NEWSPAPERS Special Edition
JULY 16, 2025
candgnews.com
Macomb County and Grosse Pointe papers
Detroit Memorial Park cemetery celebrates centennial
BY MARIA ALLARD allard@candgnews.com
WARREN — Prior to the year 1925, when a Black Detroiter died, oftentimes there was not a proper burial or funeral. Because of discrimination, many Black families buried their loved ones late at night, entered cemeteries through side gates, or laid them to rest in the very back of the graveyard. Sometimes, too, they were flat out denied a final resting place.
By 1924, Charles Diggs Sr., a Black state legislator and mortician, decided he had enough of that kind of mistreatment. He called on several Black leaders to invest in a place for
the departed that welcomed everyone regardless of race, creed or religion. Black pharmacist Aaron C. Toodle helped Diggs lead the efforts.
A group of Black investors pooled together their money to purchase 85 acres of farmland in the area of what is now 13 Mile and Ryan roads. There, they established Detroit Memorial Park in 1925.
Located at 4280 E. 13 Mile Road, just east of Ryan, the cemetery is celebrating 100 years of service and compassion. A gala was hosted June 28 at the Auburn Hills Pontiac Marriott to commemorate the milestone.
“It’s hard to believe,” Detroit Memorial Park President Wilbur B. Hughes III said
CARE OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN HAS A NEW HOME
BY MARIA ALLARD allard@candgnews.com
ROSEVILLE — For nearly 50 years, CARE of Southeastern Michigan has been helping families deal with relationship issues, substance use addiction, anger management and more.
Now, CARE staff members have more space in which to provide services.
The organization recently moved from Fraser to its new location at 18441 Utica Road in Roseville. The nonprofit organization’s mission is to strengthen resiliency in people and their communities through vari-
ous programs.
On the afternoon of June 23, a ribbon cutting — coordinated by the Eastside Community Chamber — was held with employees and local dignitaries. Guests also toured the new location and talked with employees. CARE President and CEO Susan Styf welcomed all to the event.
“This has been a wonderful project for CARE. We’ve been around for almost 50 years. To be able to move to Roseville on a bus line for the people that we serve, and to have a parking lot that is big enough, is just incredible,” Styf said. “Most importantly, to have
Detroit Memorial Park in Warren is celebrating its 100-year anniversary. With the help of several Black leaders, it opened in 1925 so that Black families could have a proper burial for their loved ones.
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
See CEMETERY on page 8A
CARE of Southeastern Michigan recently moved from Fraser to its new location at 18441 Utica Road in Roseville.
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
Grieving family gifted a year of mortgage payment assistance
BY MARY BETH ALMOND malmond@candgnews.com
SHELBY TOWNSHIP/STERLING HEIGHTS — Lisa Durie, of Sterling Heights, thought she was going to a routine meeting with a financial adviser July 1, but instead, she was met with a generous surprise.
The 60-year-old, who became the sole guardian of two of her grandchildren this spring, was presented with a check to help with her monthly mortgage payments for a year.
“I don’t know if I can experience any more emotions,” Durie said as she learned of the news. “It’s just overwhelmingly wonderful.”
Kaizen Financial Inc., of Shelby Township, in partnership with the Gradient Gives Back Foundation, gifted Durie $24,000 toward housing payments to help her family, which has suffered devastating losses the past couple of years.
With $2,000 a month for the next year toward the family’s mortgage — along with extra gift cards for things like groceries, clothing and school supplies — the family is able to have stability and peace of mind.
The financial assistance is a blessing for Lisa, who, up until two years ago, had been living more than four hours north and caring for her own parents when her life changed course.
“I’ve always been a giver, so for me to get something (like this) is humbling,” she said. “It’s a beautiful experience.”
Albert Lalonde, who owns Kaizen Financial Inc., said he’s been involved with the foundation for a few years.
“We’ve had a lot of recipients come through, but what touched me about
DETROIT CITY FOOTBALL CLUB CONTINUES TO REDEFINE DETROIT SPORTS SPORTS
BY SCOTT BENTLEY sbentley@candgnews.com
DETROIT — Detroit City Football Club has grown from an idea between friends to an established professional sports team in Detroit at a rapid pace.
The club has not only found extreme success on the field, but is impacting the community off the field. DCFC continues to grow, and the team’s story resonates with Detroiters in the best possible way.
“The best thing DCFC has going for it is the people,” DCFC co-owner and Chief Creative Officer Alex Wright said. “It’s folks that are passionate for soccer but also really dedicated to not only growing the game, but making the community a better place.”
