The Newberry Homes revitalization project in the Southwest Detroit’s Chadsey-Condon neighborhood just got a $2.5 million leg up. The gift is from Judith Yaker, widow real estate developer Sam Yaker, will establish the Sam L. and Judith Yaker Fund. It will help more people become homeowners and revitalize an eight block area of the neighborhood. […]
by Steve Palackdharry Walter Zalenski is beginning his new career as a truck driver. He is 57 years old, and is four months removed from a prison term. “After being cooped up for six years, the idea of the open road is very appealing to me,” Walter says. He has been hired by a trucking […]
You can catch the animated movie “Coco” for free on Sept. 7. It will be shown at Vista Partnership, 3553 Vernor Hwy. W, former home of St. Anthony Church. There will be Spanish subtitles food, popcorn, community resources, and arts and crafts. The event begins at 7:30PM with refreshments/arts and crafts. We suggest arriving early […]
The City of Detroit has launched community engagement plan that it hopes will results in sustainable actions to improve the quality of life, provide greater economic opportunities, protect public health, and address climate impacts in the city. The City is not going it alone. It is committed to taking input from at least 7,000 Detroiters […]
Retiring Southwest Solutions CEO John Van Camp took part in his first “sit-in” for social justice when he was just 10 years old. His family had moved from Detroit to an apple farm in Romeo around 1948. There was little interracial contact in the city, so his mom Dorothy, a social activist, formed an interracial […]
by Steve Palackdharry At work, Juanita Guevara feels like a different person. Ironically, it’s because it lets her feel the same as others, who do their jobs as well as they can to earn a living. “Work helps me focus and set aside my sadness and anxiety,” says Guevara. “I feel healthier, both mentally and […]
by Steve Palackdharry Elfido and Kim Castillo are a young couple with deep roots in southwest Detroit. “We’ve lived here our whole lives, and this is where we want to stay,” Elfido says. “We believe the area is getting better, and we want to be part of helping it improve.” Elfido grew up in the […]
by Steve Palackdharry Though he cannot afford a car of his own as he rebuilds his life, Burney Cochran works as a delivery driver. Every weekday he takes the long bus rides between his apartment in southwest Detroit and Wolverine Solutions Group on the east side. Working for Wolverine, Burney drives about 90 miles on […]
It has been said a quilt will warm your body and comfort your soul. That’s why some of the women in Southwest Solutions’ sewing class in southwest Detroit and women (and five men) got together to make quilts for those less fortunate. The program is called “Stitches of Love.” They began crocheting the 8-by-8 inch […]
It sits empty, but not forgotten. Neighborhood locals and business leaders have big dreams for “Vernor Crossing,” the former southwest Detroit Department of Public Works yard at 6370 Vernor Highway near Livernois Avenue. Led by the Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA), research projects a multi-million-dollar makeover of the seven-acre site could transform it from eyesore […]