Ally Financial invests in Dearborn Heights nonprofit to provide affordable housing
DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Investing in affordable housing and home ownership in Metro Detroit is something Ally Financial is committed to.
The company has donated millions of dollars to organizations throughout Metro Detroit, like Dearborn Heights social services nonprofit Vista Maria, an organization providing mental health services, foster care, and care for survivors of human trafficking.
Kelly Small is the president of Vista Affordable Housing Programs. Small says Vista Maria's on-campus transitional housing consists of two initiatives - one that operates in a group home setting, serving teens ages 16 to 19, and the other helps address the specific needs of young people who have aged out of the foster care system.
"The work we do here really is mission-driven," Kelly Small said. "Through a continuum of care, we provide those services and programs in a residential and community setting."
To continue that progress, Vista Maria relies on dollars from community partners like Ally Financial.
Mike Rizer, executive director of corporate citizenship at Ally Financial, says the bank wants to help increase access to affordable housing.
This month, Ally announced more than $4 million in grants and investments to be dispersed among organizations in both Detroit and Charlotte. Vista Maria is one of those beneficiaries.
"We're bringing some dollar resources to the table," Rizer said. "They're bringing human capital and solutions and ideas. So, we really look at it as a partnership.
"If you have a place to put your head at night, a roof over your head, then it makes the other issues in your life much more manageable."