Washtenaw Housing Alliance

Our Mission: To end homelessness in our community.

Our Vision: Every person who is homeless or at risk of homelessness will be provided with alternatives for shelter, housing and services, including those who are vulnerable and difficult to serve.

The Washtenaw Housing Alliance is a unique coalition of over 30 non-profit and government entities that are committed to ending homelessness in our community. The WHA facilitates, encourages, and monitors this work by providing training and technical assistance to providers to support innovation and best practices, advocating for the needs of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and supporting the development of more permanently affordable housing.

In 2004, WHA members joined together with the cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County to create “A Home for Everyone: The Blueprint to End Homelessness,” our vision of what it will take to end homelessness in Washtenaw County. The WHA’s work focuses on the primary goals of The Blueprint: More Housing with Services, Reforming the System of Care, and Engaging the Community.

In order to end homelessness, it is imperative that all members of the community, individuals, institutions, and government participate in the effort. The Washtenaw Housing Alliance models this community partnership by consisting of a wide range of organizations dedicated to helping people who are homeless and those who are in danger of losing their housing. We work to fulfill our mission through collaboration and partnerships that address root causes of homelessness, and by making needed systemic changes that will sustain over time.

Advocacy is one of our many guiding principles. As such, we affirm that direct services to the people experiencing homelessness includes advocacy, and that the work of the WHA includes changing institutional policies and practices, training of professionals, policy and legislative change, educating funders, and raising hell when necessary.