Dear Leah,
Summer of 2017 will be the summer where you learn and experience a lot. Though you aren’t quite sure about what you want to do career wise, you know that you are very interested in public health and you expect the Detroit community Based Research Program (DCBRP) to help you gain experience in solving public health issues and to guide you in choosing a career. You expect this program to open your mind to problems in the community that you are unfamiliar with. You also expect to gain a new love for Detroit. Though you were born and raised in Detroit you still have much to learn about the city and you believe that this program will allow you to explore midtown and all parts of Detroit and help you to gain a better understanding of its history and current situation. Through the DCBRP you hope to gain lifelong friends, nonprofit work experience, public health research, and a new and enlightened perspective of Detroit. You hope to have an amazing summer while giving back to the community of Detroit .
In the DCBRP you work for the Osborne Neighborhood Alliance where you intend to use the little knowledge you have of health and environment to help solve issues in the Osborne community dealing with Feeder schools. You intend to get involved with the residents of the community in order to understand what they need and want and what is best for the community. You also intend to use your researching skills that you gained from UROP to learn more about feeder schools and public health problems and to discover what you can do to help solve them.
Your current perspective of Detroit is that Detroit is your hometown that you have watched grow and continue to grow all of your life. Detroit is a city with so much potential and you love the progress that you see though you acknowledge that more progress needs to be made in more important areas like education, housing, and crime prevention rather than just the downtown area for tourists. Yesterday you found out that one of your family’s favorite vegan restaurants in midtown was shutdown because the rent on the restaurant was raised (because of the popular location) and the restaurant owners weren’t able to afford the rent anymore. This made you upset because you loved that restaurant and it wasn’t fair for the owners to be priced out. Problems like this suggests that not all changes going on in Detroit is benefitting all of its people, especially the native detroiters. You are excited to see what your perspective will be at the end of the DCBRP!
Sincerely,
Leah
Hey Leah, I loved reading your letter! I especially appreciated your story at the end about the restaurant that meant so much to you and is now gone. It was a really nice way to tie together what you will be working on throughout the summer and why community based research is so important. Looking forward to talking to you more this summer! =)
I definitely agree that not all change has been good change in the city. Much of the positive entries by businesses and residents have left others voiceless. Work in the neighborhoods like you are doing is important to improve the quality of life for all Detroiters. Making it possible for one community like Osborn to have their concerns heard should indeed have a ripple effect on the relationship between neighborhoods and the city. Look forward to hearing how the rest of your work unfolds.
Hey Leah! I’m interested in public health as well so it’s cool to hear about other work being done in the area. I’d love to talk more with you about it sometime! I’m really interested in how education can be used to address public health issues and it seems like what you’re doing is really going to be beneficial to the community. Excited to get to know you more this summer!