The community organization I’m working with is Focus: HOPE. Founded after the Detroit Riots in 1967, Focus: HOPE’s mission is to fight racism in practical ways. Over the years, they have developed various job training and food security programs. Personally, I will be working mostly with their Hope Village Initiative (HVI), which is a holistic approach to empowering the 100-block area surrounding Focus: HOPE. It’s not necessarily clear what my role or research will be, but I will be focussing mostly on the HVI. So far, it seems like I will be helping to compile existing data into one, easy to use dashboard, and to add more data to the dashboard.
My first week in Detroit has been great. I’ve spent a significant amount of my time in the kitchen cooking, but have also had a really great time seeing the city with the people I’ve met. We’ve seen a lot, had a good time around Wayne State, and done things that I haven’t done in the city in the past. In terms of Focus: HOPE, the people there are showing me a true passion for the city that I have never really seen before. They are passionate about everything they do and will not stop at anything to fight for their community. I went to a meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals to fight violations of a Dollar Tree that is to be built on a street in the Hope Village. It was just a dollar store, but they fought to ensure that it would be THE BEST dollar store in the City.
Hope we get a fridge soon. And hope we keep having a good time, excited to see more this weekend!
Sounds like it has been fun! Hope we can hangout at Wayne State soon sounds like you do a lot of fun things in the area!