It’s hard to believe that fall is just around the corner! As I’ve been transitioning back from life on the campaign trail, I am more energized than ever to get back to work with some of the organizations that I believe make the greatest impact on the quality of life for people in Detroit. At the top of that list is Southwest Solutions. I have served on the board of Southwest Housing Solutions for over a year now, and I continue to be amazed at the depth and breadth of services that Southwest Solutions provides to Southwest Detroit and beyond. Whether it’s opening Piquette Square, a 150-unit, full-service supportive housing facility for veterans in the New Center, or revitalizing Southwest Detroit through innovative projects like the Creative Arts Center on Vernor Hwy with partners like the 555 Nonprofit Gallery and Detroit Farm and Garden, Southwest Solutions continues to redefine what’s possible for our great City.

That’s why I would like you be my guest at the 5th Annual Solutions at Sunrise breakfast on Wednesday, October 6, 2010, from 8:00 am – 9:00 am at the Masonic Temple in Detroit. Not only is this event an opportunity to learn more about one of Southwest Solutions’ many program areas – early childhood, literacy, mental health, children and youth services, homelessness, employment, veterans, affordable housing, financial literacy, home ownership, real estate development – it’s also a terrific opportunity to meet and get energized by nearly 900 other community-minded people from all walks of life.

While this is an opportunity for you to make a contribution that will support the incredible work of Southwest Solutions, the event is free, and I promise you that you will leave inspired by the tremendous work of this organization. This flier and the Solutions at Sunrise website contain additional details about the event – please let me know if you have any questions. Most of all, I hope that you will join me on October 6th! Please let me know if you are able to attend ASAP, either by responding by email, or by giving me a call: 313-452-1046. Thanks in advance – I look forward to seeing you there!

Warm regards,

Lisa

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Lisa Nuszkowski

Co-Director

Michigan Foreclosure Task Force

313-452-1046

nuszkowski@cedam.info

http://cedam.info/resources/mftf/

I’m now on week number four as CEDAM’s new executive director. Even before I started, I knew I would have big shoes to fill with Angie Gaabo’s departure.  However, with each passing day, I’m learning even more about the role Angie filled, working with our member organizations across the state.

I have a background in traditional neighborhood commercial district revitalization. I worked in Lansing’s Old Town neighborhood, helping to continue the efforts to transform the neighborhood from a place with a bad reputation to a destination. While there, I worked with business and property owners, residents, employees, volunteers and anyone interested in helping to make the community a better place. From there, I joined the Michigan Main Street Center @ MSHDA, working with traditional downtowns and neighborhood districts across the state, teaching the Main Street Four-Point Approach® to revitalization. While at the Michigan Main Street Center, I had the distinct pleasure of watching communities band together with determination and begin the work of revitalizing their neighborhood. With every position, I am inspired by the work of organizations across Michigan.

In my brief time at CEDAM, I’ve seeing amazing groups working together to revitalize their community. Whether through affordable housing, foreclosure prevention, capacity building, traditional economic development or any number of other methods, groups are taking steps daily to make Michigan a better place.  Every day, I learn about more organizations doing their part to implement creative strategies to improve their community. I look forward to learning even more about these efforts, as well as meeting the people behind them.

In the mean time, I appreciate so many of you taking time out of your busy schedules to help to educate me on your efforts. CEDAM’s staff, board, volunteers and members impress me with every passing day. If I or CEDAM can be of service to you, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of Michigan’s revitalization.

Deluxe Inn after the art show.

Goodbye, Deluxe Inn! The Ingham County Land Bank bought this rundown property in Lansing’s Reo Town with plans to demolish it at the end of August – but not before turning the building into an art hot spot. The REO Town Commercial Association invited almost 50 artists to paint the building with graffiti art, drawing 1,500 or so spectators. After the Lansing Fire Department uses the building to practice breaking down doors and walls, the land bank will oversee demolition of the site.

Over in Ann Arbor, the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living hosted the 2010 Great Lakes Independence Ride, or “IRide.” Over 30 cyclists participated in the 4 day, 240 mile bike ride from Three Rivers to Ann Arbor. Video of the cyclists.

Circle of Love information drop for community awareness month.

Throughout August, Circle of Love CDC in Saginaw organized information drops to the local communities for Community Awareness Month. Executive Director Pamela Brazil said the drops have been very successful, with increased numbers of people coming to the nonprofit for affordable housing counseling. Circle of Love is also coordinating Operation Gateway, or “Take the Hill,” where volunteers come together to clean up Hill Street by cutting overgrown trees, trimming weeds, and mowing on properties where vegetation is out of control. News article.

