Families & Community

It will soon be easier to qualify for food and cash assistance in Michigan. Starting November 1, a family can have thousands of dollars more in assets – and still be eligible.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer says it’s a necessary change.

Hamtramck is a 2-square-mile city. Small in size, but large in population and ethnic diversity. With around 22,000 residents, the city has much to offer and visit in a day.

More than 65,000 people in Michigan experienced homelessness last year, up about 3% from 2017, according to an annual report from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

The report’s data is based off counts entered into a statewide agency from homeless service providers across the state. It counts the “literally homeless”—people living in shelters, on the streets, in cars, or in places like abandoned homes. It does not count people who live with friends or family members to avoid homelessness.

When you think about the tip of the mitten, what comes to mind? Fudge? Beautiful beaches? Vacation cottages?

Daniel Hinmon, a citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBB), wants you to know that his homelands are so much more than that.

“We are still here, you know?” he says.

The events of September 11, 2001 were remembered Wednesday morning at a ceremony at Eastern Michigan University. Like the many others taking place across Michigan and the nation, EMU's ceremony honored those who died and the first responders.

In recent years, Flint has often been in the limelight for negative reasons. For many, the city has become a symbol of the consequences of institutional racism and government failures.

But Flint native India Young wishes people would associate the city with something positive.

“There’s a lot more to us than ‘Flint has dirty water,’ you know?”

Parents and students in Benton Harbor are getting ready for the upcoming school year.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration had proposed closing Benton Harbor high school next year. But the state backed down from that proposal last week.

The Discovery Pier in Traverse City is hoping to attract cruise ships around the Great Lakes. The United States Coast Guard certified the pier as a cruise port back in December, and the newly formed Traverse City Cruise Consortium is hoping to capitalize on the trend of smaller cruise ships in the Great Lakes.

Food, music and heritage are the focus at the annual Grand Rapids Hispanic Festival this weekend.

But this year, there will also be added security.

Organizers with the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan say about 25,000 people showed up for the festival last year, and they’re hoping for more this year.

Police departments in Michigan are urging people to call them when they see online claims of mass shooting events.

That’s after an online hoax spread across social media in Michigan on Tuesday.

The online hoax claimed that active shooters were going door to door in and around five Michigan cities. None of it happened in any of the cities. The hoax is based on the plot of a movie.

Vanessa Burt is an officer with the Detroit Police Department. She says spreading false information about shootings is malicious, reckless and irresponsible.

The number of homeless kids under the age of four in Michigan could be much higher than reported by homeless service agencies.

That's according to a report from researchers at the Michigan League for Public Policy and Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan.

The Great Lakes Water Authority is allocating more than $1.2 million to help customers cover their current and overdue water bills. About $794,000 is being given to Detroit residents and about $427,700 to Flint residents.

Jonathan Wheatley, public finance manager at the Great Lakes Water Authority, says they've assisted residents with funds from their Water Residential Assistance Program (WRAP) over the past two years. This year, the funding is from the 2018 bill assistance funds for Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties. 

Michigan households that receive food stamps can apply for replacement Food Assistance Program benefits if they have food that was spoiled due to recent power outages in Michigan.

The outages occurred after heavy storms rolled through southeast Michigan on Friday and Saturday. Outages continued through the weekend, with some residents without power as late as Wednesday

Census tracts in Detroit, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Flint, Saginaw and Grand Rapids scored high on an evaluation of environmental injustices, according to a University of Michigan study released Thursday.

People who visit Tecumseh for the first time usually come for one of three reasons: antiques, destination dining, or as just a stop on Route 50 on the way to the Irish Hills area or a Michigan International Speedway event.

Corey and Victoria Lord think the people from out of town are missing a lot.

The restaurant was conceived by co-owners Rhonda Callahan and Sarah Ruddle who have been operating a food truck that gives out free meals in mid-Michigan since 2012. The restaurant will be called The Torch 180. Callahan and Ruddle are partnering with the Michigan Career and Technical Institute to train adults with disabilities in customer service, food preparation, cooking, sanitation and other transferable skills.