impacts
seniors who are living unfixed incomes.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
It's a big issue. Again.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Samaritas leading the way helping you with their Neighbors not
Numbers campaign, helping you have a place to get involved.
To be activated again, you can go to Samaritas dot
org and just type in neighbors in the search part
and it'll take you right to the page where you
can sign up to get involved, roll up your sleeves,
or more importantly, maybe just send a check and also
(12:53):
get involved as well. Kelly Dobner, I'm so glad we
had the opportunity to speak with you today. Thank you
for joining us.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Thank you, thanks so much. Phil. I appreciate your passion
around this topic. You nailed some keypoints there. We're grateful
for that.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Well, we're grateful to have you tell this story, at
least a part of it. Again.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Kelly Dobner's chief Growth officer at Samaritas here in Michigan.
Samaritas dot org is where you will learn a lot
more about all the great stuff they.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Do here in the state of Michigan.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
She's been our guest on this segment of West Michigan
Weekend from Iartradio. I'm your host, Phil Tower. That's our
program for this week.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
You've been listening to iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan
Weekend is a production of Wood Radio and iHeartRadio.
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