A Place to Call Home: A Unique Housing Partnership in the Heart of Lansing

In Lansing’s Eastfield neighborhood, an ongoing duplex rehabilitation is more than your typical construction project – it’s a powerful collaboration between local nonprofits, a faith community, and families working toward a more inclusive future.

Thanks to a generous donation of property by University of Michigan Health-Sparrow, renovation  is underway on a new home for  members of Lansing Intentional Communities (LINCS), a nonprofit that supports young adults with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. The duplex will be completed in partnership with The Peoples Church of East Lansing and Habitat for Humanity Capital Region, with the support of dozens of volunteers and faith leaders working side by side to make it happen.

This home was also recently the site of Women Build 2025, Habitat Capital Region’s annual initiative empowering women to take action in their communities. The duplex is expected to be completed in August and will represent the third completed home in a growing network of LINCS residences in the area.

“The Peoples Church is delighted to partner with Habitat for Humanity and LINCS on this special project,” said Rev. Dr. Shawnthea Monroe, Senior Pastor of The Peoples Church. “Not only will this project expand the capacity of the LINCS program, but it offers the members of Peoples Church the chance to put our faith into action to help people in need. That's what the Christian faith is all about.”

For families involved in LINCS, the stakes are meaningful and deeply personal. The nonprofit was born from a grassroots effort more than a decade ago, led by parents searching for a safe, stable, and socially connected future for their adult children with developmental disabilities. Traditional housing options often left these young adults isolated, or in environments that were overly restrictive. LINCS emerged with a vision: to create integrated, affordable housing rooted in community support and independence.

“This gift allows us to offer affordable, safe housing within a caring community to additional residents," said Mary Douglass, LINCS board member and parent of a current resident. "More importantly, we will achieve a major goal of providing housing to an on-site ‘community builder’—a neurotypical peer who will support residents within the LINCS community and help them stay connected to the world around them.”

This innovative model helps LINCS residents form meaningful relationships with one another and their neighbors. It also helps them thrive with greater independence, while providing peace of mind for families. The rehabilitated duplex will bring LINCS closer to its long-term goal: a sustainable, supportive residential network where adults with disabilities can lead full and vibrant lives well into the future. LINCS hopes this residential network becomes a model that parent groups in other regions can emulate.

The effort represents a larger movement to transform Eastfield from a once-overlooked area into a vibrant hub of housing and opportunity. With the donation of five properties in the neighborhood by UM Health-Sparrow, projects like this duplex are helping to restore both buildings and a sense of community.

“We love this collaboration between our nonprofits and the faith community, along with residents, their families, and other community members, to solve real-world problems faced by some of our most vulnerable citizens,” added Douglass. “We can achieve so much more together.”

Since April, volunteers from The Peoples Church and the LINCS community have been gathering weekly to work on the duplex’s renovation. Alongside these organizations’ efforts, it also takes the generous support of our corporate partners, volunteers, and community members to turn opportunity into reality. 

Help us build affordable housing in your community by donating or volunteering.