Choice Neighborhoods Photo Gallery
CKG June 2024 Tenant Council Meeting
United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) hosted the tenant council meeting on Tuesday, July 9th, to discuss disability rights, disability advocacy, and fair housing rights. The speakers invited for the event were Dessa Cosma from Detroit Disability Power (DDP), Safiya Merchant from the City of Detroit, and Steve Tomkowiak from the Fair Housing Network. Resident Champion Dnisha Brannon helped to introduce each speaker. Dessa Cosma spoke to residents about how DDP works to build political power among the disabled community. Less than 5% of homes in the U.S. are accessible to physically disabled persons - one of the many inequalities that impact the lives of disabled persons. By organizing and educating people on disability rights, people can work to address disparities in housing, employment, education, transportation, and healthcare. DPP offers events like Healing Circles and Action Labs. To learn more, visit DetroitDisabiltityPower.org/Events. Safiya Merchant spoke briefly to residents about some disability services in the city, county, and state. Steve Tomkowiak was the final speaker and presented about fair housing rights for residents with disabilities seeking reasonable accommodations in their homes. Unfortunately, there are many rights violations that go unreported in the United States.
CKG May 2024 Tenant Council Meeting
United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) hosted the tenant council meeting on Tuesday, June 6th, to discuss mental health awareness. The meeting was initially scheduled for May 28th but was postponed due to weather. The speakers invited for the event were Shelby Howard and Bethany Howard from the City Walls Project with the City of Detroit, Jennifer Harvey with Corktown Health, and Laura Howard with the Detroit Health Department. Resident Champion DNisha Brannon introduced each speaker. Shelby and Bethany spoke to residents about wanting Clement Kern tenants to have a voice in the mural selection process. Jennifer Harvey, from Corktown, is a social worker with 15 years of professional experience. Their Behavioral Health Department offers therapy services to Detroiters who may experience anxiety, grief and loss, trauma survivorship, and more. Corktown Health accepts different types of insurance and offers self-payments for Detroiters without insurance for greater accessibility. Laura Howard, a Behavioral Health Specialist with the Detroit Health Department brought boxes of Narcan and spoke about the importance of Narcan accessibility. Some programs the department offers are wellness checks, motivation training, and talking about starting recovery for people struggling with addiction. They also offer youth behavioral services.
CKG April 2024 Tenant Council Meeting
United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) and The Community Builders (TCB), & Resident Champions Rhonda Ellington & D’Nisha Brannon collaborated in hosting the April Tenant Council meeting on Monday, April 29th to celebrate the Day of the Young Child along with summer program sign-ups for kids. The Day of the Young Child acknowledges the importance of educating young children to set them up for future success. The day hopes to bring public attention on the needs of young children and their families. Pizza, drinks, and cookies were also provided by UCHC for everyone to enjoy. TCB and UCHC invited community partners to celebrate. Each partner had their own information table with sign ups. The partners were Matrix Human Services, CODE 313, Brilliant Detroit, Motor City Street Dance Academy, Congress of Communities and City of Detroit Recreational Dept. - Roberto Clemente. Families spoke to the groups about programming and learned about the resources they offer. TCB had their own table with coloring activities and free books for families and kids to read.
CKG March 2024 Tenant Council Meeting
The March Resident Council meeting featured the Detroit City Council Team for District 6, Oak Street Health, and Matrix Human Services. The United Community Housing Coalition hosted the meeting, provided refreshments + arts and crafts for kids. Resident Champion D’Nisha Brannon facilitated the meeting. Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero made the first presentation, and highlighted equitable development, transportation, housing, environmental justice, public safety, protecting and expanding rights as policy priorities. As City Council completes review of the City’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, District 6 is advocating for funding to support affordable housing, the emergency shelter system, and a dust ordinance to control pollution. Oak Street Health’s Outreach Executive, DeAndre Martin provided the second presentation, highlighting primary, wellness & preventive, specialty, chronic condition, lab & testing service, behavioral health, and podiatry care offered to older adults and seniors. Deena Kennedy, Director of Senior Programs at Matrix Human Services, spoke last about how seniors (55+) can receive free or low-cost transportation to medical and other appointments, access home care assistance, healthy food programming, and chore services.
CKG February 2024 Tenant Council Meeting
On Tuesday, February 27th, representatives from 4 Corktown businesses shared information about their offerings, special resident offers, and upcoming hiring opportunities. Sheila Cockrel facilitated a panel discussion with the owners of Brooklyn Street Local (restaurant), Corktown Apothecary (pharmacy), Joyola Mei (eco-luxe natural hair salon), and McShane’s (restaurant). Each business shared why they decided to open in Corktown, and encouraged residents to stop in. During the second half of the meeting Tamesha Rouse, Executive Director of For Our Grieving (FOG), shared her perspective on counseling others to cope with grief and loss. Residents were able to share their experiences and talk through how they have made it through grief and loss in their own lives.
