If your loved one has been taken to North Lake Processing Center, we know that figuring out what to do next can feel overwhelming. Hope for Neighbors is here to help you understand some of the practical steps you can take and connect you with available support.
Contact us
Hope for Neighbors may be able to help with visitation, commissary support, transportation, and reviewing your loved one’s situation for possible legal referrals.
CALL: 616-259-6686
EMAIL: admin.hopeforneighborsmi@gmail.com
When contacting us, please include your loved one’s full name and A-number, if you have it. This helps us identify them and determine how we may be able to assist.
Visiting Your Loved One
North Lake allows in-person visitation on designated days and times. Visitation hours can change, so we recommend confirming the current schedule before making the trip, as well as reviewing North Lake’s visitation and security procedures.
Hope for Neighbors volunteers also regularly visit individuals detained at North Lake. If your loved one would appreciate visits from our volunteers, please fill out the following request form (you will need to know their A-number and cell block to complete the form):
Phone Calls and Messages — GettingOut
North Lake uses GettingOut for electronic communication between detained individuals and their loved ones.
Through the GettingOut app or website, you can create an account, add your loved one as a contact, exchange messages, and add funds to their communication account.
When adding funds, be sure you are depositing money into the correct account. Funds intended for phone calls and electronic communication are different from commissary funds.
Commissary — Access Corrections
North Lake uses Access Corrections for commissary deposits. Commissary funds allow your loved one to purchase approved items available inside the facility.
You can create an Access Corrections account, locate your loved one using their identifying information, and make a deposit online.
No. Hope for Neighbors is a faith-rooted volunteer organization focused on providing compassionate, practical support to people affected by immigration detention.
As an organization, Hope for Neighbors does not endorse particular politicians or political candidates, and we do not participate in or organize protests.
Our focus is simple: loving our neighbors.
We do that in practical ways—visiting people who are detained, supporting families, providing transportation, helping with commissary needs, writing letters, connecting people with available resources, and walking alongside individuals and families during an incredibly difficult time.
Our volunteers come from many different backgrounds and perspectives. What brings us together is our commitment to treating every person with dignity, compassion, and respect.
Yes. Hope for Neighbors operates as a 501(c)(3) ministry under Mosaic Church of Grand Rapids, MI, so donations made to Hope for Neighbors through Mosaic Church are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
You can choose the fund that you would like your donation to support:
Supports Hope for Neighbors ongoing ministries and practical needs such as commissary funds for our neighbors.
Helps eligible neighbors who have been granted bond but need financial assistance to return home to their families and communities.
Helps provide financial assistance for legal services for eligible neighbors when funds are available.
Thank you for helping us continue this work. Every gift helps us provide practical support to our neighbors and their families.
We would love to help you find a way to get involved!
There are many ways to volunteer with us, and you do not need to have experience with immigration issues or speak a second language to make a difference.
Our volunteers help with areas such as visitation, transportation, letter writing, family support, commissary needs, and other practical needs as they arise.
To connect about volunteering, please fill out the form at the link below. We’ll help you learn more about Hope for Neighbors, complete the appropriate orientation or training, and find an area that fits your interests and availability.
Churches and community groups can play an incredibly important role in supporting our neighbors and their families. There are many ways to partner with us depending upon your group’s size, interests, and resources.
A church or group might:
- Sponsor a neighbor by regularly providing commissary support, writing letters, and building a relationship through visitation.
- “Adopt” a family with a loved one detained at North Lake by helping with transportation to visits, groceries, appointments, or other practical needs during the family’s time of separation.
- Invite Pastor Dale to speak at a worship service, meeting, class, or community event to share about immigration detention at North Lake and the work Hope for Neighbors is doing. To do so, please fill out the form here.
- Organize a fundraiser to support our General, Bond, or Legal Funds.
- Provide volunteers for visitation, transportation, letter writing, family support, or other Hope for Neighbors ministries.
- Pray with us and for our neighbors, their families, our volunteers, and everyone affected by immigration detention.
Partnerships don’t have to look the same for every church or organization. We would be happy to talk with your group about its interests and find a meaningful way to serve together. Interested in partnering with us?