One of the many unique traits that DCFC has is the path to becoming a professional team. In most major sports, Detroit teams were a part of the league’s inception, or joined as an established professional team. DCFC began as a summer league team and
has worked its way up the American soccer ranks to become professional.
“It’s been less than 15 years since the five of us got together over some beers and kicked in a few thousand dollars and created a men’s summer league team.” Wright said. “It’s really hard to be the fifth pro team in any city … and we don’t take that for granted. It’s the privilege of being the fifth team.”
The success that DCFC has seen is something many other soccer teams in the area have attempted to create over the years. This club has integrated itself into the community in a way that few other teams in the state can match.
“We’ve tapped into the unique things that soccer does that other sports can’t in this community. … The U6 boys and girls that
take to the pitch, across our state now, are wearing the exact same jerseys as our professional team does,” Wright said. “That’s an incredible strength of our organization, the fact that you can be a part of the club and never really grow out of it.”
The club is an example of getting back what is put into something. The ownership group has invested heavily into the community, and the community has responded by showing out for DCFC.
“Those of us who founded the club, and those of us who are leaders in the organization, we’re not really up in some ivory tower looking down on the game,” Wright said. “We are the ones on the sidelines. We were the ones when this first started that were mowing the lawn and selling the tickets. … There’s accountability baked into so much of what we do.”
DCFC is also a beacon of hope in terms of growing the game of soccer in the Detroit area.
“The additional responsibility that we take very seriously is growing the game within
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
Albert Lalonde, CEO of Kaizen Financial Inc. in Shelby Township, presents Sterling Heights resident Lisa Durie and her grandchildren, Ava, 12, and Isaac, 1 1/2, with a check for $24,000 to cover mortgage payments in the next year.
Detroit City Football Club plays a game at night under the lights at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck. Photo provided by DCFC
Immigrants thrive in business, share American culture
BY CHARITY MEIER cmeier@candgnews.com
METRO DETROIT — The United States of America is the melting pot of people and cultures: a nation built on the dreams of people who came here from around the world, often to escape persecution.
Three business owners in C & G’s coverage area recently took the time to share their stories of how they found their dream through hard work, determination, and dedication in America.
‘If you apply yourself, you can make it’
Johnette Eggert, owner of Elite Bridal and Donate a Gown USA Int’l in Farmington Hills, came to the U.S. 30 years ago to escape the civil war in her native Liberia.
“I think it was the best decision they made for me,” Eggert said of her parents’ decision to bring her to the U.S.
She said she knows Africa and recalled seeing people get lined up and slaughtered in Liberia. She said people from Africa would be grateful just to be here in the U.S. and to have the chance to obtain their dreams.
“It’s America, and the whole world fits in America. America is a big enough light. You go to Liberia, and people would give anything in the world to come here. Even if they’re sleeping on the street, they know that they can go to the church and get food. You can go and get a job. If you apply yourself, you can make it,” Eggert said.
She said entrepreneurship runs in her blood. Her parents founded the Richard M. Nixon Academy in 1965, a private school in Liberia for children in kindergarten through 12th grade. Eggert said she believes education is the key to success for anyone. She also strives to help provide food to the community by donating to Cares in Farmington Hills.
Through the bridal shop, Eggert said she hopes to help local youth continue their education by providing scholarships. She also wants to support the schools her parents started in Liberia, where a teacher makes $25 and a principal, $75.
It was her father’s kindness and generosity to those less fortunate that ultimately spared his life in Liberia. Eggert’s father, John Woolu, worked for the Liberian government and was on a hit list. However, the hitman who was assigned to assassinate her father recognized him and recalled how he had fed him as a young boy, when his family was homeless. So instead of killing him, he took her parents to the border, where they were able to return to the U.S.
Eggert said the business was a dream of hers after working as a substitute teacher in Madison Heights for many years and hearing girls repeatedly say how they wished there was an affordable store where they could shop for high-end dresses.
“I had a dream and for months and months, I kept thinking about the dream, and I kept thinking about the
See BUSINESS on page 5A
TOP: Johnette Eggert came to the U.S. from Liberia 30 years ago. She said owning a business was a dream of hers after working as a substitute teacher in Madison Heights and hearing girls say how they wished there was an affordable store where they could shop for highend dresses.
Mariana Steganha said she and her husband, Rodrigo, decided to look into franchising their own Biggby Coffee business after the birth of their second child. Since coffee is such an important part of Brazilian culture, they thought it was the perfect type of business to get involved in.
