Now that we\u2019ve spent more time at our sites, we\u2019re beginning to become more familiar with the work of our non-profits, the daily routines and our mentors\u2019 roles in their communities. There is still much to learn, of course, but it is reassuring to be comfortable with at least some of the tasks we have worked on for the past few weeks. While I would love to sit down and interview my mentor more formally, there\u2019s just not enough time in the day. Instead, I might share a brief background of her life and work based on the information that I\u2019ve gathered through various conversations with her since I began working at the Nortown Community Development Corporation (NCDC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My mentor, Pat Bosch, is from a Polish family that originally settled in Hamtramck. Pat, herself, was raised first in Southeast Detroit before her family moved to Northeast Detroit when she was still young. She\u2019s said several times now that one of the things that struck her the most about the move was that the air was so fresh and clean in Northeast Detroit. All the industry that existed in the more developed Southeast Detroit was not occupying space in the Northeast sect of Detroit yet. Even in this (perhaps) less developed part of the city, Pat described to me the presence of Detroit\u2019s streetcars. To her, they were reliable, professional and extensive, reaching as far as Port Huron. Although they were dismantled soon after her family moved to Northeast Detroit, Pat and many of her colleagues that I\u2019ve met in meetings and calls are eager to historically describe their district with pride. I\u2019ve caught myself trying to imagine the numerous shops, theaters and restaurants they affectionately reminisce about. I\u2019ve also seen many of the abandoned schools that were once full. It is clear that Pat\u2019s determination to remain active in her district is fueled by her long-time residency and relationship with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pat has participated in the field of community work for a long time. She is the Executive Director of the NCDC and has been since it was founded in 1991. As a result, much of her work has to do with the non-profit. Over time, she\u2019s acquired land and developed close to one-hundred low income homes for rent. She\u2019s worked to recognize the history of the area by making plans to revitalize historic landmarks such as the Norris Home (the Village of Norris once existed in this part of Detroit and was founded by a man named Philetus Norris who also served as the second superintendent of Yellowstone National Park). She has spent time trying to create community spaces, such as the Conner Creek Greenway, which is the bike path going from Northeast Detroit down to the Maheras Gentry Park on the riverfront. Her community-building efforts have led her to build or support groups like DECC (Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative) and NEDBA (Northeast Detroit Business Association). They have also led her to collaborate with existing groups led by other community leaders. Her network is extensive and her name is well-known in the area. She mentions that many of her connections in the neighborhood have since passed away or become too old to participate in the action, so it\u2019s impressive to me to see all the people she still has in her loop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The experience of working for Pat has taught me many things. Progress takes time and the collective work of many people. Knowing<\/em> the people you are working with and\/or for is crucial. As Raquel Garcia said in her guest lecture last week, canvassing allows you to get to know your community in a way that is not replaceable. One of the first major tasks I had was to distribute flyers for a NEDBA meeting to businesses all around the neighborhood. I met many individuals, engaged in both short and long conversations and likely had one of the greatest jumps of learning in all the time I\u2019ve been here. I am thankful for Pat\u2019s guidance and am excited to see what new lessons I will learn from her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Now that we\u2019ve spent more time at our sites, we\u2019re beginning to become more familiar with the work of our non-profits, the daily routines and our mentors\u2019 roles in their communities. There is still much to learn, of course, but it is reassuring to be comfortable with at least some of the tasks we have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4430,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/dcerp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/dcerp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/dcerp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/dcerp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4430"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/dcerp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18332"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/dcerp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18488,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/dcerp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18332\/revisions\/18488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/dcerp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/dcerp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/dcerp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}