Residents in Land Bank-owned homes presented with deeds through Occupied Buy Back program
Deputy Mayor Bettison joins DLBA officials, philanthropic partners, and Buy Back participants.
More than 70 Detroit residents are now homeowners thanks to the Detroit Land Bank Authority's Occupied Buy Back Program. The DLBA this week celebrated the remarkable achievements of participants who fulfilled all program requirements and are now transitioning into homeownership.
The DLBA's Occupied Buy Back Program has been a cornerstone in helping 77 participants in 2024 alone to reach the milestone of homeownership. Since the program's inception in 2016, nearly1200 individuals have completed the process and received their deeds, marking a significant impact on community revitalization.
This event highlighted several program graduates who have demonstrated incredible resilience and dedication. These participants have not only secured their homes but have also restored family legacies, revitalized properties, and upheld the spirit of community.
Neighborhood Wellness Centers offer free preventive health screenings for residents
In collaboration with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the Detroit Health Department is offering Community Health Worker (CHW) services to assist residents with accessing resources and wraparound services at seven existing Neighborhood Wellness Centers across the City of Detroit.
Currently operating Neighborhood Wellness Centers (NWC) will continue to provide COVID-19 testing, and will also offer Detroiters free blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol screenings.
Neighborhood Wellness Centers Locations
Hartford Memorial Baptist, Head Start Building 14000 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit, MI 48235 (313) 861-1285 Monday, 10 am – 5 pm | Thursday, 10 am – 5 pm | Friday, 9 am – 4 pm
Historic King Solomon Baptist Church 6100 14th Street, Detroit, MI 48208 (313) 355-2150 Thursday, 10 am – 6 pm | Friday, 10 am – 6 pm | Saturday, 9 am – 2 pm
The Open Door Church of God in Christ 12411 East 7 Mile Road, Detroit, MI 48205 (313) 526-3460 Tuesday, 10 am – 6 pm | Wednesday, 10 am – 6 pm | Thursday, 10 am – 6 pm
Southwestern Church of God 3032 South Fort Street, Detroit, MI 48217 (313) 386-7960 Monday, 10 am – 6 pm | Wednesday, 10 am – 6 pm | Thursday, 10 am – 6 pm
Triumph Church, Central Campus 15801 Joy Road, Detroit, MI 48228 (313) 386-8044 Monday, 10 am – 5 pm | Wednesday, 10 am – 5pm | Friday, 10 am – 6 pm
Bethel Baptist Church East 5715 Holcomb Street, Suite 33, Detroit, MI 48213 (313) 923-3060 Monday, 10 am – 5 pm | Wednesday, 10 am – 6 pm | Friday, 10 am – 5 pm
Wayne County Community College District, Northwest Campus 8200 West Outer Drive, Detroit, MI 48219 (313) 943-4000 Tuesday, 9 am – 5 pm | Wednesday, 11 am – 7 pm | Saturday, 10 am – 2 pm
The Detroit Health Department is committed to addressing public health concerns, and offers programs and services to help communities remain healthy and safe. To learn more, visit detroitmi.gov/health.
Health Department Satellite Hub at Samaritan Center Expands Health Services for Detroiters on East Side
Health Department staff at Samaritan Satellite ribbon cutting with Council Member Latisha Johnson (D4), center. From left to right are: Administrator of Clinical Programs Dr. Iris Taylor; Nursing Director/Immunizations Program Manager Timiko Drew; Chief Public Health Officer Denise Fair Razo; and Christina Floyd, Deputy Director of Public Health.
The Detroit Health Department launched a new satellite health service hub at Samaritan Center offering immunizations for children and adults, lead screenings, plus resources and referrals for wraparound services.
The Health Department will continue to provide WIC services at Samaritan to meet the needs of Detroit families with children for nutritious foods, support and referrals.
Detroiters were invited to attend this week's grand opening and open house. Health Department staff provided tours of the new satellite clinic, and outreach and information on programs including SisterFriends Detroit, CeaseFire Detroit, Immunizations and services for Women, Infants & Children.
The Health Department Samaritan Center Satellite Hub is located at 5555 Conner St., Suite 2224 and will operate weekdays from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For more information, call (313) 876-4554 or visit detroitmi.gov/health.