BOTTOM:
Photos by Charity Meier
vision, and what I would hear the students say about how they wished they had a place that was fancy and had a set up that wasn’t like a thrift store, but still be getting a resale item that was high end, and I was like, ‘I can do that.’ And here it is,” she said.
‘The feeling of brightness and happiness was the first feeling I had’
Jenny Wu, who owns three Chinese restaurants, came to the U.S. as a child in 1981 to escape political turmoil in her native China. Her family was labeled as traitors to the country by the Communist Party.
“There was a lot of changes. I noticed the streets were brighter. The streetlights just made it seem like America was really beautiful,” Wu said of her initial impression of America. “Back in the day in China wasn’t like how it is now. They didn’t allow people to have lights or have anything really. The streets were always dark at night. So that alone, just entering into the United States, the feeling of brightness and happiness was the first feeling I had.”
She said initially, a language barrier caused her family to struggle with employment for a while. She said they only came to the U.S. with approximately $30 and two suitcases. Eventually, her mom started one of the restaurants Wu owns with a friend in order to help her godson get a green card. However, her mom, a pianist, did not really care for the stress of the restaurant business, and her mom’s godson didn’t care for it, either. So Wu, who had gone to school at the University of Michigan for organizational studies, which incorporates business with psychology, ultimately took over the business and expanded it. At one point, she owned four restaurants across metro Detroit: JJ Crab House and Lucky Kitchen, in Ann Arbor; Sapporo Hibachi Steakhouse and Sushi, in Livonia; and her largest one, Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse, in Novi. After 13 years in Novi, she closed the restaurant this year but still maintains her other locations.
Wu said she has faced some challenges as an immigrant business owner over the years, especially when there was the SARS epidemic, which originated from Hong Kong.
“SARS was a big challenge for me. A lot of people didn’t want to come eat Chinese food,” said Wu. “Also, back in 1993 when I started it, a lot of people saw Chinese food as really unhealthy. So yeah, there’s always challenges.”
‘This is something that, at one point, my kids can be part of it’
Mariana Steganha co-owns the Biggby Coffee franchise location in Lathrup Village with her husband, Rodrigo.
Originally from Brazil, she came to the U.S. with her husband, who had a temporary work assignment in 2016. She said he was offered a full-time position with his company in the U.S., and ultimately, they ended up staying stateside.
Steganha said that after the birth of her second child, they decided that a traditional 9-5 job was not something that was suitable for her anymore. They decided to look into franchising their own business. Steganha said their neighbor is the area representative for Biggby franchise locations and asked if they were interested in opening one. Since coffee is such an important part of Brazilian culture, they thought it was the perfect type of business to get involved in.
“My husband thought it was a good idea to own a business and long term, we would have more time for our family, too,” Steganha said. “This is something that, at one point, my kids can be part of it.”
They opened the franchise in November 2024. She said she really has enjoyed getting to know the community through the business.
Like Wu, Steganha said that the biggest challenge she had when coming to the country was the language barrier. She said her husband spoke the language well, but she didn’t. She did, however, have a foundational understanding of the written language and was able to learn it by submersion with her first job in the U.S.
“I got to learn how to communicate. I had to face challenges like talking to people over the phone, especially angry customers, with some delayed orders, for example. So you know customer service, so I was the first one to take the heat,” she said. “So that brought me a lot of experience. For me, when I’m here at the cashier talking to people, that’s something that I really appreciate because it’s how everything started for me when I started my career path.
“I like that, and people get curious and say, ‘Hey, where are you from? I noticed your accent,’ and we start to get to know each other,” Steganha said.
She said getting to know the community and her staff is her favorite part of owning the coffee shop. She said she has learned a lot from both her customers and her staff.
Wu has been in the restaurant industry for years and said that her Novi customers have continued to frequent her Livonia locations. Eggert and Steganha, who recently opened their businesses, said that they just want people to know they exist.
Grosse Pointe Farms businessman fills need at food pantry
BY K. MICHELLE MORAN kmoran@candgnews.com
METRO DETROIT — A local businessman who has been in the food and beverage industry for more than 25 years is using his newest venture to feed local families in need this summer.
Mark Rieth, of Grosse Pointe Farms, the founder and former owner of Atwater Brewery, purchased the iconic, Detroit-born Velvet Peanut Butter brand in late 2024. After learning that there was a tremendous need at local food banks, Velvet delivered almost 3,000 cases of its peanut butter — about 35,000 jars — in mid-June to Forgotten Harvest’s mobile food pantry distribution center in Oak Park.
