Macomb County Extension
21885 Dunham Road - Suite 12 Clinton Township, MI 48036 /
P: 586-469-5180 F: 586-469-6948
/ E-mail:Web:msue.msu.edu/Macomb
January 2007
V-8 Gateway survey highlights strengths, challengesPublic officials and V-8 Gateway community groups wanted data that identified residents’ opinions about the issues affecting these neighborhoods.
Macomb County MSU Extension (MSUE) was awarded dollars through the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Metro Detroit Regional Investment Initiative (MDRII) to conduct a survey on eight identified topics of concern: Neighborhood Attributes; Retail Services; Youth Services; Housing; Safety and Crime; Health and Health Care; Diversity; Neighborhood Participation and Respondent Profile.
Nearly 340 residents shared their opinions through this telephone survey.
The V-8 Gateway area is bordered by 6 Mile and 10 Mile roads on the south and north, and Hoover and Mound roads on the east and west. It encompasses parts of three cities: Center Line, Detroit and Warren.
The area is in transition and experiencing an increase in cultural, racial and income diversity.
V-8 residents identified neighborhood strengths as:
Ø Friendly neighborhoods
Ø Transportation
Ø Close to work
Ø Affordable housing
Problems identified were:
Ø Lack of jobs
Ø Junk/trash on property
Ø Abandoned buildings/cars
Ø Crime / Residents indicated that their neighborhoods were racially diverse. Half the survey participants identified race relations in the community as good. Fewer participants indicated that they traveled across 8 Mile for shopping, recreation or socializing. Many of them felt comfortable when doing so. When asked about their perceptions of race relations in the Gateway, the responses were divided.
A majority of residents in all three cities felt that better relations and more cooperation would be better for all communities.
When asked about neighborhood cohesiveness, many residents felt that they had a close knit community and socialized with each other. Two-thirds felt neighbors would get involved if they found youth spray painting a building or a fight broke out.
Analysis suggests that the V-8 area residents have high neighborhood cohesiveness. Residents indicated that if there was a Neighborhood Association or Watch group, many participated in the group. If there was not an established group, an overwhelming majority of residents would like to see an association started.
For more information on the survey, visit
www.msue.msu.edu/Macomb
Contact: Marilyn Rudzinski and Terry Gibb
/ Michigan State University Extension helps people improve their lives through an educational process that applies knowledge to critical issues, needs and opportunities. Offices in counties across the state link the research of the land-grant university, MSU, to challenges facingcommunities. Citizens serving on county Extension councils regularly help select focus areas for programming. MSU Extension is funded jointly by county boards of commissioners,the state through Michigan State University and federally through the US Department of Agriculture. /4-H Meant to Mentor Club focuses on literacy
The Meant to Mentor program is a collaborative effort between MSUE, the L’Anse Creuse School District and Chesterfield and Clinton-Macomb libraries. Through this program, both high school and elementary school students developed a greater interest in reading by visiting the library more often and reading more books. Youth increased number of books read and visits to the library by 22 percent.From April through June 2006, five L’Anse Creuse high school students mentored eight Atwood elementary students. High school seniors were recruited, screened and trained by an Americorps volunteer. The volunteer held one-hour planning meetings with the mentors prior to the group gathering. During this time, mentors designed literacy-focused activities and reflected on past get-togethers. The mentors then met for an additional hour and a half with the mentees.
The elementary students were surveyed when the program ended and showed:
Ø 34 percent increase in those that felt people would help them out when needed
Ø 26 percent increase in being better prepared for school
Ø 23 percent increase in ability to express their feelings
Ø 21 percent increase in those who felt they had more options in their future
The Meant to Mentor program is being sustained through the 2006/07 school year with L’Anse Creuse school district support. The program will run from September 2006 through May 2007 with seven high school students mentoring 13 elementary school youths. This program model is also being replicated in the Clintondale school district in the 2006/07 year.
The Meant to Mentor pilot project was funded through a National 4H Council and Bridgestone/Firestone Trust fund grant. The 4-H Literacy Education Mini-Grants provide funds to community-based 4-H programs that address critical literacy needs of youth and families.
Contact: Jan Gwozdz / Project Fresh Expands Sites
During 2006, Project FRESH, the farm market nutrition program, expanded to include two farm market stands in Warren, in addition to the existing Mount Clemens Farmers’ Market. Accessibility of these markets afforded shoppers more days and hours to shop, and allowed more Project FRESH clients in south Macomb County to purchase Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables with their coupons.
As a result, the Project FRESH redemption rate increased from 79 percent to 81 percent. This marks the third consecutive year for increased Macomb redemption rates. Participants supplement their food budget with $20 in coupons and redeemed coupons for fresh produce with expected increases in consumption of fruits and vegetables. A first-time client explains, “because of Project Fresh coupons, my family was able to try different vegetables like squash, zucchini and pumpkin. My kids and even my husband enjoyed them.” Participants also receive nutrition education on the selection, storage and use of produce.
Project FRESH is an annual program that provides coupons for locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables to participants of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) to be used at local farmers markets. Collaboration between the Macomb Health Department, MSU Extension Agricultural and Home Economics Educators enabled this positive experience for the farmer and the Project FRESH clients.