NFL running back Melvin Gordon and his family are working to build community support to launch a new initiative to fight homelessness in Kenosha, Gordon's hometown.
"We're going to try to eradicate homelessness in Kenosha but it's going to take a community effort," said Gordon's uncle, Jerry Jones Tuesday.
The family is in the process of starting a new non-profit to be called "1st Step Housing and Family Services," according to Jones.
The agency would specialize in creating new transitional living options. With the help of existing non-profits and local government, First Step wants to explore building a small community of unused shipping containers that would be converted into tiny homes. It's something that's been done successfully in other communities. First Step would also like to acquire and renovate existing properties, he said.
"There are a lot of landlords that are slum landlords who are abusing the system," Jones said, adding that many families are just a couple of paychecks away from homelessness and find it difficult to make rent or buy property.
Family members, including Gordon's mother, have met with officials from the Shalom Center and the City of Kenosha, as well as Kenosha County Human Services Director John Jansen. A meeting with Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser is scheduled for next week.
Jones had high praise for the work of the Shalom Center, but said the agency's new facility on 39th Ave. is close at times to already being full.
Achieving a strong level of community support is a key, Jones said. A bowling fundraiser is already scheduled for the weekend of Jan. 13th at Guttormsen Recreation Center on Green Bay Road.
The goal over the next few months is to raise $1 million.
While family members are holding a series of meetings in Kenosha, Gordon and his representatives in Los Angeles--he plays for the Los Angeles Chargers-- are talking about the initiative with Gordon's corporate sponsors to see what they can do.
The family's efforts to stem homelessness in Kenosha grew out of family conversations, Jones said. "We're a close-knit family," he said. "People may think when Melvin comes home we're all sitting around talking about football but we don't--it rarely comes up."
Lest their be any doubt, Melvin Gordon is serious about wanting to eradicate the problem of homelessness in Kenosha and isn't jumping into the effort lightly with little thought, Jones said.
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