Week 2: Brilliant Detroit

This summer Joy and I are working at an amazing nonprofit called Brilliant Detroit. Brilliant Detroit’s main purpose is to create Kid’s Success Neighborhoods. Kids Success Neighborhoods strive to combat the achievement gap and get children in the community to reading level by third grade. To achieve this, Brilliant Detroit takes an intersectional approach to the problem. In order to make a kids success neighborhood, the organization focuses on three main areas: educational achievement, physical wellness, and general safety. One of Brilliant’s Detroit’s founding principles is “with, for, and by”. This principle means that Brilliant Detroit is not only designed for the communities they work with, but also designed with and executed by the community. Brilliant Detroit knows that, ultimately, the community knows what’s best for it’s family and neighborhood, and thus they are an integral part of developing Kids Success Neighborhoods.

In just two and a half years Brilliant Detroit has already opened homes in four of Detroit’s communities and they plan to expand into eight total neighborhoods in the next few years. With each community the development model is the same. First, Brilliant Detroit connects with community members to assess the interests and needs of the communities, allowing them to envision what they want their Brilliant Detroit to look like. If invited, Brilliant Detroit buys and renovates a home which serves as a community center that programs are run out of. In partnering with existing nonprofits, the organization implements programs for families to make the community a support network for children and families. The programming ranges from education and health services to family support and community development programs. After that pretty much all the progress is built bottom-up, as Brilliant Detroit has goal setting sessions with each family, and continues to add programming at their request. Collectively, Kids Success Neighborhoods work with children and their families to ensure everyone is prepared and committed to gaining educational achievement.

As Brilliant Detroit continues to expand, they are looking for a guidebook to maintain continuity in their work within each neighborhood. This will be our research project for the summer. This guidebook could include everything from what the renovated Brilliant Detroit house should include to specific lines of dialogue that should occur at community listening sessions. Joy and I are committed to ensuring that Brilliant Detroit continues to put local needs first, and to making our guidebook clear and accessible to all who use it.

From work to exploring the city my first week and a half in Detroit has been quite engaging. I really enjoyed getting to know the area a bit over the weekend, trying some new food and checking out some live music at Third Wave Music. After work I’ve been loving the amenities of Wayne State and even got outside to test out the sand volleyball courts. This weekend we’ve been discussing going to a drive-in movie and possibly taking a cooking class. I look forward to getting more into a routine in the next few weeks with work and to going on many new adventures!