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The Stoudamire Wellness Hub is only one of many community services the Eastside Community Network (ECN) offers local residents. This project supported the advancement of the ECN’s advocacy agendas. Photo credit: Eastside Community Network.
Project Dates: Spring 2023–Summer 2023
Client: Eastside Community Network (ECN)
SEAS Faculty Advisor: Sarah Hughes, Associate Professor
SEAS Students: Olivia David, Ph.D. Candidate, Resource Policy & Behavior
About the Client
The Eastside Community Network (ECN) is a nonprofit organization focused primarily on east side community development and secondarily on climate resilience. The organization operates a 17,000 square foot community wellness center called The Stoudamire, where residents can attend job and health fairs, participate in fitness and art classes, receive technological training, and join recreational activities with their neighbors. The Stoudamire is only one small part of the ECN’s offerings, however; the organization also orchestrates homeowner assistance, home repair, foreclosure prevention programs, and provides training and capacity-building for resident leaders. In addition, the ECN advocates for local, state, and federal policy changes that improve flood equity for Detroiters.
About the Project
For this project, SEAS Ph.D. student Olivia David completed a summer 2023 internship with the ECN and assisted in the creation of numerous analyses and deliverables, including building the ECN’s Energy Reliability & Affordability Advocacy agenda, which focused on energy system and grid improvements such as infrastructure investments, reducing household energy burdens and bolstering outage recovery assistance.
David also developed a draft Emergency Preparedness Advocacy Agenda focused on strengthening Detroit’s network of resilience hubs, improving household resilience via off-grid community solar, weatherization, energy efficiency measures and severe weather support; enhancing response to infrastructure failures through more robust response plans and vulnerability metrics that ensure priority neighborhoods are served first; creating robust, reliable communication methods to convey emergency information; and offering technology training for older adults. Finally, David supported the ECN’s Eastside Flooding TaskForce by conducting flooding power/actor mapping to evaluate advocacy opportunities and barriers, and created outreach materials.