Heaven, a resident of Kalamazoo for almost 10 years, is now more than a month into her new role as an Intake Specialist with Housing Resources, Inc. (HRI). The journey to get where she is hasn’t been easy, but she’s had some transformative experiences along the way.
Hundreds of people are experiencing homelessness in Kalamazoo at any given time – the 2025 Point in Time Count identified 791 unhoused individuals on one January night. Heaven has been among them.
While working with Open Doors – an organization that helps local families achieve housing success - Heaven was pointed in the direction of United Way of South Central Michigan's Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care (CoC) program. The CoC team was putting together a paid consultants’ group to help inform their work.
“I liked the fact that they wanted people with lived experience to give their input,” Heaven said. “I thought that was pretty cool.”
Wanting to take a closer look at the role, not even believing she’d get accepted, Simpson applied. She has recently just finished her second year of the program.
When Heaven was experiencing homelessness, she was constantly searching for additional resources in Kalamazoo. In the consultants’ program through the CoC, she used what she learned to reach back and help those she had stayed in touch with.
“I’ve been able to help a lot of people learn about different opportunities or resources here in town,” she said. “I’ve even learned about different resources that I’ve been able to utilize since I’ve been here.”
In September of 2025, Heaven was among a group of women who shared their experiences during the Kalamazoo Housing Forum, hosted by the Kalamazoo Continuum of Care.
She connected with HRI during the forum, which eventually led to her new employment. Grateful for this new opportunity, Heaven acknowledges CoC’s role in helping get her to this point.
“I’ve learned a lot,” Simpson said. “A lot that that I didn’t think I would learn, actually. I’ve learned that it could happen to anybody. It’s all about demographics. It doesn’t matter where you come from or how high of people that you know. It can really happen to everybody. So it’s been really interesting to see that it’s not going to pick and choose.”
For those looking to join the consultant program, Heaven suggests going for it. “It can be intimidating,” she said. “You would be surprised, though. It completely changed my life. The CoC is the reason why I’m with HRI now, honestly. It can completely change your life.”