CKG January 2024 Tenant Council Meeting
United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) hosted the CKG January Tenant Council meeting on January 29th in collaboration with Corktown Health, City of Detroit Health Department, and Wayne State University. The event focused on health and vaccination awareness. As residents signed in, they were given the option to wait in line for a Covid-19 vaccine and/or a Flu shot. While people got their shots, Mary Mackool, a nurse from Corktown Health spoke about the importance of getting a Covid-19 and Flu shot. Getting vaccinated means protecting yourself from getting sick, as well as your family and friends. Mary said people can get their Covid or Flu shots at any point of the year. You do not have to wait for the winter months. You can go to Corktown Health, located at 1726 Howard St, for walk-in vaccine service. The next speaker was Sarah Lenhoff from Wayne State University. Sarah is doing a research study on neighborhood change, and she is looking to schedule interviews with residents of Clement Kern Gardens. She is interested in learning how residents think and feel about the upcoming changes to Corktown. The interviews happen once a year and last 60-90 minutes.
CKG December 2023 Tenant Council Meeting
United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) hosted the December Tenant Council meeting on December 12th in collaboration with The Community Builders (TCB), Milk Means More, and the American Community Developers (ACD). This meeting was also a holiday party, with fun activities for parents and children. Aaron Scott from Milk Means More came to speak to kids about nutrition and the benefits of eating dairy. Aaron provided the tenant council with hot chocolate, dinner, and cookies. Mike Essian from ACD gave a brief announcement that buildings 11 (1531-1567) and 12 (1511-1527) would be receiving their Notice of Eligibility in January. This notice is related to the development and relocation of buildings 11 and 12. ACD and the City of Detroit plan to attend the January Tenant Council meeting to discuss this further. After the speakers, UCHC and TCB started the holiday activities for the families. Kids were able to decorate cookies, and make their own ornaments, play with arts and crafts, and sing Christmas carols. Parents also won decorated trees in a raffle.
CKG November 2023 Tenant Council Meeting
The November Clement Kern Gardens Tenant Council meeting kicked off with tacos and light refreshments under the big, heated tent. In addition to the usual resources, UCHC had winterizing window kits for residents to take home with them. Pablo, Tenant Organizer for UCHC, greeted the council and introduced our guest speaker Ta, from Corktown Health. Ta gave an informative presentation about health and nutrition during the holiday season with excellent tips.
CKG October 2023 Tenant Council Meeting
United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) hosted the October Tenant Council meeting on October 24th in collaboration with The Community Builders (TCB). Christina (TCB) spoke about many upcoming resources and events for the community. SER Metro-Detroit Jobs for Progress has its Rebuild Detroit program that provides a skilled trades readiness program. They offer OSHA 30 certification, safety education, and career readiness. Pablo (UCHC) was the final speaker. Pablo led a group discussion with the tenant council about the different topics and themes from the previous meeting. Residents were asked what they enjoyed from the previous tenant council meetings and wrote their responses on sticky notes and discussed their answers with the group.
CKG September 2023 Tenant Council Meeting
United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC), in collaboration with The Community Builders (TCB) and Michigan Legal Services (MLS), hosted the September Tenant Council Meeting on September 26th, which highlighted the Resident Champions, Noreena, D.Nisha, & Shandron, who live at Clement Kern Gardens and help lead events for residents. They encouraged residents to fill out surveys from TCB to assist the case managers to understand resident needs. Nova, from MLS, discussed the services offered and showed residents how to complete the State Emergency Relief (SER) application. UCHC led a group discussion about tenant responsibilities and informed residents on re-certifications and housing upkeep.
CKG August 2023 Tenant Council Meeting
UCHC, in collaboration with The Community Builders, facilitated the August Tenant Council Meeting on August 29th, which focused on back-to-school programming and community resources. The Fair Food Network and PNC Bank spoke about food and financial resources available in the community. Matrix Human Services, Great Start Collaboration, Mercy Education Project and Congress of Community spoke about tutoring programs and school support programs they offer families. UCHC and TCB ended the event with a backpack raffle for families who participated in the event.
CKG July 2023 Tenant Council Meeting
Newlab at Michigan Central Mobility started the meeting to discuss how the Veggie Express program creates sustainable solutions that provide fresh foods to communities. The Veggie Express is a food transport project that picks up and drops off produce from urban farms to processing and distribution center and serves as a grocery store on wheels. AmeriCorps Community Training (ACT) Program presented an Overdose Rescue training where residents learned about Narcan, CPR, and health safety. Residents who completed an intake received one free dose of Narcan and learned how to use it, as well as free fentanyl test strips. The last activity was a community discussion about ways to decrease crime and improve safety.
CKG May 2023 Tenant Council Meeting
Bethany Howard, Project Manager of City Walls, and muralist Jesse Kassel kicked off the meeting by discussing the upcoming mural to be created on the Corktown Substation at Trumbull and Porter Streets. Bethany presented preliminary designs by Jesse and asked for feedback from CKG residents. Suggestions from the audience included: more kids and families, more diversity of people, more elements of transportation, and more messaging around community values.
