KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A Kalamazoo-based non-profit that handles public defender services for the county court system has been awarded $1.3 million from the state to expand mental health services for justice involved individuals in Kalamazoo County.
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity this week announced a MI Impact Grant for Kalamazoo Defender, Inc.
Kalamazoo Defender was among 10 large nonprofits receiving one-time grant funds of up to $2 million to create or expand programming that lifts Michiganders out of poverty. The grant program prioritized partnerships with larger nonprofits that share the state’s commitment to providing services that help lift Michigan residents out of poverty and above the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) threshold.
Kalamazoo Defender provides resources for housing, mental health, general health, disabilities, addiction, literacy, life skills, job training, civil legal services, job placement and peer-based support for those going through the criminal justice system.
The nonprofit will use the grant to address and document issues of mental health among their service population. The grant will also enable them “to build internal expertise to significantly expand therapeutic support for those clients, gather reliable data on the prevalence and nature of that population’s mental health challenges and coordinate with local experts to fashion healthier systemic approaches within and beyond the criminal justice system,” according to a press release from the state.
According to Kalamazoo Defender, Inc. Executive Director Josh Hilgart, “Each year, Kalamazoo Defender represents thousands of impoverished individuals who cannot afford an attorney, most of whom struggle with mental health issues that keep them mired in the criminal justice system. The benefits of Kalamazoo Defender’s Michigan Impact Grant will extend well beyond our county, as we hope to share what we learn with other indigent defense programs and mental health experts across the state.”
The funding is supported through the American Rescue Plan Act, Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
