Ypsi schools’ Resiliency Center expands significantly over five years serving families in need

On the Ground Ypsilanti is an “embedded journalism” program covering the city and township of Ypsilanti. It is supported by Ann Arbor SPARK, the Center for Health and Research Transformation, Destination Ann Arbor, Eastern Michigan University, Engage @ EMU, Washtenaw Community College, Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, and Washtenaw ISD.

Since 2020, Ypsilanti Community Schools’ (YCS) Resiliency Center has been quietly serving hundreds of families who are experiencing housing insecurity and other challenges. Starting with one room, the center has expanded to cover five rooms in the same wing as the transportation department at the former Willow Run High School, 1960 Holmes Rd. in Ypsilanti Township. It offers a variety of free resources for families in need, ranging from clothing to hygiene products to internet access.

YCS Superintendent Alena Zachery-Ross says resources were spread out across different buildings in the district before the center opened in December 2020, making it inconvenient for families to address all their concerns. 

“We wanted to better serve our families and make meeting their needs more efficient and accessible by bringing these services together,” Zachery-Ross says.

In the first month it was open, the center helped 300 families, including handing out free masks and personal protection equipment during the first surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. For about the first year, then-Director Marquan Jackson focused primarily on organizing the space, purchasing necessary items, and building community awareness, Zachery-Ross says. 

“Much of the work involved meeting individual family needs on a case-by-case basis, as a systematic process had not yet been established,” she says. 

In June 2021, YCS School Social Worker Cherisa Allen was appointed the new director of the Resiliency Center. She set about organizing the space and creating processes to get referred families into the center as well as getting the word out to classrooms about the center’s resources.

Today, families are typically referred to the Resiliency Center by their local school through a teacher, school social worker, or building principal. Individuals are welcome to reach out directly to the Resiliency Center, but Zachery-Ross says that doesn’t happen often. 

When Allen took over in 2021, she says she almost had “heart palpitations” walking into her office. She officially had only one room to work with, but donations to the center had outstripped demand and three additional rooms were piled with clothing and other donations.

“Just imagine all of those rooms full of bags, covering the entire floor. It was during COVID, and nobody had anything to do but go into their closet or garage or basement where they had put stuff, and then they donated it here,” Allen says.

Makyah Henderson, college success specialist with the Ypsi after-school program Upward Bound, served two internships at the Resiliency Center while pursuing her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work at Eastern Michigan University. Henderson came on board while Allen was trying to organize the overflow of donations. Henderson says the Resiliency Center “looked like a tornado hit it.”

Henderson, Allen, and several volunteers added racks and shelves to get items off the floor and organize them. Today, visitors can shop for children’s clothing and shoes on racks neatly arranged by size in a room painted a cheerful yellow. They can then move to the next room to select adult men and women’s clothing and accessories. A third room holds seasonal items, overflow, and toy donations being saved for the center’s annual Christmas party serving homeless families with children in the Ypsi schools.

The center now occupies two other rooms: a small auditorium and a large room that contains a hygiene closet, a bank of eight computers with internet access for center clients to use, and a relaxation space with comfortable chairs and beanbags. YCS families using the Resiliency Center aren’t just getting their immediate needs met but are introduced to other community resources, Allen says. 

The center is supported through funds provided by YCS as well as partnerships with many community groups, including local sororities and the Ypsilanti Rotary Club. It also receives clothing and hygiene product donations via drives organized by local churches and other community organizations.

Allen says she wants shoppers to have a dignified experience with access to nice clothes and hygiene products that don’t come from a dollar store. She also asks those organizing drives to “reach deep into their pockets” to purchase full-size, name-brand hygiene products like shampoo and deodorant when possible.

Henderson points out that the Resiliency Center isn’t just benefitting the families but has served as a hub for social workers to learn about their trade in a hands-on way. Three more interns have worked with the center since she did.

Henderson says she laughs when she remembers “that first real experience where I knew I was becoming a social worker for real.”

“A family came in, and Ms. Allen was calmly telling them how much they could take [from each category] and I was literally holding a baby while she was talking to them,” Henderson says. “The mom of the family was just getting back on her feet after being pregnant and they were so appreciative. That’s when I knew I was really helping the community.”

The Resiliency Center has not only grown in size since it was established but also has added programming, from its Christmas parties to educational sessions in collaboration with community groups. Zachery-Ross says she’d like to see more of that. 

“My hope is that we can offer more services for care providers within the space,” Zachery-Ross says. “I would love to expand by offering skill-development classes through partnerships with local community organizations.”

Allen conducts a training at the beginning of each school year to inform educators about the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act and how school social workers are responding to the needs of students and families experiencing housing insecurity. At that time she reminds them of the Resiliency Center. Still, while the center serves hundreds of families every year, Allen is frustrated that more people don’t seem to know about or take advantage of its services. 

“But it’s here and growing, and that’s amazing,” she says.