Nonprofit leaders across southeast Michigan will share stories of nonprofit, government, and philanthropic sectors coming together to think bigger, solve problems, and execute transformative projects.
This series is made possible with the generous support of our partners the Michigan Nonprofit Association, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, and Co.act Detroit.
"During this crisis, I think, finally, there was a real recognition of how critical direct care workers are, especially if you look at the residential providers," says Shaindle Braunstein, CEO of JARC, a nonprofit serving individuals with developmental disabilities across Oakland County. "We were the only people standing between many people and homelessness."
"There’s so much competing for people's attention so we strive to prove that a museum like ours needs to exist. It’s sometimes an uphill battle," says AANM director Diana Abouali. "That's my job, to continue to gain people's support as we tell this multi-layered story of the Arab American experience and the history of our community.
"In caring for people, it can be a challenge when others, justifiably, want to know your measurable outcomes," says Todd Gordon, volunteer executive director of WAVE Project. "But, when somebody asks me how we're helping people not be homeless, I say, we're not. That's not why we exist. We exist to love people first."
"On an international border, we're only going to continue seeing refugees, asylum seekers and those seeking humanitarian relief," says Elizabeth Orozco-Vasquez, CEO of Freedom House Detroit. "This is a huge service we provide in the city. We need to remind people these are members of our community."
"We have a six-month waitlist for our mental health providers. We need to hire more therapists and mental health staff," says Versell Smith, Jr., executive director of The Corner Health Center in Ypsilanti. "When a young person comes forward to say, 'I need help,' we need to be able to deliver help to them that day."
"We feel we are David going up against Goliath. Our need is greater than our current capacity, and our funding is limited," says Patrick Patterson, executive director at Blue Water Recovery Outreach Center. "Many people have turned to drugs and self-harm during these lonely months of isolation. We're here to offer our community hope, what everyone needs to push forward and be successful."
As the sector faces growing complexities, many organizations are realizing their old ways of doing things are no longer working. Is now an opportunity to ask bold questions and create new visions of governance for the future?
"Justice and joy are continuing themes in our creative work," says Vickie Elmer, co-founder and executive director at Mint Artist Guild. "Creativity really does flourish in challenging times, like Mint growing all over the city and the state."
"The biggest challenge for most single families is housing," says Jeri Hunley, founder and executive director of Single Family Living. "I don't care how many people say they're making sure we have affordable housing for families. It's not true. What's considered to be affordable is a joke. Most single parents are working at least two to three jobs to provide and care for their family."
"When a school building closes, in many ways that becomes a dagger to the heart of hope for a community," says Chris Lambert, founder and CEO of Life Remodeled. "And schools don’t close overnight, but rather as the result of decades of disinvestment, which in Detroit, is directly linked to issues of systemic racism."
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