City, partners release five-year improvement plan for Detroit’s homelessness system
Improving homeless shelter facilities and services, reducing unsheltered homelessness, and creating more quality housing options for residents exiting homelessness are some of the key priorities outlined in the City of Detroit and Detroit Continuum of Care’s recently completed strategic system improvement plan for Detroit's homelessness system.
Developed over the course of a year in partnership with community members and homelessness service providers, the plan serves as a roadmap for the future of the homelessness response system, which includes shelters, programs that connect residents experiencing homelessness to housing, teams that provide resources to residents living on the streets, and supportive housing programs.
The improvement plan outlines core priorities and action items to improve these system services and ultimately enhance housing and quality of life outcomes for residents experiencing homelessness.
The plan centers on eight improvement action areas. Each action area includes several improvement activities, with anticipated timelines for implementation and key entities responsible for managing and executing activities.
Implementation of the plan is now underway. Progress will be reported out on an annual basis. To read the full plan, visit https://shorturl.at/SwhiC.
Free public Wi-Fi is now available in five City of Detroit parks
City leaders and community partners, Detroit Parks Coalition and Connect 313 this week announced the completion of free public Wi-Fi installed at five Detroit parks. This pilot project, announced in June 2023, aims to expand internet accessibility and bridge the digital divide for Detroiters.
Detroit residents and park visitors can now access free public Wi-Fi at Bradby, Chandler, Clark, McDuffy and Palmer parks. About 12,600 residents are within a half-mile walking distance of the five parks featured in the pilot program.
Construction started summer 2023. Construction finished at Chandler Park (wetlands area) in June 2024, September 2023 in Palmer Park (community house/basketball court area and tennis courts/pavilion/log cabin area), August 2023 in Bradby and McDuffy parks, and July 2023 in Clark Park.
Connect 313 and Detroit Parks Coalition did a study looking at internet accessibility and usage in the parks from January 2023 to June 2024. Results revealed that 25,234 people had used the Wi-Fi networks, and that number is expected to increase once the installation at Chandler Park was completed.
City of Detroit partners with Belle Isle Conservancy to celebrate 120th anniversary of Belle Isle Aquarium
The City of Detroit’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship (Detroit ACE) is partnering with the Belle Isle Conservancy to host and celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Belle Isle Aquarium, the nation’s oldest aquarium.
To celebrate, the aquarium is hosting a Family Day open to the public on August 18 from 11a.m. to 4 p.m. Festivities include an outdoor aquatic science station, coloring books, crafts, story time and a live DJ.
The Belle Isle Aquarium, designed by George D. Mason and Albert Kahn, opened on Aug. 18, 1904. When the aquarium opened, it was the third-largest aquarium in the world with salt water being shipped directly in from the ocean. Now, Belle Isle Aquarium welcomes thousands of annual visitors with free admission.
Detroit ACE oversees the City’s investment in the fine and performing arts, culture and history with a special focus on artistic entrepreneurship and support for Detroit's creative workforce. Follow ACE on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
City makes progress on $160M DDOT Coolidge Terminal construction
Interim Director of DDOT G. Michael Staley and DDOT Capital Projects Manager Riki Yamakura conduct a walk-through of Coolidge Terminal construction site.
Mayor Duggan joined the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Detroit Building Authority (DBA) last year for the beginning of demolition on the new Coolidge Terminal facility, following a fire that left the former building vacant.
Now, with the old facility torn down, significant progress has been made on the complex, including the start of construction on an operations and administrative building, which will feature state-of-the-art amenities for DDOT employees.
The 200,000-square-foot, three-building terminal complex will provide a base for operations, maintenance, and storage for DDOT. The facility will have the capacity to house 144 buses with future expansion to house and maintain a total of 216 buses and will have 245 parking spaces.
Coolidge Terminal will consist of three primary buildings: an operations building, bus storage and coach services building, and a fleet maintenance building, with a site plan that contains details for future expansion of each operation.
Detroit Home Accessibility Program to provide crucial modifications for Detroiters living with disabilities
The City of Detroit, in partnership with CHN Housing Partners (CHN) and Detroit Housing Network (DHN), announced the opening of the application process for the Detroit Home Accessibility Program, which will make safety and access improvements at the homes of Detroit residents with disabilities and low-income seniors.