“I’ve had a long-standing relationship with Forgotten Harvest back to the Atwater Days,” Rieth said. “One of the things I’ve always been so adamant about is giving back to the community.”
The fact that peanut butter is a shelf-stable product and is high in protein made it an ideal donation to Forgotten Harvest.
“Protein is one of the most important but often least available components in the diets of those facing food insecurity,” Christopher Ivey, chief marketing and communications
Photo provided by Velvet Peanut Butter
More than 30,000 jars of Velvet Peanut Butter were donated to Forgotten Harvest this summer to feed families in metro Detroit.
Rieth
from page 6A
officer at Forgotten Harvest, said in a press release. “With 7 grams of protein per serving, Velvet Peanut Butter can play an important role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our neighbors, while also providing classic peanut butter taste.”
For children facing food insecurity, the summer can be a particularly challenging time because school isn’t in session, so they’re no longer getting the free breakfasts and/or lunches they might receive at school. Peanut butter is also popular with many children.
“Peanut butter is such a great staple,” said Rieth, noting that it will fill someone up.
Rieth said it’s well-documented that children who are hungry tend to struggle in school.
“As we all know, there’s always a need to make sure kids have enough food to have a successful childhood,” Rieth said. “There’s a direct correlation between doing well in school and having (access to) food.”
The United Way states on its website that almost 50 million people in the United States need assistance from food banks and nonprofits to feed themselves and their fami-
lies. One in four children, and one in four college students, are food insecure.
In Michigan, Feeding America has determined that more than 1.544 million people are confronting hunger. That’s more than the population of Detroit, Warren, Sterling Heights and Clinton Township combined. Of those facing hunger in Michigan, Feeding America says 402,680 are children.
Hunger Free America, which conducts an annual nationwide hunger study using federal data, said the number of Michigan residents who didn’t have adequate food over two one-week periods in August and September of 2024 was 53% higher than the number reported in August to September of 2021.
Rieth said he intends to continue to donate a portion of the peanut butter made by Velvet to food banks like Forgotten Harvest.
“We’re definitely going to be doing it on a more regular basis,” Rieth said. “We’re all about trying to help out and do our part to cure hunger.”
Velvet’s history goes back nearly 90 years. The company was launched in 1937 by Detroit truck driver Paul Zukerman, who spotted an ad for used peanut butter-making equipment and bought it to start Velvet Peanut Butter. After selling the product out of the trunk of his car, Zukerman was tapped to
produce peanut butter for American troops during World War II. The peanut butter can be found at mul-
tiple retailers across metro Detroit, including Meijer and Westborn Market locations and Fresh Farms Market in Grosse Pointe City.
&
Cemetery
from page 1A
about the centennial. “We want every family to feel their loved ones are at rest in a safe, welcoming and peaceful setting.”
He attributed the cemetery’s longevity to the bonds that formed early in the company’s history.
“Almost everyone that has been on our board for the last 100 years is related to the original investors,” said Hughes III, whose grandfather was one of the initial financial supporters. “That’s how my family got involved. We like to say this is a cemetery for everyone. In the very beginning there were bishops and pastors that would tell parishioners of Detroit Memorial Park.”
Through the decades, staff built relationships with local funeral home directors, which helped spread the word about the Black-owned cemetery. In the last 100 years, the board of directors and employees created an institution that offers chapel services, ground burials, mausoleum burials for people or cremains, headstones, memorial stone benches, cremation burials and niche inurnment. It also has been identified as a historic site through the Michigan Historical Marker Program.
Detroit Memorial Park is divided into several sections, including a Garden of the Cross, Garden of Love, Garden of Truth, Garden of Prayer and Garden of Gethsemane. There is a children’s cemetery and a final resting spot for military veterans.
Although Black families finally had a place for proper burials, it wasn’t always easy for them to travel from downtown Detroit to Warren in the early days the park operated.
“What if it was snowing and you’re coming from Detroit on a dirt road. Much of the day was spent getting here and getting back,” Hughes III said. “But you did get a dignified service and burial. That was the good part. You weren’t going to be rejected once you got out here.”
‘There’s such a rich legacy’
Surrounded by trees, each headstone pays tribute to the people who are laid to rest. They were moms, dads, grandparents and great-grandparents survived by their loved ones. Many burial plots have families from different generations. Flowers are placed at graves, and sometimes balloons for the deceased sway in the wind.
