It’s not just a budget-friendly place to shop for a great deal on clothes or an interesting trinket, hardcover bestseller, vintage toy or your next Halloween costume. Behind the scenes, Goodwill Industries of Mid-Michigan is a close team of professionals working together to train people who have significant personal barriers to employment.
“One day, I was taking my mother to the emergency room,” she recalls, “and suddenly in the midst of all that, someone started yelling my name – ‘Mrs. Ellie! Mrs. Ellie! I just earned my culinary arts degree and I’m doing pretty well now!’ It’s times like those when it really hits me that many of the people I have helped are very grateful.”
The mission of CFI is to promote and provide an improved quality of life for residents of distressed communities through economic development and affordable housing solutions. And their motto is Developing With The Community In Mind. Glenn says the organization started out with a passion for helping people, overwhelming community needs, perseverance and an ability to bring together the right resources to address longstanding community problems. “Essence and I decided that we wanted to be a part of the solution in Flint rather than the problem. Many people complain and that’s fine, but we took our frustrations and turned them into action.” The result of these actions has been great projects and programs that do not duplicate any other effort going on in the community. “It has required a lot of hard work and a great deal of sacrifice, but we would not have it any other way,” says Glenn. “We are doing everything we can as an organization to create equitable and sustainable programs and communities.”
At only one pound, five ounces, Kaidyn was considered a micro preemie, on the smaller end of the scale for babies found in the Hurley Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit. “He was so tiny, my wedding ring could fit on his arm,” Alicia remembered, “and my husband Terry’s ring fit on his leg.” Given his size, the official chance of Kaidyn’s survival was 50:50, and even then, the doctors thought the likeliness that he would have developmental or health issues was significant. But Alicia says that she never doubted he would make it. “I give glory to God for his story, and I am so grateful to the NICU team at Hurley,” she says.
The brainchild of Norman Bryant, the Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame has been recognizing and preserving the achievement of African American athletes in the Flint area since 1983. “Flint is a sports town,” says the founder, “and it always has been. We have such a rich history of athletes here, dating all the way back to 1917.” Norm says that the point of the Hall of Fame is to remember the accomplishments of black athletes so that kids today can learn how these “pioneers” paved the way for today’s Flintstones. “We had Flintstones back in the 20s and 30s,” Norm said, “and kids won’t ever know that unless we tell them.”
When Jennifer Barkey was appointed probate judge in 2006, she received a shock. “I’d been a judge for, I don’t know, fifteen minutes,” she said, “and I had over 50 cases wherein I had to order an involuntary pick-up of someone with a mental illness who was off their medication.” Frustrated by the vicious cycle of mental illness and insufficient treatment – a cycle that often ended in a jail sentence – Barkey heard about a mental health court in Ohio and went there to observe. Determined to institute the same court in Genesee County, she began by assembling a team, which included a clinical liaison from Genesee Health System and two attorneys willing to volunteer their time to represent defendants. “When we first started,” Barkey remembered, “our clinical liaison would cross-check a list of all the inmates in the jail every morning against a list of GHS clients. When we found a match, we would look into their charges, and if they met the requirements, we would have our attorney meet with the defendant and ask if they would like to try the Mental Health Court program. If they agreed, we’d talk to the judge on the case about a transfer.” This labor-intensive process is somewhat eased nowadays, says Judge Barkey, since other Genesee County judges now know about and believe in the program and refer appropriate cases to her.
No one wants to experience depression or suicidal thoughts during the holidays, yet for many people who have a mental illness, these feelings are a tragic reality. Fortunately, help during this and other times of the year is only a phone call away…
Gunnery Sergeant Dave Smith, USMC Retired, grew up in Flint, the son of Tom and Sandy Smith and a graduate of Powers High School. When he enlisted with the U.S. Marine Corp at just 17 years old, he had to obtain his parents’ permission. “My mom went berserk,” Dave remembers, “but I was a knucklehead who needed structure. I knew that if I went to college, it would be a waste of time and money; I just wasn’t ready.” So in June, 1988 he headed to boot camp in San Diego, CA. He was the first guy off the bus to get his hair cut, and that’s when reality sank in. The 17-year-old asked himself, “What have I done?”