This groundbreaking initiative, funded with $6.6 million from City of Detroit ARPA funds, aims to improve the living conditions of residents who struggle with basic access to and inside their own homes.
by calling the Detroit Housing Resource Hotline at 866-313-2520, or walking into a Detroit Housing Network location. Applicants must submit an eligibility form to qualify.
Mayor Duggan, Chief White & community celebrate ribbon cutting for 8th Precinct Annex
Following years of conservation efforts, rehabilitation work and hopeful calls from the community, Mayor Duggan joined Detroit Police Chief James White to officially open the DPD’s 8th Precinct Annex with a celebratory ribbon cutting last week.
The annex, which is Phase 2 of the 8th Precinct renovation project, will now serve as the main workspace for the 8th Precinct’s Neighborhood Police Officers (NPOs).
The space will also be open for residents to reserve for events, further strengthening the bond between the DPD and the neighborhoods it serves.
Fire Department trains DDOT employees in hands-only CPR, AEDs to go on buses to help Detroiters survive cardiac arrest
As the City of Detroit and the Detroit Fire Department (DFD) make strides to become a HEARTSafe Community, more City employees and residents are being trained in hands-only CPR. That effort includes raising awareness to the locations of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and training on how to use them.
The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) was one of the first departments to step up and request its Transportation Equipment Operators (TEOs) be trained in hands-only CPR. In addition to hands-only CPR training, the DFD will place 10 AEDs on DDOT buses.
Residents can submit a request for a training course in their neighborhood by calling (313) 596-2959.
City transforms once vacant land into new Tireman-Minock Park
Mayor Duggan joined City leaders and community partners last week to celebrate the completion of Tireman-Minock Park, a beautiful new park right in the heart of the Warrendale/Cody Rouge neighborhood.
Dixon Elementary School was formerly at this site and was demolished in 2017, leaving a 3.7-acre block at Tireman Avenue and Minock Street on Detroit’s west side vacant.
The City of Detroit has more than 300 parks, most of which are nestled in neighborhoods. Prior to the Tireman-Minock park project, this neighborhood in the Warrendale/Cody Rouge community did not have a park to call its own. The City of Detroit General Services Department (GSD) acquired and developed the property to fill a critical park gap.
Tickets still available for national HBCU Student Film Competition and Festival co-sponsored by Detroit ACE
Tickets are available for the nation’s first Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Student Invitational Film Competition and Festival. The two-day event is co-sponsored by Office of Arts, Culture & Entrepreneurship (ACE), Michigan Central Train Station, The Skillman Foundation and Ally Financial.
Student creators will screen their films at New Lab on August 23 and learn the winner of the $10,000 jury award at a ceremony on August 24, followed by a gala reception in their honor at the iconic Michigan Central Train Station that gained national attention upon its opening in June.
Admission to screenings and panel discussions are free, but registration is required. Tickets for the award ceremony and gala are available for purchase. To register for the event and purchase award ceremony and gala tickets, click here.
The event will be broadcast live on HBCU Go TV, a Byron Allen Media Group company that is partnering with Autumn Sun on the venture.
The Connect AV Shuttle Service now open to the public
The Connect pilot aims to learn and refine an autonomous vehicle transit service to meet the diverse needs of the community. The pilot program is a significant step toward achieving a zero-emission public transportation system and setting a new standard for sustainable urban mobility in Detroit.
The fully electric shuttle service, which loops from Corktown through downtown Detroit to the East Jefferson Riverfront, is free for all riders. The service will commence with four all-electric, wheelchair-accessible Ford E-Transit shuttles.
Operating Hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Friday
Frequency: Shuttles will arrive at stops approximately every 10 to 15 minutes during peak hours
In Detroit, Right to Counsel helps people who are facing eviction. This law gives eligible low-income renters or tenants the right to have a lawyer for free to represent them in court.
The Office of Eviction Defense works with local legal services to make sure that tenants going to the 36th District Court for eviction cases can get free legal help and protect their rights.
It doesn't matter where residents come from, or their national origin – everyone qualifies for these services based on income. City residents can get help before they go to court by calling the Detroit Housing Helpline at 866-313-2520 or online at MichiganLegalHelp.org.
