GRAND HAVEN — Momentum Center's Vous Cafe in Grand Haven offers the perfect cozy escape with hot chocolate, warm tea, coffee and delicious baked goods. 

But beyond the tasty treats, it's the welcoming staff who truly make the cafe a special place to visit.

The Momentum Center, a social and recreational events-based nonprofit, recently reopened its Vous Cafe at 401 N. Seventh St., the former Rendezvous Family Dining.

The nonprofit, which also has a location in Holland, is geared toward those with mental illness, disability and addiction. 

The cafe aims to provide training and employment opportunities for individuals with and without disabilities, furthering the Momentum Center's mission to create an inclusive community.  The cafe is open from 9 a.m.-noon, Tuesday-Friday. Food trucks are onsite on Friday 11 a.m.-3 p.m. through Aug. 8.

Barbara Lee VanHorssen, the center’s experi-mentor, said the cafe, which is run by six of its members, allows them to hone their skills and work on customer service and social interaction. 

The members are volunteers and the cafe only takes donations for the baked goods and beverages.

“The biggest motivation for the cafe was to bring people into the (Momentum Center) and show the public a lovely, warm atmosphere,” VanHorssen said. "We want to break down stereotypes and the stigma around disabilities and mental illness.”

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VanHorssen said the cafe serves as a welcoming space for social integration and a "soft entry" into the center's broader services, which include arts and crafts, yoga, cooking and baking classes. 

“We really encourage people to come in to visit with those who want the public to know how important it is to them,” she said. 

The Momentum Center in Holland is making an exciting move, VanHorssen said. It was currently housed at the Community Action House at 739 Paw Paw Drive, but has since moved into Central Park Church, 614 Myrtle Ave.

An open house is planned for 4-6 p.m. Monday, July 21. 

A tumultuous journey

The move comes after a tumultuous two years for the Momentum Center after the former Ottawa Impact majority of the county board of commissioners tried to defund the social recreational program altogether in 2023.

The far-right group originally formed over their shared anger about school mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it eventually championed other issues, including attempts to defund the Momentum Center through Ottawa County's Community Mental Health Board of Directors in September 2023.

Although OI commissioners who sat on the CMH board at the time heavily criticized the Momentum Center over unsubstantiated claims of inappropriate conduct and the center's focus on social determinants, the board majority couldn't find a way to single out the center without jeopardizing the funding of three other social recreational programs it also funds.

Read More: Ottawa CMH delays $727K in funding as Momentum Center debate continues

Read More: CMH leverages OI absence to grant six-month funding extension to social programs

In December 2023, all four programs received six months of funding. The Momentum Center's roughly $250,000 contract with the county comprises about 43 percent of the organization’s budget. The other programs receive:

• Heritage Homes Inc., $216,000
• Indian Trails Camp, IKUS Life Enrichment, $138,499.92
• Pioneer Resources, $81,364.72

All four organizations rely on the county's mental health millage as their primary source of funding, according to budget details. In March 2016, Ottawa County voters approved a 10-year mental health millage, which generates an estimated $3.2 million annually.

Another funding extension was approved for all in June 2024, with the board saying all four programs had to reapply and be approved via the RFP process for continued millage funding after Sept. 30.

The center was funded again for the 2025 fiscal year for $250,000, which ends in September.

— Heather VanDyke covers northern Ottawa County for the Ottawa News Network. Contact her at newsroom@ottawanewsnetwork.org. Sarah Leach is the executive editor of the Ottawa News Network. Contact her at sleach@ottawanewsnetwork.org. Follow her on Twitter @ONNLeach.