Ferndale Nonprofits

Ferndale’s Proud Non-Profits Serving Our Community

Mary Meldrum | Photos: Bernie Laframboise

FERNDALE HAS A MYRIAD OF COMMUNITY SERVICE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AVAILABLE FOR RESIDENTS. Many are surprising in terms of their mission and scope. Below are some of our favorites, and please consider volunteering and donating.

I3 DETROIT

HAVE YOU EVER DREAMED OF A PLACE WHERE YOU COULD BUILD AND CRAFT TO YOUR HEART’S DESIRE? A place to find other do-it-yourselfers and get tips and advice? Where you can learn to use tools that would never fit into your garage or your budget?

That place exists today. Welcome to i3 Detroit. We are not a profit-driven tool center. Everyone ati3 Detroithas a burning passion to create, tinker, hack and make things, driving us to create the best possible community and space. Our members take pride in what we’ve built and for good reason! There is a wide variety of diverse things to create here, and we’ve done it all as a highly-engaged volunteer community with a passion for things such as crafting, woodworking, metalworking, electronics, welding, programming, and digital fabrication.

i3 Detroitis Metro Detroit’s largest communityrun do-it-yourself workshop. A collision of art, technology, learning and collaboration; whatever you want to build, you can do it here. Located near the heart of Ferndale, i3 Detroit is close to many local events and an amazing community. If you are curious about – or never heard of – “makerspace,” then swing on by on a Friday evening, 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. to take a tour and get to know the membership.

Excited? Come check us out ati3 Detroit. This might just be the place you’ve been looking for! 1481-A, Wordworth St., Ferndale MI 48220.

STAGECRAFTERS OF ROYAL OAK

STAGECRAFTERS, A 501 (C)(3) NOT-FOR

PROFIT COMMUNITY THEATER, provides opportunities for members of the community to develop their talents and volunteer their time to create an enriching, quality theatrical experience through its Main Stage, 2nd Stage, and Youth Theater productions.

Erin McKay, the Marketing and Event Manager, has been with Stagecrafters for two-and-a-half years. Among other things, she promotes the shows and helps out with donor events, making sure the food, talent and speakers are all ready to go. Stagecrafters is a live community theater. All actors are volunteers. There are ten shows a season, with five main stage shows including musicals, comedies and dramas. They also present three second-stage shows, which are edgy dramas or comedies, as well as two youth theater shows a season for kids ages 8 to 17. While adults do the directing and also handle anything that the kids can’t manage, the kids do pretty much everything else in the youth theater.

Founded in 1956, Stagecrafters has been named Best Community Theater by Hour Detroit Magazine readers, and Best Place for Live Local Theaterby Detroit Metro Times readers. Recently, the 2nd Stage show, Trevor won awards at the 2017 Michigan AACTFEST in the categories of Outstanding Featured Actor, Outstanding Actor and the Golden Truck Award.

Stagecrafters’ mission is “to provide an opportunity for members of the community, in an atmosphere of fellowship, to develop their talents and to volunteer their time to create an enriching, quality theatrical experience for the community.” Their vision is “to create and present distinctive quality theatre for the community through the collaboration of a diverse group of volunteer artists and supporters based on our shared belief that engaging in the arts enriches lives.”

FERNCARE FREE CLINIC

THE FERNCARE FREE CLINIC IS A NON

PROFIT, SELF-FUNDED, FREE CLINIC that provides no-cost medical care to the medically uninsured. FernCare treats people between 19 and 64 years of age who don’t have medical insurance or a primary care provider.

FernCare provides the following services:

● Non-emergency healthcare

● Checkups

● Generic medications

● Lab Testing

Enrollment assistance with:

● Prescription Assistance Program

● Affordable Care Act insurance exchange enrollment assistance

● Healthy Michigan enrollment assistance

● 1:1 smoking cessation counseling

● Acupuncture (referrals to an off-site clinician.

● Nutrition counseling

● Lab testing

● Wellness/life coaching

In addition to medical clinics, FernCare is also a source for health care resources

FernCare is one of 52 free medical clinics in Michigan, and one of two in South Oakland County. FernCare is a member of the National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC) and Free Clinics of Michigan (FCOM).

FernCare is open 15 hours each month as an operating medical clinic and six hours each month for acupuncture treatment. On weekdays, the office is open 9:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. for inquiries, appointment scheduling, and as a health services resource.

FernCare dispenses generic and over-thecounter medications as prescribed by our volunteer practitioners.

All services are by appointment only. Returning patients are able to obtain an appointment within one to two weeks of their call. New patients must wait a month for an appointment simply because of high demand and limited hours.

Ferndale’s Nonprofit Organizations

MY PLACE CENTER FOR WELLNESS

MICHELLE BIDIGARE IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MY PLACE CENTER FOR WELLNESS IN OAK PARK, MICHIGAN. My Place is leading the way for peer-delivered mental health services in the Metro-Detroit area.

Michelle Bidigare is a Certified Peer Support Specialist, which was acquired through a 40-hour State training program. She has been with My Place in Oak Park for four years. This is the fourth drop-in center she has been contracted to rebuild. My Place has been tucked into the corner of the strip mall at Scotia and 9 Mile since 2002. It looks like a small place from the outside, but when you walk in it is wide open, warm and friendly. Goodwill and Easter Seals of Michigan used to oversee the organization, but in 2016 they became an independent nonprofit organization.

Michelle says thatMy Place staff also serve as advocates for the members of the Center. Advocacy addresses the Member’s housing, guardian, medical and court concerns.

“We make sure that not only are they safe here, but also safe within the community,” she states.

MY PLACE CENTER FOR

WELLNESS IS A large space with many computers, televisions, games, puzzles, books, arts and crafts and a kitchen center. There are pool tables, an exercise area, ping-pong tables and other gaming centers for members to keep active with one another. Another unique aspect of My Place Center is that staff and volunteers facilitate mental health recovery groups five days a week.

She states that “All of our services are free for any Oakland County adult who has a mental health diagnosis,” but adds that her Center does not turn away adults from other counties. “If they are going to take two, three or even four buses to come see us, then we never say no.”

My Place serves a continental breakfast every morning. They receive a shipment of food every Monday evening from Forgotten Harvest.

My Place is listed as a recreational and social program under Medicaid and is considered a “drop in” center. They currently have almost 400 active members. Many members live in adult foster-care homes. Michelle adds that, “We always welcome them with open arms because one of the worst things for a person with mental illness is social isolation, which exacerbates their symptoms.” M Y PLACE IS PEER-RUN, MEANING THAT

THE PROGRAM IS ENTIRELY STAFFED by persons with a mental health diagnosis. They provide a safe, supportive and normalizing environment for individuals labeled “mentally ill” within our communities. The philosophy behind peer-run organizations is that by working together and sharing experiences each have had in the community, members are able to help each other. The fear of mental health professional is removed at a peerrun organization because everyone has been through similar experiences.

Members are able to participate in various, costfree outings offered byMy Place, including art classes at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Tiger’s games, apple-picking adventures, annual BBQ atShepard Park and other events..

My Place cultivates an atmosphere of acceptance where people are given the opportunity to regain their self-worth, dignity and sense of belonging. There are about 40 centers like My Place in Michigan, which is the most of any state. Wayne and Oakland counties each have three drop-in centers.

Volunteers and board members? Yes, please! The work necessary to keep this place running smoothly is constant and endless. With only three full-time employees (including Michelle), and one part time custodian, there is much that could be done by volunteers and additional board members. ■

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