Volunteer Newsletter
It has been a super busy couple of months with lots of good stuff going on. Here is a link to our March 2026 Volunteer Coordinator newsletter.
Voices In To Frame
Over the next five weeks, we will be releasing a series of videos highlighting the voices and experiences of five Washtenaw County women who have either experienced homelessness and/or are trying to work within the system to uplift other women. We are grateful to Alfreda Rooks, Na'Esha Carter, Masharra Vawters, Kania Wright, and Shakira Nelson for inviting us into their stories.
Watch the introductory video here: Voices in to Frame Introduction
Meet Kania Wright, a very courageous, loving, and compassionate woman. Listen to her full story here.
Masharra Vawters serves as our Assistant Shelter Director. In this video, she shares her personal journey and experiences of housing insecurity and also tackles some of the stereotypes placed on Black women and the changes she has seen over the years in how Black women are learning to care for themselves.
Na'Esha Carter very powerfully shares the dilemmas single mothers face, how do I care for both myself and my kids? How do I be both a mother and a father? How do I ask for help?
Shakira Nelson shares how community violence in her neighborhood growing up led to housing insecurity. Those experiences plus others set her on a path to helping others in similar situations. Shakira serves as the Case Manager for Alpha House West.
Alfreda Rooks serves as the Alpha House Board President as well as the Director of Community Health at Michigan Medicine. Alfreda shares words of encouragement and shares her hopes that home ownership becomes a reality
for those experiencing housing insecurity.
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ATTENDED OUR GRAND OPENING!
On Tuesday, November 18, 2025, the community came together to help us launch Alpha House East
Alpha House East, is a three-way partnership between Trinity Health Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, and the Interfaith Hospitality Network at Alpha House. The new shelter has 30 individual living units with private bathrooms and capacity for up to four beds per unit.
