Theresa Dunne
Features Editor
In recent years, Detroit has experienced a surge in downtown development as young professionals and white collar businesses return to its city center after decades of flight. While this “revitalization “seems to suggest hope for Detroit’s future, it still remains the most impoverished major city in the United States with 39.3 percent of its residents living below the poverty line according to data released by the Census Bureau in 2015.
Through an immersive alternative Spring Break option sponsored by the Wooster Volunteer Network, a group of College of Wooster students had the opportunity to visit the city, spend a week learning about the complex social and economic issues currently plaguing Detroit as well as volunteer with various non-profit organizations. The trip was organized by Tristan Lopus ’18, a Detroit-area native who had prior experience working with Detroit’s Summer in the City organization, a non-profit organization devoted to improving and expanding community in the Detroit Metro area and in whose house the group stayed on the trip.
While each of the organizations visited by the group focused their efforts on addressing the immediate needs of Detroit in some way, they all differed in their approaches towards doing so. By working with a number of organizations, those on the trip were introduced to various initiatives important to the city’s renewal process; among these were urban development, education reform, environmental justice in the city and increasing access to food in urban areas.
One non-profit organization that the group worked with twice throughout the week was Neighbors Building Brightmoor, a community initiative that strives to cleanup Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood, an area of the city known for its abandoned homes and blighted spaces. Students helped in the organization’s garden, which provides neighborhood green space and growing space for market gardeners looking to bring business to the Brightmoor community. Later in the week, the group worked in Neighbors Building Brightmoor’s greenhouse and community kitchen, washing and preparing dishes for the kitchen’s upcoming grand opening.
In addition to partnering with Neighbors Building Brightmoor, students also had the chance to volunteer with other community organizations that focused on neighborhood beautification and development projects. These included the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative and Blight Blusters, an organization that works to demolish homes and beautify neglected areas in Detroit.
Another subject addressed through the group’s on-site volunteering was the quality of education in Detroit’s public schools. The group volunteered at Detroit Achievement Academy, a non-profit charter school in Detroit where the entire student body falls below the poverty line. As C.O.W. students assisting with art classes and cleaning up the school’s facilities, they also had the chance to learn about the educational philosophy behind the school’s position in the 99th percentile in academic growth.
“A lot of the time, we have this idea about education that schools are low performing because of the students’ lives and family situations and that if you’re living in poverty you’re not going to do well in school. … Obviously, poverty needs to be addressed, however, [Detroit Achievement Academy] is the perfect example of how if schools are given the resources that they need, students can succeed,” said Lopus.
To supplement their volunteering experiences, students on the Detroit trip also attended workshops to further explore some of the issues relevant to the present state of Detroit. They first delved into concepts of environmental justice in relation to urban spaces and covered pertinent topics such as water access, vacant land lots and property values. Although the workshop did touch on the water crisis currently afflicting Flint, Michigan, the group mainly discussed the challenges Detroit faces in relation to its water system.
Other workshops on the trip included one through the Jewish community-building organization, Repair the World, in which students watched a documentary on Grace Lee Boggs, an Asian American activist who was highly influential in Detroit’s civil rights movement. The organization also hosted an interfaith dinner and discussion with a local mosque that allowed students to explore the relationship between religion and social justice issues.
Over the course of the week, the group participated in nightly reflections, discussing their experiences while learning about the difficulties Detroit and its residents face. One challenging conversation that presented itself multiple times throughout the week was the complexity of the group’s role as volunteers who would return to Wooster at the end of the week.
Regarding this discussion, Lopus stated, “It is important [to recognize] that we are not here to save people, but we are guests in a community. At the same time, is that okay? No one invited us there.”
While keeping this in mind, the trip aimed to provide students with a new perspective on a rapidly changing community, giving them the opportunity to volunteer alongside and learn from those working tirelessly to improve living conditions for Detroit’s residents. Reflecting on her experiences on the trip, Monét Davis ’19 said, “The trip was a reminder of how important it is to give back. Also, if you see something that you don’t like going on in your community, you do have the power to make a difference.”