Features

Innovation News Michael Vick talks to press in the Trophy Room at Ypsilanti Community High School on Dec. 2 before addressing students in the auditorium.

Michael Vick visits Ypsilanti as brand ambassador for local credit repair company's youth academy

Vick's past struggles with low credit score led him to team up with Bad Credit is Childish Academy, a new Ypsilanti-based financial literacy program for young people.

Longform Washtenaw County Treasurer Catherine McClary and Judge Julia Owdziej.

Washtenaw County program helps Black residents win rightful ownership of inherited homes

Discriminatory practices led many Black families to purchase homes informally generations ago, leaving their descendants with no legal claim to their family homes. But a county program is working to change that.

Longform RAC Manager of Operations Maggie Spencer and Executive Director Amy Fracker.

After a pandemic pause, Ypsi's Riverside Arts Center seeks to reinvent itself

Changes in the works include physical renovations, an overhaul of class offerings, and a vocal ensemble.

Innovation News Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Millie Chu and Leslie Sobel are available to help participants in the SERVE program.

WCC launches new program to serve social impact businesses

The SERVE: Social Impact program, launched in October, offers one-on-one mentoring with industry experts, a social impact business pitch competition, webinars, and other online resources. 

Innovation News SMART

EMU project collaborates with oversight commissions to improve public safety in Washtenaw County

A recent grant will help an Eastern Michigan University policy research project expand its mission to address racial bias and develop best practices for public safety departments and their oversight commissions.

Innovation News Coalition for Re-envisioning Our Safety member Rev. Donnell Wyche.

Community coalition proposes pilot plan for non-police response in Ann Arbor

The recently formed Coalition for Re-envisioning Our Safety is asking Washtenaw County residents to sign a petition to support a proposed pilot plan for non-police responses to crisis situations in Ann Arbor.

Longform Priya Gogoi.

Ann Arbor-area women in tech discuss their challenges and triumphs in a male-dominated industry

We talked with three local women about being leaders in an industry where women are still dramatically underrepresented.

Longform The Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra rehearses at the Lincoln High School Performing Arts Center.

Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra returns from pandemic pause with new venue and collaborations

The Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra went on hiatus for an entire season during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now the group is back, looking to reconnect with long-time supporters and win new fans.

Longform Alexander Lee recieves his COVID vaccine from Steve Jensen at Daycroft School.

Here's how Washtenaw County's ISD and health department collaborated to keep schools safe from COVID

The recent rollout of COVID vaccinations to young children provides an added layer of safety to an already sturdy set of COVID-19 precautions developed by the Washtenaw Intermediate School District and the Washtenaw County Health Department.

Partner Content FL

How this Detroit furniture maker is maintaining its startup culture, even amongst tremendous growth

“After college, making sure I worked somewhere where every employee was treated like an individual — and we weren't seen as just an army of people, just chugging away — was really important for me,” says Tyler Allen, creative production associate at Floyd. “What's really nice about start-up culture is just that there's a lot of camaraderie between everybody there, it feels like a family. It's not a huge corporation.”

Innovation News Elevation Youth participants collect winter clothing for the organization's 2020 coat drive.

Ypsilanti youth arts nonprofit uses pop-up shop to fund winter coats for those in need

Elevation Youth, an Ypsilanti-based youth arts nonprofit, will host a Youth Pop-Up event, with proceeds going to purchase new and gently-used coats for distribution to local families this fall and winter.

Innovation News People Party! can populate a scene with a varying number of figures, representing real population metrics in the area where the project will be located.

Architects' renderings don't always accurately represent people. A U-M prof's app could change that.

Bryan Boyer co-created "People Party!," which allows architects to populate their renderings with human figures who represent real population metrics in the areas where their projects will be located.

Innovation News Tech Homecoming in 2019.

Annual Tech Homecoming job fair returns to Ann Arbor with in-person and virtual events

Tech Homecoming will return as an in-person event on Thanksgiving eve, Nov. 24, at Cahoots, followed by a first-time online version of the event, called Back to Michigan, on Wed., Dec. 8. 

Innovation News Ann Arbor resident Maisie Weyhing features in a documentary presented to the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties.

Ann Arbor teens featured in video at UN Climate Change Conference

Ann Arbor teens featured in a documentary film on youth-led climate change action that premiered Nov. 8 at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, Scotland. 

Longform Front to back - Chef Jack Goforth and owner Eric Farrell at The Bar at 327 Braun Court.

Ann Arbor service workers see a "revolution," not a labor shortage

Service workers have quit their jobs en masse across the nation in recent months, and locals in the industry say it'll take major change to bring them back.

Longform Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton.

Partnership between Washtenaw County sheriff and community mental health strengthens crisis response

Community mental health professionals have been a formal part of the sheriff's office's Crisis Negotiation Team since 2019, with positive results for both agencies.

Longform Shelter Association of Washtenaw County executive director Daniel Kelly.

County mental health millage funds new supportive housing programs

With Washtenaw County mental health millage funds, four local agencies are helping people in Ypsilanti and throughout the county find stable and secure housing. 

Innovation News Special equipment is installed on EMU's campus to test for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Here's how EMU is using wastewater tests to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks

EMU was among the first in the nation to use wastewater monitoring to find potential COVID-19 outbreaks before they start.

Innovation News Rise student fellows Judah Orli Perillo and Latitude Brown.

Washtenaw County students work with national organization to fight for free, accessible college

Local student fellows have been involved in efforts to advocate for free, accessible post-secondary education at both the state and federal levels.

Longform Hope Clinic food program manager Emmeline Weinert.

Two Ypsilanti nonprofits create new solutions for clients' baby care needs

Hope Clinic and SOS Community Services are going beyond giving away typical food pantry items to offer more diapers and other baby care items for clients.

Hasini and Harshini Anand are members of Corner Health Center's Youth Leadership Council and mental health advocates.

 


   Voices of Youth
Concentrate's Voices of Youth series features content created by Washtenaw County youth in partnership with Concentrate mentors, as well as feature stories by adult writers that examine issues of importance to local youth. Click here for a full list of the latest content from this series.