Michigan Interfaith Trust Fund

The Michigan Interfaith Trust Fund wants to congratulate HomeStretch Nonprofit Housing Corporation in Traverse City for successfully repaying two loans to the Trust Fund on Monday, June 29^th.  These were the twelfth and thirteen loans that the Trust Fund has made to HomeStretch.  Both loans were used to build four three-bedroom condominium townhouses in Traverse City.  Originally HomeStretch had planned to sell the homes to low income families but now plans to rent them to recently homeless families.  A local social service agency will provide these families with supportive services to ensure their success.  HomeStretch was able to repay the Trust Fund loan with a generous grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. 

The headlines across the state have been pretty rough lately, so here’s a couple positive stories from this weekend to check out.

Detroit News: Crowds pack downtown Detroit for Wings, Hoedown. The city’s sports teams and music scene are still bringing people downtown:

The Tigers, the Wings and Willie made downtown a mecca for thousands of baseball, hockey and country music fans this afternoon.

While the Detroit Tigers faced the Oakland A’s, the Detroit Red Wings were skating against the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL Western Conference Finals just a few blocks south. Meanwhile, to the east, the Downtown Hoedown, which will be headlined by legendary country star Willie Nelson, was in full swing.

It all made for a busy day downtown…

The multitude of events downtown was good business for Home Run Subs on Washington Boulevard.

“Usually we don’t get a lot of customers on Sundays, but people are stopping in today,” manager Russ Rabeman said.

CNNMoney.com: Why I love Detroit: 13 stories. Speaking of reasons people love Detroit, here’s an excerpt from a recent online feature that jumped out at us:

Why I love Detroit: Detroit residents support those who are part of the city’s mosaic. Often they’re working-class, blue-collar people who want to see their kids have better lives.

And I think that can happen, because Detroit is turning around. We have a great downtown, talented sports teams, the busiest waterway in the country, tax incentives for filmmakers, newer houses and more green space than most large cities.

Obviously we’ve had issues, but a lot people here have invested time and energy into a 21st century city. People here believe it can be defined by its brighter future, not its bleaker past. Detroit can make itself into a prime U.S. city again. I believe we’re destined for it.

Model D: $656,000 earmark targeted towards New Center infrastructure improvements. Federal infrastructure funding is coming to Detroit:

New Center Councilis moving ahead with a number of infrastructure improvement projects intended to ready the neighborhood for better times. “These infrastructure projects are great right now because they create jobs and bring workers to New Center,” says New Center Council vice president Karen Gage. “This helps struggling businesses that really benefit from the added population brought in by all these construction projects.”

New Center is the recipient of a $656,000 federal earmark, part of which will be used to implement streetscape improvements along Woodward between I-94 and Euclid, sandwiching the improvements already completed near Grand Boulevard. 

This project will be done in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation’s plans to resurface Woodward, which proved to be both timely and economical. “There’s one bid, one contractor,” says Gage. “There are a lot of savings by rolling this work into an existing project.” Bids are expected to go out in the next two months with work finished by the end of summer.

Capital Gains: $250,000 Grant Finishes 32 Residential Rehab Units in Downtown St. Johns. Meanwhile, downtown St. Johns is receiving a little development help of its own:

The City of St. Johns is using a third downtown development grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) to finish renovations of 32 downtown St. Johns.

“If people live downtown, it does two things,” says Steven Wagner, community development director for the City of St. Johns. “It gives someone an affordable place to live and it brings people downtown.”

Jackson Citizen Patriot: Number of homeless students at Jackson Public Schools quadruples. Some troubling news coming out of Jackson, a city that has been hit especially hard by the economic crisis:

In 2006-07, there were 34 students classified as homeless — 33 in elementary and one in high school.

This year, that number has more than quadrupled to 143 students — 139 in elementary, one in middle school and three in high school — or about 2 percent of the roughly 6,370 students enrolled in the district this fall.

And that’s only the homeless students the district knows about.

By law, schools are required to do all they can to get homeless students to school and break barriers that might keep them from attending and succeeding.

The federal McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children and youths as being those “who lack fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.” It includes those who live in shelters, share housing with others because of economic hardship or stay in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, camping grounds, shelters or motels.

Learn how you can help reverse this trend by visiting the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness’ website at www.mihomeless.org.

Detroit News: Detroit has plenty to offer Final Four fans. On a brighter note, with the Spartans now in the Final Four, the excitement is building in Detroit:

Detroit is about to go hoops crazy as the NCAA Final Four fans start rolling into town next week, not a moment too soon for a region eager for some fun.

The Final Four championship games will be held Saturday and Monday at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, and downtown hoteliers and bar and restaurant owners are itching to show off refurbished Art Deco hotels and slicked up bars and restaurants to out-of-town visitors who may be surprised at all the entertainment options in the city.

Some 100,000 visitors are expected to stream into the city, with an estimated $50 million economic impact, according to the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.