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The Umoja House provides transitional housing for all migrants, refugees, asylees, and internally displaced. Those who can pay do and contribute to a pool to help subsidize those in need. Anyone can apply for assistance on our website and the pool will be dispersed on a first come first serve basis. Just a reminder: we have a dog (40lb border collie, lab mix) who loves people. She is an active member of the Umoja House community. If you have an allergy, we will try our best to accommodate you. There's not much more we can do but put this information on all digital media and listings. If you do not tell us and you do not read our listing description, we cannot be held accountable for your allergy. Stay safe and migrate - Umoja Team Since our founding in December 2021, the Umoja House guests have helped to fund 9 individuals experiencing displacement. The funding helped them leave domestic violence and trafficking and homelessness situations, and access to medical care. The Umoja House is a mutual aid initiative and our guests take great pride in supporting migrant communities. The Umoja House offers a hostel like vibe that seeks to build community in Lansing, MI. FAQ How do I get involved in supporting the community while staying at the Umoja House? We welcome guests to hold community events. Know a language? Host a language exchange. Interested in art therapy or can lead a yoga session? Let your hosts know and we will help support you. Can I have guests over? Yes, you can have guests in the house. You're responsible for your guests. Quiet time is 10pm every night. Guests with frequent overnight visitors will be asked to pay an additional fee. I'm staying long-term and need new sheets. Where do I find them? Guests are responsible for cleaning their rooms. This includes taking out the trash and washing your sheets. New sheets are usually in the bathroom. If you cannot find any, please ask your hosts. Why are there members of the public in the house? The Umoja House is a community space. It's not a traditional Airbnb. We host community events that are meant to educate the public about migration and displacement. We have community events most weekends. All events end by 10pm. Guests who need to sleep during the day are asked to request a house that matches their needs. Please let us know if you require any specific quiet times and we will try to accommodate you. We can let you know right away if it's going to be possible. Why are there noisy kids in the house? The Umoja House is a family friendly space. Many of our guests are in need of places to stay with their children. This may mean that the children are noisy or cry on occasion. Please let us know if you have a work schedule that requires you to sleep during the day and we will do our best to accommodate you. Who is eating my food? Guests are asked to put their name on their food as we have a free pantry in each house for guests who need additional nutrients. Perhaps one of our guests has just arrived from travel or work many hours to save for their new home, our free pantry helps them get through the day. A marker and tape can be found in the kitchen. All expired food will be tossed out. Where do I put the garbage? Lansing has both trash and recycling pick up. Brown bins are for recycling and blue is for trash. The trash come every Tuesday morning at 8am and recycling every other week on Tuesday mornings by 8am. If a trash can is full in the house, please take it outside to the appropriate receptacle. Common arears are cleaned weekly but guests are still responsible for taking out the trash between cleanings. Why did I get a parking ticket? There's parking in the driveways and also free street parking. You can get a parking ticket if you do not pull all the way up to the top of the drive or if your car is blocking the sidewalk. Blocking the sidewalks also prevents our neighbors from using the public sidewalk. Continued disrespect to our community may result in being asked to leave. You can also get a parking ticket if you don't park with traffic. If you have any questions about parking, please let's know. Why did I receive a cleaning fee? We care about our guests and we want to ensure that they have a clean and comfortable space to live in. One where they feel respected and supported. To respect other guests, you're expected to clean dishes immediately after use. You will receive a $35 cleaning fee if you do not clean your dishes within 24 hours of being asked. Party or vomit clean up is an automatic $120 cleaning fee. Flushing anything other than toilet paper in the toilet which results in a Plummer coming to the property will result in a $275 fee. I smoke, is that a problem? Smokers are welcome at Umoja House but will have to smoke outside near an ashtray. Guests who do not use the designated ashtrays or smoke inside the house will be asked to leave and receive a cleaning fee of ($125). About Host: Lansing, Michigan born and raised, Charla went on to graduate from Michigan State University in Global Studies with a minor in French and migration. While serving in refugee camps in West Africa and the Middle East, she came back to the US to complete a PhD. While studying, they started the Migration Alliance and Partnership (MAP) Network. As a result of these efforts, she was honored with the University’s Excellence in Community Engagement and Leadership Award by the University of Massachusetts Boston. Today, Charla is the founder and operator of the Umoja (meaning Unity in Swahili) House that's home to international scholars, refugees, asylees, internally displaced persons, and migrants of all kinds.