DABO Detroit works to bridge gaps for Black residents

As Rev. Horace Sheffield III is wrapping up a business call, Chantel Watkins is confirming numerous appointments on the day’s itinerary: this is a small glimpse of the day-to-day at DABO Detroit. “DABO (Detroit Association of Black Organizations) was born out of my father’s sense of how other ethnic minority communities operated,” said Sheffield. “They have a structure by which they make consensual decisions about what needs to be addressed in their communities and they do that by creating the federation of their organizations.”

Sheffield, who is the father of Detroit’s first female mayor, Mary Sheffield, has been an influential figure in Detroit for over 40 years. He’s the Pastor of New Destiny Christian Fellowship church on Grand River in Detroit and CEO of DABO Detroit, a non-profit organization originally founded by Sheffield’s father, Horace Sheffield, Jr., in 1970.

With Sheffield at the helm, DABO oversees and facilitates carefully chosen programs that empower and service Detroiters. Through their children’s initiatives, they once operated their own alternative high school where kids could get a high school diploma or a GED while also providing skilled trade assistance as well. 

“Currently, we have an after-school program. It’s a completely free program, Monday through Friday, 4 to 6 p.m., and we service pre-K through 12th grade,” said Watkins, the Community Relations and Organizing Director for DABO. “We do literacy help, we do homework help. Every Friday is movie and pizza night, and we have games. We do a lot of different lessons and stuff with them to empower them to make their own decisions as they grow.”

DABO made national headlines in 2020, when they provided free COVID-19 testing and vaccinations to stymie the spread of the virus. Wayne County was hit hard by COVID-19, with 548,000 reported cases and 9,280 deaths. 

“We had the first testing site outside of 8 Mile [and] Woodward. [You] didn’t have to have insurance. You didn’t have to have a script. We had 1,500 people show up that first day,” said Sheffield. “They had to close Grand River, and the side streets”.

According to Sheffield, 37% of the people tested that day tested positive for COVID-19, and over 10,000 people were vaccinated during the pandemic. That success led to a collaboration with nonprofit Choose Healthy Life, funding from HRSA (Health Resources & Services Administration), and they created their own clinic: Premier Quality Health Center which offers free diabetes and blood press tests. The initiative has also exposed the racial and economic disparities within Detroit’s healthcare community. Per a 2021 report, people living in Detroit are 38% less likely to have health care coverage than others living in the Tri-County area. 

“There’s only one primary care physician, [per] 6,000 residents in the city of Detroit. That’s an abomination,” said Sheffield. “You tell people they need a primary physician, where are you going to find them? Those are the things we’ve addressed.”

One of the new programs that Sheffield is excited about is an initiative where DABO will be able to work with the city of Detroit to offer affordable housing. He is anticipating that Mayor Sheffield will lift the pause of the City’s $25,000 Down Payment Assistance (DPA) program which provides grants to eligible low-to-moderate income, first-time homebuyers to cover down payments, closing costs, or interest rate buy-downs. Earlier this year, Realtor.com reported the median rate for a unit with a maximum of two bedrooms was $1,284. Sheffield wants to see many of Detroit’s renters converted into homeowners. 

“We have purchased – and renovated – [empty, unoccupied] land and homes. And we’re on the verge of signing a $50 million deal to [renovate] homes adjacent to our main building on Grand River and Walden. We also have property on Indiana, and some in the 48227 area,” said Sheffield.

Rev. Sheffield’s ideas aren’t limited to residential properties, either. One of his long term goals is to allocate $100M in real estate assets that can be leveraged into doing a massive rebuild among churches within Detroit. He believes that a strong collaborative effort from Detroit’s religious communities will help mitigate out-of-towners from purchasing property and ensure that residents will have businesses and institutions they can benefit from. 

“I’ve dealt with churches with 200 member storefronts. They [have] $300,000 in the bank,” said Sheffield. “I call it the ‘Promised Land Project.’ That also includes us building business strips, housing, and community centers. We can do that with our money. We can leverage our own money, and that answers the main criticism when people ask, ‘why should I keep putting money in the church’?”

When asked about the biggest challenge he’s faced leading DABO, he cites funding. Current federal executive orders related to diversity, equity, and inclusion have led to having some funding reversals and made obtaining federal grants more challenging; but Sheffield is committed to weathering the storm and refuses to let the prevailing political climate slow DABO down. 

“When I came home in ‘83, started working for DABO in ‘84, the annual budget was $25,000. When my dad died in ‘94, the annual budget was $130,000. In 2025 it was $5.9 million,” said Sheffield.

At 71 years-old, Sheffield admits he won’t be around to lead DABO forever.  During his four decades in leadership he’s learned a lot about himself and even more about the needs of the community. When asked what he’s most proud of, his answer is simple: “I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve taken my father’s vision and dream and institutionalized it”.