GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Tim Clemons knows a little about circumstance.

After a car wreck in the mid 1990’s left him in a wheelchair, Clemons found himself on the streets.

“Homelessness isn’t always a choice, sometimes it’s a circumstance or a situation,” he said.

Now at Exodus Place, a men’s shelter on the west side of Grand Rapids, he’s looking for permanent housing but keeps running into roadblocks.

“They need to do more to make things not a competition, but help,” said Clemons.

On any given day, there are some 1,200 people experiencing homelessness in Kent County. It is one of the highest rates in the state.

In an effort to help Tim and others in similar situations, a group called the Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness recently announced an ambitious goal: to house 100 chronically unhoused people in 100 days.

“Homelessness will not be solved by Degage, by Mel Trotter, by Pine Rest. It’s going to be solved when we all work together,” said Thelma Ensink.

As the executive director of Degage Ministries, Ensink says in many ways the initiative represents a shift in what has historically been an uneven collaborative process. A number of community partners are now involved, including the city of Grand Rapids, Network 180, the Grand Rapids Housing Commission and more — 60 organizations now working together.

“We can cut through that red tape, we can find a better way to do this, we can streamline the paperwork or streamline the application process,” said Ensink. “We are all working together at a collaborative level that we’ve never worked together before.”

Gaps do remain. Black and Hispanic residents are at a higher risk of homelessness. Nearly half of those seeking housing are families with kids.

But the coalition has had some success, with 28 people already housed and 52 others in he progress of finding housing.

Ray Townsend serves as a pastor at Exodus Place. He says the collaboration is critical in avoiding overlaps and redundancy when it come to housing people.

“The connections being made, people are finally realizing it. We’ve got to play out of the same songbook, get on the same key,” said Townsend.  “A collaborative effort is always way more powerful than everybody just lone ranging the situation.”

Ironically, as the area sees more resources made available, it inevitably attracts people from outside of Kent county, even the state.

“The minute services are made available and it’s out on the internet, then everybody’s coming here. You can’t get mad at them for that but yes, it puts a strain on people already trying to make it who live here,” said Clemons.

Ensink confirms that they do see people from outside the area seeking help.

“Those are hard conversations to have because you want people to have choices, you want them to be able to go where they want to go and move to where they want to move,” said Ensink.

The need is assessed on a case-by-case basis. The coalition has developed what is described as a “Case Management Model” to ensure individuals receive resources when they become available based on risk level.

For Tim and others who may be struggling in our community, the key is compassion.

“Homelessness is not your responsibility, if I’m homeless. But as a just people who are loving and caring, it is,” said Clemons.