The River Rouge Promise Neighborhood

Michigan Nightlight: In your view, what makes your program innovative, effective or remarkable? 
The Guidance Center Director Roxanne Brinkerhoff: The River Rouge Promise Neighborhood families that reside in the community make it unique. They have so much passion for their community. There is a rich history in River Rouge that has been passed down for generations. This initiative has generated a new breath of hope for the children and their families.

There is a rich history in River Rouge that has been passed down for generations. This initiative has generated a new breath of hope for the children and their families.

Providing a series of solutions along the continuum that have a focus around education will regenerate the community. The Guidance Center is honored to be a part of this movement of revitalizing the River Rouge community, so children and their families can thrive.
 
What was the best lesson learned in the past year?
One of the best lessons that came out of this initiative was the willingness of 40 partners that came together to collaborate on looking at what is best for the children in this community and how they can help. It was like that Mastercard commercial – it was priceless. One agency that came out from the beginning was WIC. Now they’re in our building. When they started they were seeing less than 100 clients from the River Rouge area, and now they’re seeing almost 400 people on a monthly basis. Another example was Forgotten Harvest. They actually now come in and partner with us and serve the families by giving them food. That was something our agency couldn’t provide. So, the best lesson is how valuable those partnerships are; they are so key to what we’re doing in the community. Organizations are willing to help – they really are.

What was the hardest lesson learned in the past year?
I would of liked to have seen more residents involved at an early point in this process. The information and contributions they make are so valuable.
 
What really differentiates this program? 
This initiative is multifaceted and focuses on the individual child as well as their environment, home, school and community. There are 40 nonprofits, cities, schools and churches involved. It is not one program, not that single program that will make a difference. We need multiple programs and multiple solutions in order for there to be a shift in the community. A really good example is that we want all children to go to kindergarten ready to learn. There isn’t one solution to that. We need multiple programs in place to get kids ready for kindergarten.
 
What are the keys to success for your program?
Collaboration, communication and clarity are key elements to running a successful initiative. Meeting the needs of the community by planning with the community not at the community. There were many examples but one of the best examples was the impact of the resident leaders group that was established.

The resident leaders have made many strides in continuing their passionate work on school boards, advisory boards and city committees that have a strong focus on children. 

The resident leaders have made many strides in continuing their passionate work on school boards, advisory boards and city committees that have a strong focus on children.
 
In looking at programs similar to yours, which program do you think is doing exceptional work? 
The work that has been done within the early childhood programs in the River Rouge Promise Neighborhood has been exceptional. Aligning services so families have seamless access and availability to high quality early learning programming.