Affordable housing programs in the 1980s provided critical opportunities for Black families to live safely.
One such project was the Clement Kern Gardens Housing Project in Detroit, Michigan—–named after a Roman Catholic priest who came to Michigan after studying in Mexico. According to The Walter P. Reuther Library, Kern led the Most Holy Trinity Church in the heart of Detroit’s Corktown district as assistant pastor for six years and as pastor for 28 years.
Now, Corktown is one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in Detroit with an average home market value of $477,594, per Zillow, while other estimates reach as high as $630,000.
It would be easy for developers to close the housing project, displacing dozens of families. But one development company, The Community Builders, Inc., specializes in residential and commercial development, property and asset management, and community life programs, and is committed to ensuring every family has the opportunity to return and thrive.
They are building a new, modern redevelopment with a promise that will allow for every single family to return.
“Economic mobility starts at home,” TCB President and CEO Bart Mitchell notes. “The Community Builders develop healthy, affordable housing to provide a stable platform for families to thrive. Then, our coaches partner with families, from hosting financial literacy workshops for kids to helping adults build good credit with their rent payments. More than two-thirds of our Detroit residents improved their credit scores by an average of 52 points this year. We’re proud of our residents and their success.”
One of their most transformative programs centers around financial literacy. How different would your life be if you had learned financial literacy earlier in life? What if you knew about taxes, credit scores, and even student loan payments before you even entered high school?
“Make Cents,” a financial literacy camp for kids of all ages features sessions like “What Do You Want vs What Do You Need?” and the “History of Bartering and Money.” Participants were also able to earn “Buy Store Bucks” when they answered questions correctly and use them to purchase toys.
For Kimberly Cooley, TCB’s Education and Resource Manager, the “Make Cents” camp is a manifestation of that mission. “When it came to the Buy Bucks store, it was challenging because you may have to explain to a six-year-old that they don’t have enough money for the toy that they really want–and you don’t want to say no to them but its part of the learning process.”
Cooley notes that the youth were not the only ones who learned while at the camps. She says she also gained valuable insight into how children define needs versus wants. She explains, “I learned that for little kids, snacks are a need–while I would have called them a want. It helped me understand their point of view.” She notes that understanding the motivations of their children can help parents improve communication around money.
“We believe if we start with our children, we can equip them with tools to be successful later in life,” Theresa Mitchell, Director of Community Life in Detroit, explains. “We also teach them how to be good stewards of the things that they currently have.”
But the lessons don’t stop with kids.”We don’t just stop with the children, we do programming for adults as well helping them improve their incomes, credit scores, and even take steps toward homeownership,” Ms. Mitchell explains, “Because it’s never too late to get on the right track.”