The first interment was Oct. 27, 1926, of infant Emma L. Brown, who was a stillborn baby. Staff members still become emotional at her memory. Many prominent Black politicians, business leaders, lawyers, preach-
Detroit Memorial Park President Wilbur B. Hughes III stands near the gravesites of Charles Diggs Sr. and family members. Diggs Sr. was a Black state legislator and mortician who found investors to fund the cemetery in 1925.
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
ers, and musicians are buried on the grounds. Anyone who has ever heard the term “The Real McCoy” can thank Elijah McCoy. According to Legend, the phrase came about because of him. During his lifetime, the science enthusiast acquired numerous patents for his inventions. When he died in 1929, he was interred at Detroit Memorial Park. The cemetery is the final resting place for other well-known members of the Black community, including U.S. Congressman John Conyers Jr. in the mausoleum; Richard H. Austin, Michigan’s longest-serving secretary of state from 1971-1994; and Ron Banks: founder of the soul group the Dramatics. Diggs Sr. and Toodle also are buried there.
Detroit Memorial Park is the burial spot for Florence Ballard of the Supremes, who died in 1976 at age 32. Etched with two musical notes, her gravestone reads “Florence Glenda Chapman beloved wife and
mother.” One of the groundskeepers, Dennis Dewey, said that people from other states and even someone from England have come to the cemetery specifically to visit the Motown singer’s gravesite.
Dewey also shared a story about another singer, Philippe E. Wynne, lead vocalist of the Spinners who died in 1984. He said that when a fan came to pay his respects, there was no gravestone. Bothered by that, “he paid to have the headstone made.” Dewey often listens to music when working and anytime the Spinners or the Supremes come on, “I turn it up loud.”
Carol Maddox McKinney has been employed with Detroit Memorial Park 39 years. She started working there at age 18 and grew with the company since that time. As chief operating officer, she makes sure the daily operations run smoothly.
“It’s been an honor working here,” she said. “There’s such a rich legacy. We’ve been able to serve the Detroit area community and funeral directors.”
She learned a lot over the years, including from Hughes’ mother, Roberta Hughes Wright, who died in 2019.
“I was really close with his mom,” she said. “She used to come here every Thursday. Rain, shine, sleet or snow, you could count on her coming through the door.”
Roberta Hughes Wright left her legacy with the company. She penned the cemetery’s history in the book “Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery: The Evolution of an African American Corporation.”
Since opening in Warren, Detroit Memorial Park expanded to add two other locations: Detroit Memorial Park West in Redford, which opened in 1988, and Gracelawn Cemetery in Flint, which opened in 1996.
“Many foot problems in people with diabetes occur when injuries and infections go unnoticed and untreated. Healing can be delayed due to decreased feeling in the feet (neuropathy) and poor circulation. I will evaluate your feet regularly to detect any changes early, before they become a problem. Call me for an appointment and I will work with you to keep your feet healthy.”
from page 3A
this family was their story,” Lalonde said.
In 2023, Lisa’s daughter, Christina Durie, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of appendix cancer, just one day after giving birth to her son, Isaac. Christina has two children — 12-year-old Ava and Isaac, who will turn 2 in September — with her longtime partner Robert Hill. Hill died in 2023.
Following the loss of Hill, Lisa decided
DCFC
our city,” Wright said. “We are consciously doing a ton of work in the Black community and in the Hispanic community to grow the game. … We’re doing everything we can to make sure that we are growing a team that is accessible to everyone and that looks like our community.”
One of the biggest projects to make the game more accessible to everyone is a new stadium for the club that’s expected to be ready by the start of the 2027 season. The pitch
to move to Sterling Heights permanently to support Christina through treatment while helping her care for the children.
With doctors optimistic about remission, the mother-daughter duo decided to combine incomes to purchase a larger home that would fit the entire family, one that included a pool — intended to be a joyful escape for Ava.
But in December, new scans showed the cancer was no longer responding to chemotherapy and had spread. Christina, 33, died in March, after a 19-month battle.
“It’s been a crushing two years. I miss
will be at the corner of Michigan Avenue and 20th Street, where the former Southwest Detroit Hospital is located.
“The community is buzzing about the thought of a soccer-specific stadium downtown, bridging Corktown and southwest Detroit,” Wright said. “It’s not just folks that love soccer, it’s folks that love Detroit and understand how perfect that location is. … It’s an incredible progression going from a high school field at Cass Tech (to the new stadium).”
DCFC has played at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck since 2016. The club raised money to renovate Keyworth almost a decade
my girl,” Lisa said.
At the age of 60, she never imagined stepping into a full-time parenting role again, especially in a home that was never meant to be solely her responsibility.
