MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — An April 24 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., community members can go to the Muskegon Rescue Mission's Community Resource Center on Park Street and West Laketon Avenue to get a free copy of their birth certificate from the Muskegon County Clerk's Office.
"We saw the Rescue Mission clients as being marginalized," said Muskegon County Clerk Karen D. Buie.
Buie explains that the conversation to provide free birth certificate copies began with her predecessor Nancy Waters. The County Clerk's office and Muskegon Rescue Mission saw many people coming through their doors that did not have access to vital documents necessary for employment, housing, childcare and other basic needs.
Muskegon Rescue Mission is a homeless shelter for men, women and children that opened their Community Resource Center in March of 2023 to be a hub for connecting community members with various resources and agencies.
"A lot of the people that come through our doors are pretty transient," said Angelique Connell, director for the Community Resource Center. "They lose those vital documents, and without a birth certificate you can't get an ID, you cannot get a job."
"They don't have an address, so there's nowhere for us to send them, plus they're indigent, they don't have the money to come down and purchase a vital record," said Buie.
Buie's office and MRM decided the best way to move forward was to bring access to vital records to those in the community.
"We have an on-demand printer, and my assistant comes with me and we're able to give them their document right onsite," said Buie.
The Rescue Mission announced the free event on their Facebook page, which has been shared around 300 times.
Both Connell and Buie say it is a signal that there is a great need for vital records in the area.
"We realized that we hit a niche that had been overlooked," said Buie. "It's very important that they have these vital documents to be able to just do the simplest things that we take for granted."
Buie is hopeful that the program can grow and inspire other communities to break barriers in accessing basic needs.
"Hopefully, it will be a project that's picked up and taken from our area into other counties and communities, because homelessness is across the board," said Buie.
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