News
-
Community baby showers aim to support Kalamazoo parents
Four times a year, nonprofit Cradle Kalamazoo holds a free baby shower — with the goal of improving infant health outcomes through access to resources. On a chilly Saturday morning in March, the parking lot of Kalamazoo’s Urban Alliance building on Stockbridge Avenue was packed with cars. Inside, families with kids in strollers and wagons…
-
Nonprofit Spotlight: LEAN on Healing with Healing on Purpose
Nonprofit name LEAN on Healing with Healing on Purpose Year formed 2025, as a fiscally sponsored project of Stara Collaborative Mission & population served LEAN on Healing with Healing on Purpose exists in response to the profound and ongoing trauma experienced within our community. Many individuals and families are directly impacted by incarceration, addiction, violence, family…
-
Urban Alliance’s Terra Bautista Honored with Community Impact Award
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Urban Alliance Executive Director Terra Bautista received the Transformation Through Opportunities Community Impact Award from Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine during its 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration on Jan. 16. The award recognizes Bautista’s leadership and lifelong commitment to creating pathways of opportunity for individuals and communities that…
-
Urban Alliance Honored as Criminal Justice Advocate of the Year
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Urban Alliance has been named the 2025 Criminal Justice Advocate of the Year by the Campaign for Criminal Justice and Transparency (CCJT), recognizing the organization’s Change of Status and IGNITE programs for their work supporting transformation, accountability, and successful reintegration for men impacted by the criminal justice system. The award was presented Saturday, Dec.…
-
Checking in With: Kalamazoo Premier Chess Club
In 2021, a chess club for all ages had just relaunched in the city of Kalamazoo’s Edison neighborhood. At the time, the idea behind the Kalamazoo Premier Chess Club was simple: Use the timeless game to bring people together, offer a safe haven in the face of rising gun violence, and spark conversations about strategy, resilience, and…
-
Michigan State Police to distribute Naloxone during business hours
PAW PAW, MI – In recognition of International Overdose Awareness Day that was August 31 and National Recovery Month in September, the Michigan State Police Paw Paw Post at 43255 60th Avenue will distribute Naloxone starting Tuesday, September 2, during business hours. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services warned residents about carfentanil, a potent…
-
Urban Alliance’s ‘Life Camp’, Community Gathering Aim to Deter Local Gun Violence
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Urban Alliance will host two powerful events designed to educate and empower youth voices while addressing the devastating impacts of gun violence. Known as Champions Night and Life Camp, these two events create a weekend of community-backed partnership and prevention aimed at breaking cycles of violence and sowing seeds of hope across Kalamazoo. On…
-
Outreach efforts are working to keep violent crimes down in Kalamazoo
KALAMAZOO, MI – Partnering with community organizations has had a positive impact on the number of shootings and killings so far this year in the City of Kalamazoo, police say. “We’re doing good this year,” says David Boysen, chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. “There’s a lot of good stuff going on. Our shootings…
-
Advocacy groups in Kalamazoo aim to educate youth amid recent gun crimes
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The recent string of youth gun crimes in West Michigan have raised questions, including where teenagers are obtaining guns, and how it can be prevented. That is what several local groups in Kalamazoo are aiming to do. Bent Not Broken, a group that advocates for and supports youth in the criminal justice system,…
-
‘I just gotta move forward’: Kalamazoo County inmates graduate from IGNITE program
KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. — Some inmates didn’t expect to graduate behind bars, but a new program launched at the Kalamazoo County Jail made it possible. The IGNITE program was launched to help inmates look forward to a life beyond bars. “I’m a college graduate, I am an electrician by trade, and yet here I am…