The group Housing North is trying to connect people who need a place to live with those who have places for rent.
The Traverse City-based nonprofit launched an online platform to help connect the two. It’s called the Housing Exchange.
Executive Director Yarrow Brown says they’re hoping to attract a wide variety of resources.
“It can also include somebody deciding they wanted to rent a studio apartment above their garage, or encouraging people to consider ways they could create housing within an existing house already,” Brown said. "If you did want to share a space with somebody, there are some resources there to help you consider that."
The hope is that it will be one more place for people to connect with each other.
Housing is scarce in northern Michigan, but Brown says she thinks the region is getting better at addressing the problem.
“And I am hopeful," she said. "I do think it’s still going to take time to see a lot of those changes and to see a lot of that impact, but we are already seeing progress in the amount of units that are coming online. We do really need to attract developers that will build that housing on that lower income spectrum, or just for those that will actually match the wages that people are making here.”
