OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Ottawa County's Momentum Center is launching a pilot program aimed at reaching more people in rural areas.
The goal is to keep folks from slipping between the cracks. The center has a bus that's small in size.
"We take our members on outings into the community, that can be anything from grocery shopping, to go into a park to miniature golf, going out to eat, you name it," Momentum Center Founder and Experi-Mentor Barbara Lee VanHorssen said.
But this bus has a big impact on the Ottawa County community.
"At least once a month, we go further away, Meijer Gardens, sporting event, the zoo or, something that people wouldn't normally have access to," Lee VanHorssen said.
The Momentum Center was founded in 2015 and has grown.
Momentum Center is a grassroots nonprofit, creating a community where every person is fully visible and connected. We do that in a couple of ways. One is by operating the social and recreational program where we provide activities events for people who have a mental illness, addictions and disabilities," Lee VanHorssen added.
A recent state grant will expand the center's reach to others in the community. Thanks to a partnership between the Ottawa Health Equity Council grant program and the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance, this bus will be heading out more.
"There's a lot of people who live outside of the transportation system for harbor transit," Lee VanHorssen added.
The Momentum Center currently has 270 members. Its founder says she believes there are more out there.
"What's exciting about this is to be able to fill the bus with new faces, people who haven't been able to connect and take advantage of the resource," Lee VanHorssen said.
The nonprofit intends to take the bus out of the parking lot and hit the road by mid-to-late March. Lee VanHorssen says they plan to offer the bus twice a week for the next three months.
"What kind of increase there might be in the use of our services if the barrier of transportation is taken away," she added.
Lee VanHorssen adds the hope is to make more people feel connected to the community.
"We have all kinds of therapists who are further there are patients to us, where for their behavior, a whole script, a place where they can get their nutrition needs or exercise needs, and their positive community needs met," Lee VanHorssen said.
The Momentum Center requires a membership, but the fee is only a dollar for the entire year. A millage does supplement costs for the Momentum Center. That millage does run out in 2026.
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