Bonnie Rolle, a retired Detroit Public School teacher and great-grandmother, wasn't afraid to ask Michigan candidates if they are committed to supporting public education if they are elected in November. Here's how some responded at a recent virtual forum.
Parents and childcare advocates showed up at a virtual forum recently to ask local candidates running for Michigan’s State House this November about the issues on families’ minds. Check out what the folks looking for your vote had to say about child tax credits on a state level and reproductive rights.
Among our state's children experiencing mental illness, more than a third are not receiving care, according to a recent report. Parents and childcare advocates showed up at a virtual forum recently to ask local candidates running for Michigan’s State House what they plan to do about it.
The national average wage for a child care worker is now $13.22 per hour, and nearly 90,000 people have left the industry in the last two years. In Michigan, the shortage has left thousands of parents waiting for open spots in struggling facilities. Parents and childcare advocates showed up at a virtual forum recently to ask local candidates running for Michigan’s State House this November about solutions.
"The real-life impact that a quality early childhood education has on every aspect of all our lives – even if we’re not parents or grandparents becomes apparent when you compare children who’ve been afforded high-quality early experiences and those who have not," says Denise Smith, implementation director for Hope Starts Here Detroit Early Childhood Partnership. "The adults who end up working in every aspect of our society—their early starts shape how they show up in those roles."
In partnership with Model D and the Southeast Michigan Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, we're spending the next two months exploring the state of early education and childhood care in our region. We'll be reporting on what parents and providers are experiencing right now, what’s working and what’s not, and who is uncovering solutions.
Written and directed by Sarah Shourd, who was once held as a political prisoner in Iran, and with many of its cast and crew survivors of solitary confinement, "The Box" sheds light on a concerning corner of incarceration in the U.S.
Metro Detroit households are paying more on energy bills than the national average, and for low-income households, the energy burden is 3.7 times higher than others. It's why the weatherization program started. But with only one in four applicants meeting the requirements for assistance, is it working? And what happens to the money left on the table?
"Honestly, at first, a guy like me would get teased doing something like that," Gabriel Odlum, a returning citizen, says of performing in a Shakespeare in Prison program. "But it was empowering to know, regardless of where you're at, that type of stuff is valued. Through it, we found out who we were, and what our strengths were."
Looking back over the stories the series has captured during the past year, here are three valuable takeaways about how nonprofits are serving their communities, moving forward.
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