Hi there! This past weekend a few of us from Brilliant Detroit went to an event called Blight Bootcamp. The event all together consisted of a few organizations from around the community with tables. Mostly served as networking opportunities, the tables were busy with interactions connecting their organizations to others. A few interesting organizations we came across were committed to everything from recycling, to educating people on all the schools in the Detroit Public Schools System. The recycling organization (though I can’t remember it’s name) delivered a city recognized recycling bin to family’s homes free of cost! The school educator had not only a thorough booklet but was also working to launch their information online. Brilliant Detroit also had a table to help connect with other partners. At our table we were giving out books for children, calendars for the events at all of our houses, and informing people about what Brilliant Detroit does for a mission. We got to connect with some cool individuals that worked at Learning Labs that might direct kids toward our centers and general parents who might partake in events.
The second part of the event was a keynote speaker. The man who spoke, Henry McClendon, was a Cass Tech alum and works with the International Institute for Restorative Practices. While I was familiar with Restorative Justice, its distinction from Restorative Practices was a new concept for me. It was interesting to hear him apply restorative practices to blight, calling bad relationships another type of blight. All in all, I think that examining how relationships impact our environment is an important step but we also need to examine the legal barriers that are enforcing this cycle of poverty as well.
