When COVID-19 hit Michigan this year, the Detroit Innovation Fellowship cohort were well placed to support the communities hit hardest. The 23 social innovators involved in the talent development program are proving that their focus on creating sustainable, accessible resources builds the kind of resilience that see communities through a crisis.
The new Black-owned quick-service restaurant, slated to open in spring 2021, will bring low-carb options to Detroit before expanding nationwide with a menu focused on gourmet sandwiches sans bread.
In Detroit communities hit hardest by COVID-19, solar power projects provided some relief and continuity of service this year. For engineers and entrepreneurs Ali Dirul and Karanja Famodou, renewable energy is not just about the sustaining the environment, it's about sustaining equity.
Industry Club partners BGCSM youth with Detroit fashion industry professionals like Detroit is the New Black and Deviate to give students the opportunity for hands-on experience in fashion. Students learn the skills necessary for pursuing a career in fashion or starting their own clothing company from Detroiters who have already successfully done so.
As many businesses adapt to stay afloat amid great challenges such as finding and keeping frontline workers, the Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA) has launched “Shop Southwest Detroit,” a one-stop e-commerce shop featuring local businesses, to help owners and entrepreneurs adapt and bridge the digital divide.
The lack of culturally competent options and Bangla-speaking home health care providers in Metro Detroit inspired Mafruza Begum to open her own business, Mersiha Homecare Services LLC, in 2014.
It's not just a design hub that Tanya Saldivar-Ali and her husband, Luis, are building on 18th Street — the Detroit couple is developing a construction pipeline to connect residents with sustainable careers. But it's the cutting-edge technology they are using to tell residents' stories that is capturing international attention.
Detroit firefighter Gary Ringer is connecting with national health experts to promote a better culture of health in his community, and wants local stations to be a part of that change: "As firefighters, we can do more than just putting the ‘wet stuff on the red stuff,’ we can play a more intricate role in the community we serve."
Filthy Americans Arts & Cultural Preservation Center will open on Nov. 18 at 1313 Holden St. across from the Lincoln Street Art Park and Recycle Here! Owners, business partners and lifelong Detroiters Filthy Rockwell and William “BJ” Smith are veterans in the city’s underground hip hop and techno music scenes looking to inspire the next generation.
Juan Shannon set out five years ago to establish a smart neighborhood in Highland Park. With a new solar-powered cafe and expanding urban farming initiative, the developer continues to grow green technology in his community.
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