Fran Dwight
Fran Dwight
Fran Dwight

Empowering voices: Black disability history workshop returns Read Article

Fran Dwight

Reclamation & Testimony: Kalamazoo nonprofit premiers stories of the unhoused Read Article

Casey Grooten

Preserving Indigenous language focus of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Read Article

Building businesses and community at Jerico in Kalamazoo's Edison neighborhood Read Article

Fran Dwight

PHOTOS: Rootead's annual Youth Drum and Dance Ensemble wows once again Read Article

Fran Dwight

Small blueberry farm survives by going organic Read Article

Battle Creek breakfast companies unite to raise funds for United Way — one cereal box at a time Read Article

Features

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Longform SWMI Journalism Collab LGBTQ teens Healthy Communities

Encontrando Apoyo Mientras Encuentras Tu Autenticidad: Recursos LGBTQ+ para Jóvenes

Por Zinta Aistars, Watershed VoiceMonday, October 23, 2023
Poco más del 40% de los jóvenes LGBTQ consideraron seriamente intentar suicidarse el año pasado; Los jóvenes transgénero, no binarios y/o de color reportaron tasas incluso más altas que sus pares. Hay ayuda disponible.
Longform Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative Urgent Care Healthy Communities

Urgent Mental Health Care: ISK and police partner to build a community safety net

By Zinta Aistars, Encore MagazineMonday, October 23, 2023
A primary goal in creating the center was to divert people having mental health problems from incarceration and from visiting emergency departments at area hospitals. In its first month, the Kalamazoo County police including those from the and township of Kalamazoo, Portage and the Sheriff’s Department received 346 calls flagged as behavioral health issues.
Longform Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative Urgent Care Healthy Communities

Atención de Urgencia de Salud MentaISK y la policía se asocian para crear una red de seguridad comunitaria

Por Zinta Aistars, Revista Encore Monday, October 23, 2023
Un objetivo principal al crear el centro fue desviar a las personas con problemas de salud mental del encarcelamiento y de las visitas a los departamentos de emergencia de los hospitales del área. En su primer mes, la policía del condado de Kalamazoo, incluidos los del municipio de Kalamazoo, Portage y el Departamento del Sheriff, recibieron 346 llamadas marcadas como problemas de salud conductual.
Feature Story Overview_Mental_Wellness_SWMi_Jounalism_Collaborative Healthy Communities

Mental health is finally getting the attention it deserves

Julie Mack, Southwest Michigan Journalism CollaborativeMonday, October 23, 2023
In the past 18 months, the Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative – a consortium of 12 regional media and community outlets – has published 70 stories on mental-health issues affecting local residents and organizations as part of its Mental Wellness Project.  
Feature Story Overview_Mental_Wellness_SWMi_Jounalism_Collaborative Healthy Communities

La salud mental recibe por fin la atención que merece

Julie Mack, Southwest Michigan Journalism CollaborativeMonday, October 23, 2023
En los últimos 18 meses, la Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative -un grupo de 12 medios de comunicación locales y comunitarios- ha intensificado el debate publicando 70 reportajes sobre problemas de salud mental que afectan a residentes y organizaciones locales en el marco de su Proyecto de Bienestar Mental. 
Longform Jamari Taylor Arts and Culture

How Battle Creek's Jamari Taylor paints a picture of success

Jane ParikhThursday, October 19, 2023
Artist and muralist Jamari Taylor, inspired by her own Battle Creek Central High School art teacher, is paying it forward through classes and one-on-one art instruction through the Arts and Culture Collective of Battle Creek.
Longform Graphic Packaging Healthy Communities

Something stinks in ‘Paper City’: Kalamazoo residents push back on legacy of industrial pollution

Caroline BissonnetteThursday, October 19, 2023
“Growing up, everyone had asthma… we used to collect inhalers like they were Pokémon,” recalls Tyler Dancer while walking through his Northside neighborhood in early September. Envirosuite meters throughout the neighborhood now monitor hydrogen sulfide levels. Residents have filed a class action suit and formed a group, Kalamazoo Parents for Clean Air, to address the harmful impacts of industrial pollution.
Feature Story Baby Cafe Healthy Communities

Baby Café in Battle Creek expands options for those seeking safe, supportive breastfeeding space

Jane ParikhThursday, October 19, 2023
Support for breastfeeding mothers, especially BIPOC women, is integral to reaching three-month rates and beyond. Calhoun County will see its first Baby Café, which will offer lactation help, camaraderie, and other services for free and on a drop-in basis.
Feature Story Coming Together Conference Healthy Communities

The latest in local recovery: Opioid use down, meth use up — promising new treatmentsKalamazoo conference seeks to raise awareness, remove stigma

Mark WedelThursday, October 19, 2023
What's new on the Kalamazoo substance use scene and what recent advances are there in treatment? Mark Wedel gets the latest from Chis Slater, Community Healing Centers CEO, in preparation for the Coming Together Conference Oct. 24-25.
In The News Buddy Hannah Arts and Culture

How the Million Man March forged a friendship, inspired a playBuddy Hannah's "Two in a Million: Journey of a Lifetime"

