What is Auntie Na’s House?
Auntie Na’s House is a home that stands at the corner of Yellowstone and Elmhurst on the Westside of Detroit. Auntie Na’s grandparents, Ernestine and Peewee, moved to Detroit from Missouri in the 1960’s, during height of Detroit’s industrial era. Over the past 50 years, this house on Yellowstone St. has sheltered 5 generations of Auntie Na’s family through the rise, fall, and rebirth of the city of Detroit. From the cornerstone of Yellowstone, Auntie Na’s family has weathered the storm of urban rebellion and government crackdown, factory closings and white flight, drug epidemics, mass foreclosures, school closings, financial collapse, bankruptcy, emergency management, water shutoffs, and fire. Through it all, we have maintained, we have survived, we have rebuilt, and we have struggled to bring the ‘unity’ back to our ‘community’. Auntie Na’s House has been a solid rock in the floods of time.
In 2013, Auntie Na started connecting with other organizations, began getting regular volunteers, and began building Auntie Na's House as a community organization, not just another caring neighbor on the block. Over the years, Auntie Na's House developed partnerships with colleges and universities across the country, and dedicated student groups at Oberlin College and Wayne State University - School of Medicine. In 2017, Auntie Na's House partnered with Georgia St. Community Collective (GSCC), a community organization in Detroit, and was fiscally sponsored by GSCC for years. During that time, we were able to get our first grants and begin our work as a community development organization. We purchased several abandoned homes on the block, as well as vacant lots, and began the work of turning these houses into vibrant community centers, complete with outreach programs. We also worked to transform the vacant lots into community gardens and a community park. In 2019, we officially incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization under the name Auntie Na's Village. We have expanded beyond our humble beginnings in the living room of one compassionate person's home and have begun the beautiful and challenging process of becoming an interdependent Village.
How does Auntie Na’s Village serve the community?
As a child, Auntie Na was raised by her grandparents, who began the community outreach by serving community meals, taking in kids after school, serving as a safe haven in the neighborhood. Over the years, Auntie Na and her family have helped raise dozens of children and have stayed true to her roots. Today, youth are nurtured and supported with After-School Tutoring, Free Summer Programs, Youth Employment opportunities, clothing, school supplies, toys, and bike giveaways! Community Meals are served 3 times daily, Monday through Saturday to our youth and families, as well as for hungry and homeless people in our neighborhood. With our Nutrition Program, we give away Free Food Boxes to families in need on a weekly basis and we teach our people to provide for themselves by growing organic produce in our Community Garden. With our Housing Program, we provide Temporary Emergency Housing for those who are homeless or leaving dangerous situations. Auntie Na’s Village is a place where everybody knows your name and you’re always glad you came.
At Auntie Na’s Village, love and affection are given to all who pass through the doorway. Auntie Na's Village provides a place of support and survival for those who are left unprotected by traditional government or non-profit social services. In their attempt to conform to the expectations of foundations and the criteria for government assistance, many institutions end up excluding and ignoring huge populations of marginalized people. Auntie Na simply tries to respond to the needs in her community and maintains that “the only thing I turn down is my collar.” For her, this means supporting any and all who humble themselves to ask for her help. Her outreach program primarily supports low-income families, but also works with people with developmental disabilities, those recovering from drug addiction, and those surviving domestic violence. In short, Auntie Na reaches out to all those who fall through the cracks of our broken system. In the last decade, although this neighborhood has seen many houses abandoned and many stores boarded up, Auntie Na’s House has remained as the cornerstone of the community.
We Are Building an Interdependent Village
We are working to expand our dream to create a Village in the heart of Detroit. We want the basic community outreach programs that were started in Auntie Na’s House to be run out of Village Homes throughout the neighborhood. Our expansion has included purchasing abandoned houses and lots in the neighborhood and turning them into homes, gardens, and outreach centers. We have already purchased four houses and are working to build up Auntie Na’s Village to include:
The Medical House - to provide free check-ups, first aid, and medical access,
The Nutrition House - for our Community Meals program, Free Food Box program, and a Community Kitchen
The Learning House - for After-school tutoring, computer/Internet access, and educational programs
The Clothing House - for accepting and distributing clothing. The Clothing House also doubles as a Village Home for our Emergency Temporary Housing and long-term housing for several of our Village Residents.
The Community Garden - known as Zeeks Greenyard where anyone can grab fresh farm to table vegetables and fruits for themselves and their families.
What’s Next for Auntie Na’s Village?
In the coming years, we are developing our Nutrition House program to reach a broader base and sustain our community long-term. We are rehabilitating the Nutrition House to include a full commercial kitchen to host our Community Meals and Free Food Box Program, but we also want to see the growth of a food cooperative - the Harvesting Unity Co-op - for local entrepreneurs to use the commercial kitchen to produce local goods and support themselves financially. We also are working expand our Community Gardens and Community Park to grow more food and develop a safe place for kids to come play and exercise after school. Over the coming years, we have plans to create our Mercy and Grace House to outreach to survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, and our Art House to do creative arts programs for our youth.
Over time, we plan to develop a Community Land Trust to act as a steward of the land and housing, develop it for community benefit, and hold it in perpetuity. As we expand, we hope to build up a Village and organization that will meet people’s basic needs and collectively own land that we can pass down to the future generations. Throughout all of this work, we want to continue supporting youth and families, do education and organizing, and contribute towards community empowerment.
