News
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This Is Me Now
Brandywine grew up surrounded by the drug world and it was all she ever knew. When she joined Momentum, she was able to develop new life skills and a trusting relationship with her children that they she did not know she could have prior to joining. Brandywine expresses how she was glad to join this…
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Group Violence Interventions provides safe space for people affected by gun violence
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The COVID-19 pandemic halted the Group Violence Intervention team in Kalamazoo for a bit, but the group has a new approach. The intervention team has been instrumental to alerting police and catching suspects involved in gun violence crimes in Kalamazoo. In 2020 Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety reported more than 70 shootings, including 10 that…
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When Dave first met Scottie
When Dave first met Scottie, he didn’t really know what to expect. He was familiar with Momentum and its vision, and he was eager to join the ranks of Momentum ‘Coach,’ but now his preconceived notions were running headlong into reality. Scottie was working to escape the fires of life, and he’d brought another with…
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We Are An Alliance
Urban Alliance brings a system that works to a community who is failed by systems. Its goal is to grow relationships within the community and change the views of how others see each other towards a more positive, loving light. With the Momentum program, Urban Alliance and its partnered employers strive to give people in…
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Organizations band together to help homeless in Kalamazoo County heading into winter
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care was formed in January 2020. At the end of the year, the Continuum of Care was fighting homelessness as temperatures dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Continuum of Care is a community-wide planning body, organized through the United Way of Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, with the mission…
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Life With Momentum
Urban Alliance Momentum graduates and their employers talk about life after graduating. Even with little experience joining the workforce, Momentum was able to help give graduates the resources they needed in order to succeed and start again, and to provide an empowering support system.
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The Pursuit of Happiness: Cory’s Version
Cory sat in the Urban Alliance office, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. For the next hour I listened as he dispelled my thinking. Cory, I found out, had recently left a dead-end comfort zone because he cares so deeply about being sober and watching his little boy grow up. Several…
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The First Thing I Ever Graduated
Before joining Urban Alliance, 2019 Momentum graduate, Shawna Wilson, had a given up on herself but decided she wanted to set a good example for her daughter. She did not know what to expect from Momentum, but her first day there was inspiring and uplifting. Right away people believed in her, and now she has…
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Urban Alliance creates more opportunities for community outreach with office upgrades, community partnerships and mobile showers
Having access to a shower is a simple pleasure that most people take for granted; it’s an important step in a morning or nightly routine, it takes away the grime of a hard day’s work, and helps some people rid themselves of stress. We don’t always think about how not everyone has easy access to…
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More Secure Than Ever Before
Urban Alliance assisted Momentum graduate, Patricia Wagoner, to achieve her goals, gain resources she needs to succeed, and helped her find a job accepting people with past felonies. Wagoner expresses how Urban Alliance gave her a fresh start, improved lifestyle, and security.
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Urban Alliance purchases property in Edison neighborhood
KALAMAZOO, MI — Urban Alliance Inc. has purchased the building it has called home since 2015, located at 1009 East Stockbridge Avenue in the city’s Edison neighborhood. Purchasing the property solidifies Urban Alliance, Inc.‘s long-term investment in the community, the organization said in a news release. “This is an ideal location for us as the…