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Momentum Center
714 Columbus Ave.
Hero Story
The Momentum Center was founded in 2015 (originally called Extended Grace), a nonprofit organization with the vision of connecting people together and creating a healthier, more inclusive community for all. We started by having community conversations to normalize discussions surrounding inclusivity for marginalized populations. The theme of mental health was raised repeatedly, which led us to host regular Town Hall meetings in partnership with the City of Grand Haven, Ottawa County, Grand Haven Area Public Schools and North Ottawa Community Healthcare. Those conversations and the direct feedback from the community led to the initial concept of the Momentum Center for Social Engagement.
The Momentum Center works to create a West Michigan region where individuals from all walks of life are valued as contributors to our community. The Momentum Center for Social Engagement opened in 2017 with the goal of providing social connections and recreational opportunities for people struggling with mental health concerns, drug and alcohol addiction and disabilities. Momentum Center works to fill the gap that often exists between the person and clinical or therapeutic services by offering support, companionship and positive programming that helps individuals cope with their unique personal challenges as they seek effective solutions to their problems.
Our broader work emphasizes the social determinants of mental health so we can create a more equal and just society for everyone. These determinants include at the outermost level the social structures, policies, and economic systems that affect mental health outcomes for individuals. These systemic and social issues affect a person’s physical environment and life experiences, which cause them to exhibit certain behaviors, which then affects their mental (and physical health). By viewing all these pieces together, we’re able to get a full picture of what affects mental health and can work to reduce risk factors and help individuals heal and thrive.
We are currently serving 278 members at our Grand Haven and Holland locations. In addition to receiving services, these members spend time on a weekly basis volunteering in the community themselves. Their contributions add up to approximately 5000 hours per year.
Our members are showing statistically significant decreases in depression, anxiety and loneliness, and increases in social connectedness. We are giving people hope, meaning and purpose. We are literally saving lives. We receive some of our funding through Community Mental Health from Ottawa County’s mental health millage. We have demonstrated that we create a $4 return in investment for every millage dollar we receive.
Beyond that, we are also impacting the community through Community Conversations. For two years we convened the (Anti) Racism Task Force and hosted virtual Town Halls on Race and Racism. We continue to host free monthly Dinner and Movie Nights. And every year we celebrate Prom with a Purpose, our signature event. Not only is this our primary fundraising event each year, it is also an amazing opportunity for our members and our donors to create community together. We have led two Civil Rights Road Trips, bringing 67 people to Birmingham, Selma, Montgomery and Memphis. And we are planning our second Across the Bridge immersive experience to address the cultural and racial divide between Muskegon and the Grand Haven community. We recently completed a two-year research partnership and the data shows we are a Change Agent in the social movement against stigma in our community, influencing 20% of the area’s population at an economic value of $4.8 million/year.
This is what McKenna, member and volunteer, had to say about Momentum Center:
"I am an advocate of The Momentum Center's mission which is to create a stigma-free community. The Momentum Center has created a welcoming, accepting and kind community space for all. The positive energy radiates from its members to volunteers to staff. I try to visit The Momentum Center once a week because I always leave feeling better than when I arrived. It helps cheer me up, offers me a community of support, and is a space where I can openly discuss my mental health and not feel discouraged, discriminated against, or bullied. I am a suicide attempt survivor and The Momentum Center has given me a second home. I attempted suicide when I was fourteen years old and I've struggled with my mental health ever since especially depression, anxiety and OCD. Now, as a twenty-two-year-old young professional and college student, I feel supported by my Momentum Center community and have built a better support system of friends and family to help me achieve my goals and make sure my mental illness doesn't hold me back."
Momentum Center
714 Columbus Ave.
Hero Story
The Momentum Center was founded in 2015 (originally called Extended Grace), a nonprofit organization with the vision of connecting people together and creating a healthier, more inclusive community for all. We started by having community conversations to normalize discussions surrounding inclusivity for marginalized populations. The theme of mental health was raised repeatedly, which led us to host regular Town Hall meetings in partnership with the City of Grand Haven, Ottawa County, Grand Haven Area Public Schools and North Ottawa Community Healthcare. Those conversations and the direct feedback from the community led to the initial concept of the Momentum Center for Social Engagement.
The Momentum Center works to create a West Michigan region where individuals from all walks of life are valued as contributors to our community. The Momentum Center for Social Engagement opened in 2017 with the goal of providing social connections and recreational opportunities for people struggling with mental health concerns, drug and alcohol addiction and disabilities. Momentum Center works to fill the gap that often exists between the person and clinical or therapeutic services by offering support, companionship and positive programming that helps individuals cope with their unique personal challenges as they seek effective solutions to their problems.
Our broader work emphasizes the social determinants of mental health so we can create a more equal and just society for everyone. These determinants include at the outermost level the social structures, policies, and economic systems that affect mental health outcomes for individuals. These systemic and social issues affect a person’s physical environment and life experiences, which cause them to exhibit certain behaviors, which then affects their mental (and physical health). By viewing all these pieces together, we’re able to get a full picture of what affects mental health and can work to reduce risk factors and help individuals heal and thrive.
We are currently serving 278 members at our Grand Haven and Holland locations. In addition to receiving services, these members spend time on a weekly basis volunteering in the community themselves. Their contributions add up to approximately 5000 hours per year.
Our members are showing statistically significant decreases in depression, anxiety and loneliness, and increases in social connectedness. We are giving people hope, meaning and purpose. We are literally saving lives. We receive some of our funding through Community Mental Health from Ottawa County’s mental health millage. We have demonstrated that we create a $4 return in investment for every millage dollar we receive.
Beyond that, we are also impacting the community through Community Conversations. For two years we convened the (Anti) Racism Task Force and hosted virtual Town Halls on Race and Racism. We continue to host free monthly Dinner and Movie Nights. And every year we celebrate Prom with a Purpose, our signature event. Not only is this our primary fundraising event each year, it is also an amazing opportunity for our members and our donors to create community together. We have led two Civil Rights Road Trips, bringing 67 people to Birmingham, Selma, Montgomery and Memphis. And we are planning our second Across the Bridge immersive experience to address the cultural and racial divide between Muskegon and the Grand Haven community. We recently completed a two-year research partnership and the data shows we are a Change Agent in the social movement against stigma in our community, influencing 20% of the area’s population at an economic value of $4.8 million/year.
This is what McKenna, member and volunteer, had to say about Momentum Center:
"I am an advocate of The Momentum Center's mission which is to create a stigma-free community. The Momentum Center has created a welcoming, accepting and kind community space for all. The positive energy radiates from its members to volunteers to staff. I try to visit The Momentum Center once a week because I always leave feeling better than when I arrived. It helps cheer me up, offers me a community of support, and is a space where I can openly discuss my mental health and not feel discouraged, discriminated against, or bullied. I am a suicide attempt survivor and The Momentum Center has given me a second home. I attempted suicide when I was fourteen years old and I've struggled with my mental health ever since especially depression, anxiety and OCD. Now, as a twenty-two-year-old young professional and college student, I feel supported by my Momentum Center community and have built a better support system of friends and family to help me achieve my goals and make sure my mental illness doesn't hold me back."