“Today, I’m introducing you to a new scholarship program we’re calling the Bearcat Advantage,” said Kimberly Carter, Superintendent of Battle Creek Public Schools in a surprise announcement to a student-packed auditorium this Wednesday. “It will cover up to 100 percent of your college tuition and fees. . . Starting with the class of 2023 we will pay for your college education. This is your bridge and all you have to do is walk over it.”
Kalamazoo's Youth Juvenile Justice Fellowship program supports the development of youth advocates in the community, as well as a vision to create an alternative to youth incarceration in Kalamazoo. Southwest Michigan Second Wave's Mark Wedel speaks to a family who was impacted by an inequitable response when their son was nine, a situation which inspired them to get involved in advocating for juvenile justice reform.
“When it comes to gun violence and violence in general, there are still going to be people out there who want to hurt others," says Marshall Murdick, a senior, who is helping launch a Battle Creek Central H.S. chapter of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Promise Club. "We want to make sure our classmates are O.K. and at least have one friend out there so they will do better in life.”
Mandy Clearwaters, an art teacher at Winchell Elementary, had a vision to bring Inside Out, an international portrait project devised by French-artist JR, to Kalamazoo Public Schools. With the theme "We are Kalamazoo artists," over 1,000 black and white portraits line the inner sidewalks of Bronson Park as part of Kalamazoo Public School's All-district Art Fair Friday. Check out Fran Dwight's photo essay!
Voices of Youth Battle Creek artist and writer Kayanna Smith is a Lakeview High School budding clothes designer and journalist. She wanted to research what sort of impact easily-ordered, affordable 'fast fashion' has on the environment – and what might be some alternatives. She also wanted to express the concept through design. So out of packaging materials, she created a fashionable Plastic Patchwork Packing Dress. Check it out!
The Marquette-based nonprofit Caregiver Incentive Project is working to create solutions to Michigan's alarming caregiver shortage.
Stigma and cost are two main reasons young people don't reach out for the mental health support they might need. Battle Creek siblings Logan Stevens, 17, and Kai Stevens, 15, were inspired to collaborate on an art and writing project that encourages their peers to find the type of therapy that suits them as an impactful form of self-care.
Across the state, Michigan Fitness Foundation’s Rec-Connect™ demonstration series is being used in communities to inspire and empower people to engage regularly in physical activity.
U.S. Supreme Court Decision confirms rights of people with disabilities including those living with autism
A recent study by the Center of Healthcare Integration and Innovation shows that integrated care in Michigan’s public mental health system has not only grown in the last six years but that the initiatives are diverse and available in rural, suburban, and urban committees.
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