Auntie Na’s House is a home that stands at the corner of Yellowstone and Elmhurst on the Westside of Detroit. Auntie Na’s grandparents, Ernestine and Peewee, moved to Detroit from Missouri in the 1960’s, during height of Detroit’s industrial era. Over the past 50 years, this house on Yellowstone St. has sheltered 5 generations of Auntie Na’s family through the rise, fall, and rebirth of the city of Detroit. From the cornerstone of Yellowstone, Auntie Na’s family has weathered the storm of urban rebellion and government crackdown, factory closings and white flight, drug epidemics, mass foreclosures, school closings, financial collapse, bankruptcy, emergency management, water shutoffs, and fire. Through it all, we have maintained, we have survived, we have rebuilt, and we have struggled to bring the ‘unity’ back to our ‘community’. Auntie Na’s House has been a solid rock in the floods of time.
In 2013, Auntie Na started connecting with other organizations, began getting regular volunteers, and began building Auntie Na's House as a community organization, not just another caring neighbor on the block. Over the years, Auntie Na's House developed partnerships with colleges and universities across the country, and dedicated student groups at Oberlin College and Wayne State University - School of Medicine. In 2017, Auntie Na's House partnered with Georgia St. Community Collective (GSCC), a community organization in Detroit, and was fiscally sponsored by GSCC for years. During that time, we were able to get our first grants and begin our work as a community development organization. We purchased several abandoned homes on the block, as well as vacant lots, and began the work of turning these houses into vibrant community centers, complete with outreach programs. We also worked to transform the vacant lots into community gardens and a community park. In 2019, we officially incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization under the name Auntie Na's Village. We have expanded beyond our humble beginnings in the living room of one compassionate person's home and have begun the beautiful and challenging process of becoming an interdependent Village.
How does Auntie Na’s Village serve the community?
As a child, Auntie Na was raised by her grandparents, who began the community outreach by serving community meals, taking in kids after school, serving as a safe haven in the neighborhood. Over the years, Auntie Na and her family have helped raise dozens of children and have stayed true to her roots. Today, youth are nurtured and supported with After-School Tutoring, Free Summer Programs, Youth Employment opportunities, clothing, school supplies, toys, and bike giveaways! Community Meals are served 3 times daily, Monday through Saturday to our youth and families, as well as for hungry and homeless people in our neighborhood. With our Nutrition Program, we give away Free Food Boxes to families in need on a weekly basis and we teach our people to provide for themselves by growing organic produce in our Community Garden. With our Housing Program, we provide Temporary Emergency Housing for those who are homeless or leaving dangerous situations. Auntie Na’s Village is a place where everybody knows your name and you’re always glad you came.
At Auntie Na’s Village, love and affection are given to all who pass through the doorway. Auntie Na's Village provides a place of support and survival for those who are left unprotected by traditional government or non-profit social services. In their attempt to conform to the expectations of foundations and the criteria for government assistance, many institutions end up excluding and ignoring huge populations of marginalized people. Auntie Na simply tries to respond to the needs in her community and maintains that “the only thing I turn down is my collar.” For her, this means supporting any and all who humble themselves to ask for her help. Her outreach program primarily supports low-income families, but also works with people with developmental disabilities, those recovering from drug addiction, and those surviving domestic violence. In short, Auntie Na reaches out to all those who fall through the cracks of our broken system. In the last decade, although this neighborhood has seen many houses abandoned and many stores boarded up, Auntie Na’s House has remained as the cornerstone of the community.
We Are Building an Interdependent Village
We are working to expand our dream to create a Village in the heart of Detroit. We want the basic community outreach programs that were started in Auntie Na’s House to be run out of Village Homes throughout the neighborhood. Our expansion has included purchasing abandoned houses and lots in the neighborhood and turning them into homes, gardens, and outreach centers. We have already purchased four houses and are working to build up Auntie Na’s Village to include:
The Medical House - to provide free check-ups, first aid, and medical access,
The Nutrition House - for our Community Meals program, Free Food Box program, and a Community Kitchen
The Learning House - for After-school tutoring, computer/Internet access, and educational programs
The Clothing House - for accepting and distributing clothing. The Clothing House also doubles as a Village Home for our Emergency Temporary Housing and long-term housing for several of our Village Residents.
The Community Garden - known as Zeeks Greenyard where anyone can grab fresh farm to table vegetables and fruits for themselves and their families.
What’s Next for Auntie Na’s Village?
In the coming years, we are developing our Nutrition House program to reach a broader base and sustain our community long-term. We are rehabilitating the Nutrition House to include a full commercial kitchen to host our Community Meals and Free Food Box Program, but we also want to see the growth of a food cooperative - the Harvesting Unity Co-op - for local entrepreneurs to use the commercial kitchen to produce local goods and support themselves financially. We also are working expand our Community Gardens and Community Park to grow more food and develop a safe place for kids to come play and exercise after school. Over the coming years, we have plans to create our Mercy and Grace House to outreach to survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, and our Art House to do creative arts programs for our youth.
Over time, we plan to develop a Community Land Trust to act as a steward of the land and housing, develop it for community benefit, and hold it in perpetuity. As we expand, we hope to build up a Village and organization that will meet people’s basic needs and collectively own land that we can pass down to the future generations. Throughout all of this work, we want to continue supporting youth and families, do education and organizing, and contribute towards community empowerment.
(Left to right) JJ, Destiny and James Brown