Mel Trotter, Next Step of West Michigan merge to support vulnerable populations

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Mel Trotter Ministries and Next Step of West Michigan announced today that the two organizations have officially merged.

The organizations have partnered and collaborated for years in supporting vulnerable populations in West Michigan, including the hungry and the homeless. Now, they have formally come together with a shared mission.

“Reducing the duplication of services and partnering to assist the same population who are experiencing hunger and homelessness in West Michigan was a driving force behind the merger,” a statement from the organization reads.

Plans are now in place to use Next Step’s manufacturing space as a location to train and employ individuals with little to no work experience. Next Step also has vacant land that will provide Mel Trotter with a space and opportunity to create affordable transitional housing.

“We believe that when organizations partner together or merge that the entire community gets better,” said Mel Trotter Ministries President and CEO Dennis Van Kampen. “Through this merger, we will become more effective stewards of donor and community resources. Most importantly, our guests will have more options and will move more quickly out of homelessness forever.”

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