Hello! Hope House Detroit (HHD) is a small non-profit on the East side of Detroit, in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood. What began as a couple buying a house to stay part-time in the community where they attended church has since turned into an amazing and safe place for the youth who live nearby. It started out small - a basketball hoop where mostly the teen guys came to play and hang out - and has grown into six programs being offered (serving kids from Elementary School through High School) and much more!

One of our newest programs, spearheaded by my friend and co-leader, Riley, is a Teen Council (TC) which currently consists of three High School ladies who have exhibited consistent involvement and leadership skills in our community. We meet every other Friday to learn about, develop, and practice being leaders. These inspiring young people have done everything from assisting with the large, special events that take place at HHD throughout the summer, to researching and planning their own service projects.

Now, as the founders of HHD have dreamed up their next project - a café-like space in the house where kids of all ages can hang out, read, and express themselves creatively - the young woman of Teen Council have been called upon to help design and plan the space, a super exciting opportunity! They have already visited a similar space for research purposes, have brainstormed ideas about the cafe's purpose and mission, as well as what the physical space will be itself. Now they are in the process of drafting a proposal for the project, which will be submitted to the founders and leaders of HHD for approval before the necessary construction work begins.