People living with mental illness face stigma on a daily basis. When children develop a mental illness, parents face this stigma right along with them. Here's how parents and local caregivers work to treat and support these children in this Special Report from Michigan Nightlight.

On September 20, Local First announced Good For Michigan, an expansion of its Good for Grand Rapids initiative across the state.

Kent County’s 50,176 immigrants contributed $3.3 billion to the county’s gross domestic product in 2016. Here's how these community members are making a huge impact on the local economy.

Because of its work for equity, Grand Rapids has been chosen as one of 12 cities to join the National League of Cities (NLC) Cities of Opportunity initiative. 

Many West Michigan Native Americans find culturally-specific treatment at the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Health Clinic on State St. NE., where they take advantage of free health and dental care, as well as a community eager to rally around Michigan American Indians with support rooted in a shared cultural perspective.

At the age of 18, Amy Acton suffered from an electrical burn. She reveals that "I often found myself wondering why this happened, why I survived and the other person didn’t, and how I could help prevent something like this from ever happening again." Now, serving as Executive Director of Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, Amy uses her experience as inspiration — highlighting the importance of peer support in every burn survivor's recovery process.

Last week, we explored how local advocates are working to conserve native plants. This week, check out how powerful partnerships and education are helping make this happen.

The West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is stepping in to provide those skills  —in Spanish. Thanks to up to $94,628 in support from the City of Grand Rapids’ Economic Development Corporation (EDC), “Transformando West Michigan Phase I: Feeding Minds, Mouths and Pockets” is currently working with 21 representatives from 11 existing food businesses to provide essential skills for a successful owner of a food business.