Resilient Neighborhoods

Model D has teamed up with The Kresge Foundation for a reporting and engagement series looking at community-building in Detroit neighborhoods. The series seeks to raise awareness about the work of 21 Community Development Organizations (CDOs), known as Detroit 21, currently receiving support from Kresge, while also amplifying the voices of residents in their respective neighborhoods.

Alberto Ruiz, owner of El Amanecer in Ecorse

From aspiring to own a restaurant to dishing out tostones: Program brings small businesses to life

A Puerto Rican entrepreneur opens his restaurant with a noble dream, much perseverance, and plenty of guidance from a Detroit program aimed at people who want to start their own businesses.

Restorative justice advocates Lauren Fardig-Diop (left) and Angel McKissic
Beyond punitive justice: Repairing harm in Detroit

Locking up offenders doesn't repair the broken relationships underlying most crime. Metro Detroit Restorative Justice Network says we can do better – and create a safer community in the process.

Melany Sanchez first participated in Leaders in Training during her freshman year of college
Preparing Southwest Detroit youth for power and purpose

Urban Neighborhood Initiatives’ Leaders in Training program equips Southwest Detroit youth with career skills, mentorship, and leadership opportunities rooted in community development.

Forgotten Harvest CEO Adrian Lewis
USDA cuts could worsen food insecurity, reverse progress to improve nutrition for most vulnerable

USDA programs, which once helped Southeast Michigan emergency food providers source food, are being slashed. With over a billion dollars cut nationwide, experts warn of long-term consequences for food access, nutrition and local economies.  

Caitlin Crutcher (white shirt) plays foosball with youth before programming at Eastside Community Network
Detroit nonprofits unite to foster next gen community development leaders

A cross-city collaboration focusing on youth development has more young people exploring how they can impact their communities now and find meaningful careers down the road. The project has taken off, and the potential for more growth is likely.

Maggie DeSantis
Maggie DeSantis shares how community development organizations formed a leadership pipeline

Years ago, in Detroit, “community development was more like shoelaces, string, and Scotch Tape,” says Maggie DeSantis. But through collaboration, professionals in the field have developed a talent pipeline and garnered more respect for the field. Read Sarah Williams’ Q&A with DeSantis to learn about the evolution of the work.

Toyia Watts is part of an advisory board planning a community land trust with GenesisHOPE
Community land trusts: ‘We’re rising from the ashes, and this is our vehicle.’

GenesisHOPE plans to purchase 10 vacant lots across Detroit neighborhoods to provide affordable housing through a community land trust model.  

Dazmonique Carr and her son Prince at Deeply Rooted Gardens
Deeply Rooted Gardens reduces barriers for farmers of color

Through classes, incubator kitchens and welcoming meals, nonprofit Deeply Rooted Gardens empowers farmers of color to reach their urban-farming potential.

Mark Covington, Georgia Street Community Collective
Cluck. Quack. Buzz. The making of Detroit’s new Animal Keeping Ordinance

It’s not easy getting an ordinance passed through Detroit City Council. In this story, we’ll walk you through an ordinance that was 10+ years in the making – how it passed and what it means to Detroit neighborhoods.  

Detroit Repertory Theatre stages “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” by August Wilson in 2025
Detroit Repertory Theatre: A stage for voices often unheard since 1957

In Detroit’s Oakman Boulevard neighborhood, a nonprofit theater offers a place to experience “storytelling, live, together with our fellow human beings.”

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