November 2020

A Glance at Veteran’s in Detroit

First and foremost, Rebuilding Together Southeast Michigan wants to say THANK YOU to all of our veterans who have selflessly served this country. Veterans are a huge portion of the population we seek to serve with home repair services. The least we can do is give back to those who gave so much to this country. We wanted to take a minute to show just how important it is to help get veterans connected to resources because of the increasing need without an increase in actual resources.

In a study conducted for best and worst cities in America for veterans to live, Detroit was ranked one of the worst. Detroit was given a failing score under many categories, ranking one of the worst places to find employment as well as with homelessness being one of the most prevalent issues. We landed in the top 5 cities with the most veterans living in poverty. The quality of veteran facilities was also scored very poorly. With over 600,000 veterans residing in our state, we need to do better.

In an effort to provide veterans with as many tangible resources as possible, we have compiled a list of websites below that provide different types of help for veterans facing financial instability.

https://www.benefits.va.gov/detroit/

https://www.detroit.va.gov/services/homeless/index.asp

https://www.waynecounty.com/

https://www.voami.org/veterans

https://www.dav.org/

https://julieslist.homestead.com/VeteranResources.html

https://www.swsol.org/veterans-services/

We, of course, are here for you as well and would be happy to help answer questions about our own services at any time by emailing office@rtsemi.org. Again, we thank you for your service and Happy Veteran’s Day!

Uncategorized - 11/10/2020

Moving Forward and New Models of Care: Chandler Park Revitalization

Our very first annual Healthy Housing Harvest Party event was a success! As the pandemic pushes all nonprofits to pivot their model of care, Rebuilding Together Southeast Michigan’s staff and board did the same. In addition to doing individual homeowner projects this fall, we wanted to focus on revitalizing communities. We kick-started this effort by holding a park clean up event in Chandler Park of Detroit. With only a month to put the event together, we moved efficiently to partner with Chandler Park Conservancy. The central idea behind the event was to create larger and more engaged volunteer base for our organization, and be present in the community of Detroit during these tough times. While expanding our model of care, we also wanted to keep healthy homes at the forefront of our minds for this community, so we planned to have 150 safe and healthy home kits distributed to the homeowners in the area that same day.

Each kit included a fire extinguisher, carbon monoxide detector, smoke detector, window insulation kit, damprid, ant traps, and a first aid kit. These items are essential to keeping a home safe and healthy. By providing the tools for people to keep their homes safe, without entering their homes ourselves, we were able to fulfill our mission of repairing homes, revitalizing communities, and rebuilding lives.

Being at the event itself provided a new, hopeful perspective for Rebuilding Together Southeast Michigan. Seeing all the volunteers and community members at this event, wearing masks and social distanced throughout the park, and making such a significant impact in this community, reminded us of how much an organization can accomplish if it is willing to be creative in the hardest of times. Sometimes the toughest conditions can lead us to see the best in new things, and that can help to improve prior ideas and offer a new way forward.