Flint, MI – The first annual Moving You Forward Expo will steer local residents to resources they need to make a better tomorrow for themselves, Flint and Genesee County.
Metro Community Development, along with partners Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) and Huntington Bank, will present the event. The goal is to ensure all residents have the resources they need to be part of the ongoing resurgence in Flint and Genesee County and share in that prosperity.
The Expo, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Wednesday, October 9 at Kettering University from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Event organizers expect the event to draw as many as 500 participants.
“Flint and Genesee County have a wealth of community resources and service providers,” says Metro Community Development’s CEO Brian Glowiak. “The challenge for those in need is that we don’t all operate in the same space. Having so many resource providers under one roof will make it easier for Expo visitors to learn about our many different programs.”
More than 45 local service providers will be on hand to share information with local residents. Currently, many of those resources are underutilized.
“When services go unused, it’s often not due to them not being there, but because people simply don’t know about or how to access them,” says Glowiak.
Metro, and the other expo partners, are committed to helping every person who attends take full advantage of the resources that were specifically assembled to have a positive impact on Flint and Genesee County residents, and by extension, the region itself.
“The Expo is about getting ahead. It’s about giving residents access to the resources they need to take the next step so that they can continue to move forward,” Glowiak says.
The Expo will put all the information about resources families need to move forward and upward within reach.
Participants will be able to meet with financial coaches, health, housing, insurance and neighborhood resource specialists, in addition to employers, bankers, educational institutions and area nonprofits.
For example, MSHDA’s Step Forward Michigan program will be onsite to help residents use the resources available to move from renter to homeowner status and experience the economic benefits that come with home ownership.
“Home ownership is a vehicle that creates wealth-building opportunities. It’s a vehicle that people can use to create equity in their lives which can help them get their son or daughter to college, or start a business in the community,” says Van Adams, a departmental analyst and outreach specialist at MSHDA, who points out home-ownership is a gateway to economic prosperity.
“Our strength is being able to champion affordability so that no one is left behind and everyone has the opportunity to live in decent and affordable housing,” says Adams.
Expo participants can talk to MSHDA representatives about its credit repair program and how to acquire the organization’s help in getting to a place where they can purchase their own home or live in a better rental.
“Many people want to own their own home, but have challenges, whether it’s health, or credit. We want to help eliminate as many barriers to home ownership as possible,” Adams says.
Barriers of all kinds will be addressed at the upcoming Moving You Forward Opportunity Expo.
Exhibitors include:
- Burton Glen Charter Academy /Linden Charter Academy
- Chemical Bank
- City of Flint Mayor’s Office
- Communication Access Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (CAC)
- Community Housing Resource Board (CHRB)
- Consumers Energy
- Empowerment Plan
- Fifth Third Bank
- Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce
- Flint Registry – Greater Flint Health Coalition
- Genesee County Habitat for Humanity
- Genesee County Land Bank/Genesee County Treasurer’s Office
- Genesee County Metropolitan Planning Commission
- Genesee County Prevention Coalition
- Genesee Health Plan
- Genesee Health System
- Goodwill Industries of Mid Michigan
- Greater Flint Health Coalition
- GST Michigan Works!
- Hamilton Community Health Network
- HAP
- Holy Cross Services Michigan
- Home Depot
- Huntington Bank
- Hurley Medical Center
- Kettering University FIRST Robotics Team
- Legal Services of Eastern Michigan
- Metro Community Development
- MCC Workforce & Economic Development
- McLaren Flint
- Michigan State University College of Human Medicine – Flint
- Molina Healthcare
- Mott Community College (MCC)
- MSHDA – Michigan State Housing Development Authority
- Neighborhood Engagement Hub
- Oak Street Health
- Planet Fitness
- Planned Parenthood – Flint Health Center
- Ross Mortgage Corporation
- Shelter of Flint, Inc.
- Sovita Credit Union
- Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village
- UM-Flint: Office of University Outreach
- USDA Rural Development
- Wellness Services, Inc.
- YMCA of Greater Flint
- YWCA Flint