Today, Lisa is doing everything she can to keep life steady for Ava and Isaac.
And thanks to the financial assistance, Lisa and her grandchildren can relax for at least the next year.
“Two thousand dollars a month is a big chunk of our monthly expenses,” Lisa said.
“That will be such a blessing, and just give me peace of mind.”
ago and has been thrilled with how the stadium has thrived and grown with the team.
A lot of the executives and higher-ups within DCFC are also Detroit sports fans in general.
“We take pride in growing this team in a way that reflects the values of a new generation of Detroiters,” DCFC CEO Sean Mann said. “And doing it in a way that matches the passion and commitment that our community has always had for sports.”
The goal is to inspire the metro Detroit youth to play soccer and in turn get the kids of the area to pass down their love and passion for DCFC in the future.
JUNK REMOVAL
“I am so grateful and very thankful. I feel like I just lost a ton of weight (off my shoulders).”
Lalonde said he relates to Lisa’s journey.
“I lost my sister, as well as my mother, to cancer,” Lalonde said. “It’s a big story that all my clients understand and why I do what I do today as a financial planner.”
Lisa’s hope is that the family can at least remain in their home until Ava graduates from high school.
“I know Christina is smiling down right now, and I know she’d be so grateful,” said Lisa.
“The effect of the club’s rise has inspired youth programs across the region and fostered a sense of civic pride that extends beyond the pitch,” Mann said. “We are the only local club where kids can wear the uniform the pros wear; it’s a small thing, but it resonates.”
What was once an idea between friends is now a club that has men’s, women’s, and youth teams throughout its organization. Detroit City Football Club plays games throughout the summer at Keyworth Stadium, 3201 Roosevelt St, Hamtramck, MI 48212. For more information, visit detci tyfc.com.
CARE
a board of directors that really supported my crazy idea. A year ago I said, ‘This is what I want to do: I want to get this building.’ And they said, ‘OK, go ahead.’ Here we are a year later with what we think is a beautiful building and a wonderful community that has been supportive of us.”
Referring to his background as a law enforcement officer, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel also addressed the crowd.
“We’ve come to the realization that in law enforcement we need a lot of support organizations out there to help people that are coming through our doors. Oftentimes, people think law enforcement is just there to arrest the bad guy and we put them in jail or lockup,” Hackel said. “That’s not our mindset today. It never really was back then, and we’ve come to realize there are organizations out there that really do care about people that want to partner with us and help us out. We know there are people out there who have challenges, and we care enough to try to figure out how to support them.”
Prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Hackel walked around the facility and spoke with several CARE staff members.
“Every one of those people I talked to are so passionate about what they do,” Hackel said. “You have such an incredibly talented staff.”
CARE of Southeastern Michigan provides services that cover parenting classes; alcohol, tobacco and drug prevention; suicide and depression; counseling; mental health; home-based case management; recovery coaching; employee assistance programs; and more. The organization also works with the local school districts.
The youth counseling and outpatient treatment, for instance, provides resources and interventions within the classroom to foster a responsive learning environment. CARE supports adolescents and their families as they manage mental health or substance use issues.
Another example of a CARE program is Recovery United Community Center, which offers free support groups and services to everyone in the community. It is also home to CARE’s peer recovery coaching program where individuals can continue their progress and receive support on their substance use recovery journeys.
Each CARE staff member works in a specified area. Jade Cruz, prevention program manager; Kayla Dadswell, director of prevention; and Elizabeth Cupolo, project coordinator of the Sterling Heights Drug Free Coalition, work together to prevent substance use disorder. The Sterling Heights Drug Free Coalition supports CARE and what the organization does; hence, the relationship.
“We work with elected officials and community partners to try to combat the marketing strategies aimed toward youth. Drugs are accessible in our community or normalized through our culture. The biggest component we see with kids is social media,” Cruz said. “We do evidence-based curriculum in the school system. These are honest conversations we have with youth. The new location brings a new face to the services we provide.”
Lauren Letzmann is the Project VOX coordinator.
“We do a lot of grassroots work with different sections of the community, law enforcement, elected officials, churches and schools,” Letzmann said. “We do expungement clinics to reduce the barriers to getting a job. We get them integrated more into the community and try to give the people in recovery a voice. We have Narcan kits free to the community to help reverse opioid overdoses. We provide resources for treatment.”
For more information on CARE of Southeastern Michigan, visit careofsem.com or call (586) 541-2273.
and CEO Susan Styf welcomes
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
