Michigan
Meet the Ascend community partners in Michigan
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Dominique Baker married her high school sweetheart and planned to pursue a degree in social work, but her first semester in college proved to be both financially and mentally exhausting. As her family grew and Dominique took stock of the things she wanted for herself and her two children, she made the decision to leave …
‘1 in 5’ Season 2 Episode 6: Meet Dominique Baker Read More »
In her Crain’s Detroit Business op-ed , 2022 Ascend Fellow, Leseliey Welch, discuss the importance of maternal health and midwifery care.
In episode 14 of the City of Kalamazoo's Shared Prosperity podcast, Ascend's Sarah Haight sits down with Kevin Ford, the city's Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo Coordinator. Throughout their discussion, they speak about the two-generation (2Gen) approach to improving family and community well-being.
Daniel Williams was featured in MiBiz discussing his long-term plan to help guide families from intergenerational poverty.
“So often what happens is we provide early investments in folks — whether through career training or food benefits, for example. We support families on their front end of their journey, but instead of doubling down on that support, we remove it. They hit the benefits cliff. If they get a raise, they don’t get access to certain benefits,” he said. “We know there’s a gap from what workers are earning and family income to what it actually costs to live and thrive in our community.”
Rashika Lee was born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI. She currently works for Spectrum Health on the Patient Liability Support Team and helps patients understand billing and insurance.
Some of my fondest childhood memories take me back to the box truck my dad drove to deliver books and magazines to stores in our hometown of Flint, Michigan. I would spend days off from school riding along as he made his rounds, counting out orders between stores on his route. He paid me 20 …