Coming up on September 9th, the Old Town Commercial Association will officially welcome seven new businesses to Old Town. The ribbon cutting ceremony will celebrate Epicenter Church, Gravity Works, Lambs Gate Antiques, Michigan League for Human Services, Northside Barbershop, Lighthouse Massage Center and Tallulah’s Folly.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

Jessica AcMoody, Joni Talentino, and Tiffany Lemieux-Mckissic at Sault Tribe Housing Authority.

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The first day we met with Joni Talentino, the Director of the Sault Tribe Housing Authority in Kincheloe. Joni’s organization manages over 400 rental units and 9 different housing sites across the entire Upper Peninsula. They have a successful IDA program that has been running for just over 18 months. They are also very busy with rehabilitation and weatherization projects with over 100 contractors assisting them in their efforts.

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Seniors outside a Lost Creek home from AMCAB's senior housing project.

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Day two we stopped by the Alger Marquette Community Action Board (AMCAB) and met with Anne Engman. Anne took us on a tour of the beautiful Lost Creek Senior housing project that AMCAB developed. Anne also shared with us that AMCAB is very busy with their weatherization efforts and hopes to assist nearly 100 homeowners in 2010.

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Marquette Meats was able to expand their product line thanks to a Northern Initiatives loan.

On the second and third day we spent time with our Innovator of the Year co-winners, Northern Initiatives. We had the dual mission of learning more about their work, and filming for the video we are creating for them. Dennis West, Lisa Nyquist, Chris Rector, and Amanda Blondeau met with us about their micro loan program, Business Enterprise Center, and their Regional Strategies work. Lisa informed us that there is now an online application option for businesses that are applying for loans under $50,000. Chris shared with us their work on Great Waters (an award winning collaboration effort and marketing campaign for the Eastern Upper Peninsula) and new efforts to create similar collaborative efforts in the Western Upper Peninsula. Amanda Blondeau and her fantastic intern team told us about their Business Enterprise Center, where small businesses have access to many tools such as QuickBooks training, website development, market research, and other training and technical assistance. We loved learning more about Northern Initiatives and the great work they are doing for Northern Michigan – look for their video soon!

Calumet Main Street

Next we went to copper country and met with Calumet Main Street manager, Tom Tikkanen. Tom gave us an awesome tour of downtown Calumet and filled us in on the rich history of the area (and for those of you interested, March 4 is the Copper Dog 150, an annual sled-dog race which begins in downtown Calumet). That evening we had dinner with Gail Ross and Amy McCloskey with the Hancock Housing Foundation and many other fantastic people from the Hancock-Houghton community (we even saw a double rainbow at dinner).

The next day we visited Gail Ross at the Hancock Housing Foundation on the eve of the groundbreaking for their new supportive housing development. Quincy Haven will feature 24 units of housing for people with mental disabilities. Congratulations on Quincy Haven, we can’t wait to see it when it is finished!

Last but not least, we stopped by the Dickinson Iron Community Service Agency (DICSA) in Iron Mountain. There we met with the new Executive Director, Michael Aschinger. He shared with us the many programs that DICSA offers to their two county service area, including weatherization, rehab, senior meal programs, emergency repair services, and much more.

Thank you so much to all of our Upper Peninsula members for your hospitality. We can’t tell you how excited and inspired we are by the work that you are doing. We will be back!

Bay County received the 2010 Digital Counties Survey national award from the Center for Digital Government.  The county was presented with the honor of a top 10 rating in the under-150,000 population category.  They were judged based on their cutting-edge technologies, collaborative projects with multiple jurisdictions, transparency and technologies deployed that improved life for government employees and citizens.

Michigan Neighborhood Partnership opened a new Neighborhood Service Center at Eastland Mall in Harper Woods on July 8th.  The new center is a one-stop location for housing assistance, including foreclosure prevention and intervention, and housing counselors to assist area residents.  In the future, the center plans to have academic tutoring and microenterprise development.

Durant Hotel

The Genesee County Land Bank, Flint city officials, and private investors are redeveloping Flint’s historic Durant Hotel into market-rate urban apartments and commercial spaces for rent.  The 1920s hotel has been empty for thirty-five years and is located on the north end of Flint’s central city.  The redevelopment will be completed on August 15^th, though many of the stylish new lofts are already being rented out.

Detroit’s Southwest Solutions will be holding their 5^th Annual “Solutions at Sunrise” fundraising breakfast on Wednesday, October 6 from 8am to 9am at the Detroit Masonic Temple.  The event raises funds to support Southwest Solutions’ work with formerly homeless veterans living in their Paquette Square project, young children learning in their family literacy program, and adults striving for better employment through their workforce development program.  The breakfast will feature testimonies and an address by the organization’s president, John Van Camp.