CKG April 2023 Tenant Council Meeting
Erin Rogers from Independent Management Services (IMS) and Michael Schickler from American Community Developers (ACD), provided updates to residents about the future development at CKG and spoke about how the timeline for temporary relocation depends on the construction schedule. Claudia Sanford, Ted Phillips, Pablo Marcos and Meg Marotte from the United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) gave a presentation about tenants' rights.
CKG March 2023 Tenant Council Meeting
Claudia Sanford from United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) and Winona Bynum from the Detroit Food Policy Council spoke to residents about upcoming projects and food related resources in the city. Claudia also spoke about the idea of creating a film about the CKG development and its residents. Christina Mireles from The Community Builders (TCB), spoke about upcoming events at CKG.
CKG February 2023 Tenant Council Meeting
Representatives from United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC), American Community Developers (ACD), The Community Builders (TCB), and Corktown Neighborhood Association (CNA) were all present. Mike Essian of ACD & Jeff Beam of TCB discussed new developments at CKG & Preserve on Ash. Sheila Cockrel from CNA shared details of upcoming community events.
CKG December 2022 Holiday Event
United Community Housing Coalition teamed up with The Community Builders for a Winter Extravaganza in the parking lot of Clement Kern Gardens. Residents could decorate holiday cookies, design Christmas ornaments, and decorate a tree. Officer Hawkins, the neighborhood police officer, showed up right in time for the dance party. Melinda of TCB lead the caroling group. Everyone was invited to warm up in the toasty tent with hot chocolate and a hot meal. Residents had the opportunity to win one of the beautiful trees and other assorted gifts through the raffle.
CKG October 2022 Tenant Council Meeting
The meeting began with a drum performance featuring drummers from Heritage Works, a local arts non-profit. Rhonda Green, the Executive Director of Heritage works gave a presentation about its programs, upcoming events, and how to get involved. Next, Sheila Cockrel of the Corktown Neighborhood association announced the newest editions to their board, CKG residents Rhonda Ellington and Trenae Richmond. She will bring membership applications to the next CKG Tenant Council meeting for anyone interested in joining. The meeting concluded with Ciona Hall from the City of Detroit and Claudia Sanford discussing development concerns with residents.
CKG September 2022 Tenant Council Meeting
Kimberly Cooley, Career Coach with Ser Metro came to speak to the residents and let her know her commitment to providing access and employment opportunities for CKG residents throughout the CNI Project.
CKG August 2022 Tenant Council Meeting
Special guest Sheila Cockrel gave a presentation about the Corktown Neighborhood Association and the Corktown Business Association. The Corktown Neighborhood Association (CNA) assists neighborhood organizations and block clubs to promote the interests of Corktown residents.
CKG July 2022 Tenant Council Meeting
Special guest Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero began the meeting by introducing herself to the CKG Tenant Council and gave a brief history of her background and what brought her to the City Council. Environmental justice, housing, transit, and enriching resources in the neighborhood are some key issues her administration have been focusing. She encouraged CKG tenant council to reach out to her office with any issues they may be facing.
CKG May 2022 Mother's Day Paint Party
The women of CKG were celebrated for Mother's Day with a paint party! Mothers and their children were able to spend time together painting, enjoying pastries, and engaging in conversations with their family and neighbors. This event brought three generations of girls and women from CKG together to celebrate mothers and mother-figures.
CKG April 2022 Tenant Council Meeting
UCHC hosted an Emergency Preparedness Fair at Clement Kern Gardens. Chief James Harris, Chief of Community Relations at the Detroit Fire Department, spoke about fire safety and how to respond to different emergency situations. Officer Brad Hawkins, Neighborhood Police Officer of the Third Precinct spoke to the crowd about some basic personal safety tips. Juwan Outlaw, Public Affairs Specialist for Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, gave a presentation about water safety. Gibran Washington, Manager of Eco-D at EcoWorks, went through the bucket of supplies he provided for residents and described how they could use each item to keep their homes safe and sustainable.
CKG March 2022 Chromebook & Hotspot Event
The City partnered with Human-I-T in efforts to bridge the digital divide and distributed 86 Chromebooks and Hotspots to residents of Clement Kern Gardens as part of the digital literacy component as part of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative.
CKG February 2022 Tenant Council Meeting
The United Community Housing Coalition was excited to kick off the first monthly Resident Council meeting. Senator Stephanie Chang discussed an elevator bill that she’s been working on designed to address accessibility issues. Alexis Alexander and Ciona Hall from the City of Detroit discussed the Choice Neighborhood Initiative grant. Kinyel Friday from the Community Builders spoke about resident engagement. Claudia Sanford of UCHC facilitated a discussion where tenants could voice their concerns. UCHC will continue to work with partners and residents to address these concerns with management.
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