Cultural cues can be hard to pick up on when the majority of your interaction is over the phone, but I think I have a few insights from my short time working with the Detroit community. My supervisor, who constitutes my primary mode of interaction with the community, has told me a great deal about her experiences working in Northeast Detroit. In our conversations about Detroit, I’ve noticed a pattern of optimism and perseverance. My supervisor, Pat, along with the city of Detroit are very hopeful. They believe that they can accomplish great things through hard work. It doesn’t matter that the pace of change is slow or that they’ve endured setbacks in the past, all that matters is that they keep moving forward.
The culture of Detroit emphasizes community improvement while remaining true to its roots. The workplace culture of Nortown CDC is similar. Having been around for almost three decades, Nortown and its surrounding community has seen its fair share of up’s and down’s. The important part to them is to not be discouraged.
