Michigan's AmeriCorps Member Council - Posting #5

My name is Kathleen Grandy and I am a member with Downriver CARES AmeriCorps. Our program’s host site is The Guidance Center, which serves Southeast Michigan in a mental health capacity. The Guidance Center’s programs focus on treatment, prevention, and growth and education, serving nearly 18,000 clients each year. In my AmeriCorps service placement, I teach parent-child interaction groups and coordinate a tutoring program for grades K – 5.

This past summer, an elementary school in one of our served communities, River Rouge, closed due to funding and low numbers. The school’s closing was upsetting to the community, which was already facing severe economic difficulty. Seeing this school shut down was like adding a load of hopelessness to an already bleak situation.

With the help of our AmeriCorps team, The Guidance Center was able to lease the building and turn it into a Community Resource Center. Downriver CARES engaged in all of the brunt work; preparing the building for a mixed-use space that would welcome the community back. We put months of work into the restoration of the Center and finally, in early December 2008, we were ready for a grand opening. The weekend before the grand opening though things took a turn for the worse - a pipe burst which caused the back half of the center to be covered in six inches of water.

We were broken hearted. Our months of hard work were ruined in one short weekend. As a group, we decided to postpone the party and focus on keeping a positive attitude and getting things done. People came from all over to help us clean up the Center and everyone was so cooperative. Before we knew it, the water was pumped out, everything was clean and in working order, and new carpeting was installed. It has now been only one month and we are back in business and working better than ever!

The Community Resource Center offers several programs including: GED tutoring, grades K-5 tutoring, Head Start preschool, parent-child interaction groups, mental health support and rehabilitation classes, a computer lab, and a clothing closet. We are also planning a summer day camp for the future. With that project, all of the services will be provided by The Guidance Center’s AmeriCorps members. It is exciting to be a part of the building’s redemption. Without our AmeriCorps team, none of it would have been possible. What is your story of redemption and perseverance?