Artists sought for NEMCSA housing poster contest
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ALPENA -- Sketch artists, painters, photographers and anyone with an eye for art is invited to enter a poster contest put on by Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency.
The poster content should focus on homelessness or housing-related issues. It should catch the viewer's eye and draw them into the subject.
The contest submission deadline is Aug. 31.
Courtney Holmes is a housing resource specialist in the homeless and prevention department for NEMCSA.
"This idea came from a committee within our organization," Holmes explained. "This is a subcommittee within Northeast Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness."
She explained that calling for local artists is a way to get more people to learn about all the housing resources available through NEMCSA.
"The goal is really to get the word out to the community about what we do, who we can serve, how we can help, and any resources people might be eligible for."
She said inviting the community to participate in the poster contest will not only help illustrate the mission, but it will help educate the community about all the available resources.
"We're hoping that participants will tap into some of their own creativity and really turn it into whatever they want it to look like," Holmes said. "We don't have a ton of guidelines. We just want people to get creative and learn about us and help spread the word."
NEMCSA's homeless and prevention department has a lot of great resources that the community may not be aware of, Holmes said.
"We can assist with rent, we can assist with security deposits," she said. "Right now we have extra funds to be able to assist with back rent and back utilities."
That is an additional pot of money through CERA (COVID Emergency Rental Assistance) program.
"We can connect with partner agencies, or with other partners within our agency, and offer resources like food resources, or laundry vouchers through Salvation Army, or Goodwill vouchers to do some shopping," she added.
The homeless and prevention department of NEMCSA serves 11 counties: Cheboygan and Otsego; COOR counties of Crawford, Oscoda, Ogemaw and Roscommon; and the northeast counties of Presque Isle, Montmorency, Alpena, Alcona and Iosco.
"Last month we served 21 households and helped them resolve their homelessness," Holmes said.
They provided rental assistance to 92 households, and 100 households were prevented from eviction.
"The breakdown for that is, within Cheboygan and Otsego, we served 62 families," Holmes noted. "In our COOR counties, we served 53 families, and in our northeast counties, we served 98 families."
She added that the department has great partnerships with area agencies such as Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, The Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul, and Goodwill, among others.
"Safe and affordable housing is a right, not a privilege," Holmes said. "And we work every day to try to bring that to our community. We're trying to make sure that we can offer services to make sure that right is equitable for all."
Poster contest submissions and questions can be sent to housing_resource_specialists.org. For more information, visit NEMCSA's website or call the central intake number at 989-358-4700.