Don’t forget to enroll in CEDAM’s Comprehensive Community Development Institute (CCDI); classes are filling up fast!    Register by August 16, 2010 and receive the 10% early-bird discount. The first session Introduction to Real Estate Development begins September 14.

For registration and more information visit:  www.cedam.info/resources/training/

CCDI seeks to address the changing landscape of the community development industry by providing relevant, effective, and challenging training. With separate training modules for every experience level, CCDI is the complete training program for Michigan’s community development professionals.

From a State of Michigan press release:

LANSING- Attorney General Mike Cox today announced the filing of 19 criminal complaints and a total of 69 charges against illegal advanced fee “foreclosure rescue” operations accused of defrauding Michigan families of thousands of dollars.  Nine Michigan mortgage companies are accused of illegally charging homeowners facing foreclosure upfront fees for mortgage modification assistance.  The defendants claimed they would help homeowners by working with their lenders in an attempt to modify the borrower’s mortgage.   After paying the upfront fee, borrowers found that the companies made no real attempt to
secure a modification and were subsequently unable to get their money back.  Many of the victims lost their homes to foreclosure.

“These companies took advantage of struggling Michigan families trying to hold onto the American dream,” said Cox.

Several companies and individuals charged are accused of obtaining money through false statements to consumers.  This charge is a five year felony.  In addition several are accused of charging upfront fees before services were rendered, a violation of the Credit Services Protection Act, and with making misleading statements.  Each of the charges carries a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and/or a fine of $1,000 in addition to the requirement that the companies make full restitution to each of their victims.

See the full press release for more information, including the names of the scam companies.

*Remember – a MSHDA- or HUD-certified housing counselor should be the first person a struggling homeowner contacts for help. They are well trained and their services are always free. To locate a counselor or see more resources, visit the Michigan Foreclosure Task Force Resources page.

On behalf of the CEDAM Board of Directors, I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Jamie Schriner-Hooper to the position of CEDAM Executive Director effective August 9, 2010. Jamie succeeds Angie Gaabo who leaves CEDAM at the end of this month to pursue other endeavors and focus on family.

Jamie comes to CEDAM with experience and enthusiasm for community economic development-most recently working as an Organizational Specialist for the Michigan Main Street Center at the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).  Before that, Jamie was Executive Director of the Old Town Commercial Association in Lansing, and she and her husband work in their spare time to renovate important commercial buildings in the Lansing area to get them back into productive use.

The Search Committee of CEDAM’s Board of Directors was impressed with Jamie’s energy and perspective on the importance of our industry to create vibrant, healthy communities, and to address the needs of our most vulnerable citizens.  We see Jamie’s move to CEDAM as a great opportunity to build on the work that Angie has done to build the capacity and reputation of CEDAM and move to a new level of partnership and impact in these challenging times.

Please join me and the CEDAM Board of Directors and staff in welcoming Jamie to the CEDAM team!

Sincerely,

Marc Craig
President, Community Housing Network, Troy
President, CEDAM Board of Directors

Main Street Calumet

The community economic development industry serves all aspects of the community, including commercial needs. A neighborhood will struggle to be healthy without a thriving “main street,” new and retained businesses, and attractive commercial facilities. The “main street” approach advocates a return to community self-reliance, local empowerment, and the rebuilding of traditional commercial districts based on their unique assets: distinctive architecture, a pedestrian-friendly environment, personal service, local ownership, and a sense of community. In some cases, CEDAM members dedicate themselves entirely to business district and commercial space development in their communities.

Old Town Commercial Association in Lansing created the Old Town Business Assistance Team, which provides free services to local businesses in an effort to ensure continued success and vitality.

The Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation (GRDC) in Detroit assisted over 40 businesses in improving their exteriors through a façade improvement program. GRDC was also awarded a Streetscape Grant from M-Dot, which funded new sidewalks and 150 street trees, resulting in a dramatic improvement to their commercial corridor.

In 2008, Main Street Calumet’s commercial revitalization efforts in the Upper Peninsula won the Community Initiated Development Project of the Year award, and the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation.

The Welfare 101: Busting Myths About Welfare website is a great resource for human service agencies and other organizations that seek to help populations whose members often qualify for public services.  The website offers documents discussing various myths about welfare, including “Welfare recipients are a drain on the system,” “Welfare is full of fraud and no one’s doing anything about it,” and “Welfare recipients only live in poor, urban areas, not the suburbs or wealthier areas of the state.”  These resources can be directed to people who qualify for benefits but may be reluctant to apply or be used to inform the general public.

Please view the Welfare 101: Busting Myths About Welfare website for more information and to access campaign resources.