Overview:

- Youth from the Urban Neighborhood Initiatives' ELITE program engaged in a dialogue between youth and residents about air quality and immigrant rights.
- The initiative aims to build leadership skills among youth to advocate for community issues
-Since 2008, the program has provided stipends for youth organizing and workforce development.
- Youth will hold monthly community conversations leading up to a fall town hall with mayoral candidates to address community needs.

More than 50 adults and youth scrambled around a converted warehouse in Southwest Detroit in an explosive game of rock-papper-scissors last Friday. After three loud minutes, the 50-participant duel was reduced to two.

The exercise was more than a bit of silliness. It left the participants laughing and loose, ready to engage in critical discussion about serious issues that impact their communities: air quality and immigrant rights

This icebreaker was facilitated by Cordell Rogers, 16, a junior at Western International High School and member of Engaged Leaders Initiating Tomorrow’s Education (ELITE). The   program is part of the Urban Neighborhood Initiatives’ ELITE program in which young people build leadership skills, learn how to advocate for community issues and get involved in neighborhood planning. 

Josh Media, community wellness coordinator for Urban Neighborhood Initiatives, said the goal is to foster dialogue between youth and residents.

“A lot of times youth are sidelined, or they’re part of the work, but not central,” Medina said. “We want to create the resilience and power to determine our own future… and that’s what community organizing will achieve.” 

Youth-led conversations: Immigrant rights, air quality 

Since 2008, the Urban Neighborhood Initiatives’ youth programs have compensated youth organizing and workforce development with a stipend. ELITE has recruited up to 20 youth between ages 14 to 24 every year since 2020, who are paid $12 an hour to help lead the year-round program. 

After they complete the ELITE program, youth are a part of the alumni network and Ambassadors Program, where they can receive financial assistance, college tours and peer mentorship. 

Valerie Brown, 17, a junior at Western International High School, said the topic of immigration rights “hits close to home” and that she wants to bring information to the community. Local organizations, including Congress of Communities, Detroit Champions for Hope, and Michigan United were present to offer resources for immigrants, including undocumented individuals, from legal assistance to tax preparation. 

Valerie Brown, junior at Western International High School and member of Engaged Leaders Initiating Tomorrow’s Education, helped organize the event. Photo by Isabelle Tavares.

Brown has been involved with ELITE for over two years, initially attracted by the idea of it being a paid job. She said she stays for the friends and community work. She sometimes finds conversations with community leaders difficult. 

“It’s really hard sometimes because they talk to you like you’re a little kid who doesn’t know what’s going on,” Brown said. “When I bring up certain topics, they’re like, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know.’ I’m like, I didn’t know either, but I had to educate myself.” 

The youth-led group will hold monthly community conversations up until a fall town hall with mayoral candidates to address the community’s needs, Medina said. ELITE collaborates with other nonprofits, including 482 Forward.

Jaike Spotted Wolf, a program manager at Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision, said youth are impacted by lawmakers’ decisions and should have a voice when it comes to how their future will be impacted by air pollution. 

The forum, she said, gives them a space to convey their own issues, such as asthma or parents with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 

“They live in an area of Detroit that has incredibly high rates of those issues. The air pollution is very concentrated. It’s a measure of helping them understand why that is,” Spotted Wolf said. 

The program also encourages youth to speak out to elected officials. At a recent city council meeting, students voiced their perspective about the neighborhood solar projects at a city council meeting. 

The students said it was a “terrifying” experience, but ultimately they felt proud of themselves for speaking in a forum that had felt unapproachable before, Spotted Wolf said. 

Less pollution, less trucks 

In a presentation, Simone Sagovac, project director with Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition explained how residents are exposed to high levels of pollution from various industrial sources, including refineries and incinerators that are located in close proximity to homes.

ELITE students organized a gallery walk, where participants sectioned off in smaller groups to answer questions on large sticky notes. One of them read “What are some things you don’t want to see in our community?” Participant Imano Lozano said he wants to see less pollution and trucks on his streets. 

Airam Ruiz, junior at Cristo Rey High School, said she does not want to see fear in her community. Photo by Isabelle Tavares.

“A lot of kids aren’t going to classes because they have asthma or other illnesses caused by pollution,” Lozano said. 

Rogers noted the prevalence of asthma in his community and the impact of poor air quality on those who live with the condition. He said the program taught him “the importance of communication.”

“Almost everyone I know has asthma or has to keep their windows up because of the smoke and stuff,” Rogers said. “Everyone should be able to communicate clearly with their peers and their adults in their life.” 

More than half of students in Detroit’s district and charter schools face chronic absenteeism, and asthma is a significant contributing factor to missed school days. Asthma prevalence in Detroit is higher than the Michigan average, at 14.6% compared to 8.4% statewide, a state report found

“We live too close to the industry. It’s toxic pollution that people got to breathe, and people are still trying to enjoy everyday life,” Sagovac said. 

Sagovac has involved youth in the community on truck counts to raise awareness. 

“We sat out there for 12 hours a day, two days in a row,” Sagovac said. “They’re going after hours, waking people up in their beds, shaking their homes, cracking the foundations.” 

Detroit City Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero said she has the mayor’s commitment to get a truck route ordinance passed this year. 

“So everyone in this room, what we have to do is organize, call City Council, call the mayor during his meeting and ensure we pass the truck ordinance,” Santiago-Romero said. 

The city of Detroit and Santiago-Romero are collecting Southwest residents’ input on the 2024 study – residents can take the survey here. Once the study is completed, she said the city will suggest recommendations for truck routes. 

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Isabelle Tavares covers environmental and public health impacts in Southwest Detroit for Planet Detroit with Report for America. Working in text, film and audio, she is a Dominican-American storyteller who is concerned with identity, generational time, and ecology.