Buddy HannahThursday, October 19, 2023
Kalamazoo playwright Buddy Hannah was inspired by a friend's trip to the 1995 Million Man March in Washington D.C., an event that brought African American men together to empower them to improve their lives and communities. Hannah shares how that inspiration took hold and grew into "Two in a Million: Journey of a Lifetime."
Longform Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Community Development

The little church that could: Kalamazoo's Greek Orthodox Church seeing multi-ethnic expansion

Zinta AistarsThursday, October 12, 2023
While church attendance is shrinking worldwide and ethnic conflicts abound, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, the little church in Vine, is growing by the week. At some masses, the Lord's Prayer is recited in up to seven languages. “The world isn’t always about love and peace,” says Father Bryce Vasilios Buffenbarger. “But we hope people that come to this church will find it here."
Feature Story Calhoun County PPO Safe Communities

Personal Protection Orders: Calhoun County judges meet with police to clarify policies

Jane ParikhThursday, October 12, 2023
In 2022, there were 692 Personal Protection Orders applied for in Calhoun County, the most since 2012. The terms of PPOs are wide-ranging and can cause confusion — so a couple of Calhoun County Judges are meeting with police officers around the county to help educate so they are better prepared.
Feature Story Homegrown National Park Sustainability

'Going native' could make Kalamazoo a Homegrown National Park

Mike WenningerThursday, October 12, 2023
Kalamazoo has many parks and nature preserves. Home yards can be connecting corridors between them, creating a thoroughfare for wildlife, birds, and pollinators. If enough local yards convert even by half to native plants, Kalamazoo could become a Homegrown National Park.
Feature Story Peace During War Safe Communities

Kalamazoo's Blueprint for Peace offers collaborative, comprehensive Gun Violence Intervention plan"You cannot arrest your way out of gun violence."

Mark WedelThursday, October 12, 2023
While Kalamazoo's gun assaults are down, gun deaths, especially among youth, have risen. The Kalamazoo Community Foundation, in partnership with the City and many others, is launching Blueprint for Peace, a program that addresses systemic factors that drive gun violence to create a framework for prevention, intervention, and healing.
In The News Lynn Ward Gray Equity

Battle Creek NAACP Branch focuses on Thriving Together during annual Freedom Fund Dinner

Jane ParikhThursday, October 12, 2023
The 88th Annual Battle Creek NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner raises funds for events throughout the year and bestows Image Awards on community members. This year's keynote speaker is the Rev. Dr. Steve Bland, Jr., Senior Pastor of Liberty Temple Baptist Church in Detroit.
Longform Angela Gabridge, MiGen executive director, co-chaired a coalition that requested Michigan state funding for LGBTQ+ health. Second Wave - MichiganHealthy Communities

Michigan addresses LGBTQ+ health disparities with historic $10 million budget allotment

Estelle SlootmakerThursday, October 12, 2023
A new allotment in the state budget will directly support the work of community-based organizations that are already providing health-related services to LGBTQ+ Michiganders.
Feature Story WMPRSA-Forum Equity

Accessibility in the Workplace: Forum to explore ‘going beyond compliance’

Lucia RiosWednesday, October 11, 2023
Disability Inclusion Editor Lucia Rios will join other disability advocates for a forum on Accessibility in the Workplace: Going Beyond Compliance. The Oct. 26 event is hosted by WMPRSA in partnership with Special Olympics Michgian and DAKC.  
Feature Story Bold-small Equity

When construction wasn’t accessible, he found dream job making furniture

Shandra MartinezWednesday, October 11, 2023
Though he dreamed of working with power tools, Phillipe Hernandez found that using a wheelchair kept him from working in construction. With the help of a Muskegon agency, he pivoted and found a job in production at BOLD Furniture. 
Longform Caffe Casa Entrepreneurship

Caffé Casa: Caffeinating downtown Kalamazoo long before the brew boom

Mark WedelThursday, October 5, 2023
Caffé Casa's interior hasn't changed much over three decades (yes, the piano is still there), but the mall itself has undergone many iterations. Grab a cuppa and read Mark Wedel's leisurely chat with co-owner Kathy Beebe  — preferably at the Caffé, where you can watch Kalamazoo pass by.
Longform BCPD Mental Health Safe Communities

Equipping Battle Creek’s police officers with emotional body armor

Jane ParikhThursday, October 5, 2023
“The type of job we do and the stress we have is a culmination of years within the profession," says Battle Creek Police Chief Shannon Bagley. "As leaders, we need to bring in mechanisms so that we can talk about things so that they don’t build up. We want the quality of life for our officers to be exceptional.”
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Battle Creek

Village Network leads work to create a Black Wall Street in Battle Creek 

Plans for launching a Black Wall Street movement in Battle Creek will include a Black-owned business directory and two new websites with a mission to create "collective independence." For more stories, please visit here.
 

Kalamazoo

Joyful Streets, Real-world Struggles: "Happy Cities" author on the journey to transform Kalamazoo 

"What I've noticed in Kalamazoo is, that the city has been taking action to make some changes that in the short term some people might find uncomfortable, but in the long term are going to set the city on course for more vitality, more health, more equity, and I would say more happiness for the people who choose to live here."  Read the full story here. Read more stories here.
 

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