and from floral gardens planted to honor the memory and legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the demolition of blighted commercial structures within busy neighborhood corridors, Habitat is partnering with community members all over Flint to wrestle beauty from blight and build strong and stable communities by investing in catalytic, resident led neighborhood projects. ​

The program, which provides staff support for project planning and implementation, as well as funding to help get the project started, is funded thanks to generous support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. As part of the program, groups commit 10% of their project's cost in sweat equity, and while working with Habitat groups receive access to training in action planning, impact evaluation, and best practices in community revitalization from certified Habitat staff. 

Visit our website here for more information about the FlintBRAND program.

​You can easily #DIY your own checkerboard table! To build the tabletop, we used UrbanWood (available at our ReStore). The surface should be no smaller than 2‘ x 2’. The checkerboard grid is formed by 2” squares burned into the wood, forming an 8x8 grid of alternating colors. This could easily be painted onto the tabletop, as well. For playing pieces, we used wood salvaged from the Flint River. During a neighborhood cleanup, look for a small branch about 1-1.5” in diameter. Make cuts through the wood about ¼” apart to form twenty-four discs to use for playing pieces. Store leftover wood in a dry place to easily replace any lost discs, as needed. We then dipped twelve of the playing pieces in dark walnut wood stain to create a darker color; the rest were left natural. You could also use paint of any color to distinguish between the two players. Once dried, the playing pieces were placed in a small burlap sack and attached to the table.
 
We hope that you, just like those living in the Foss Neighborhood, will be able to connect with neighbors of all ages and get to know one another over a friendly game of checkers!

​Over the past few months, we’ve gotten our water assurance program up and running.  This program offers under the sink 3M filters, replacement faucets, and shower heads for Flint homeowners with positive lead tests.  We also provide shower filters to any Flint resident.  Since February, we’ve completed twenty-seven preliminary site visits for homeowners applying to the full program.  On these visits we’ve installed shower filters and distributed water test kits.  We have distributed a total of ninety shower filters, including those installed on site visits.  In addition to the filters, we’ve been able to provide four homeowners with new water heaters.  As homeowners complete the application process, we will soon begin full installations of under the sink filters and faucets.

Visit our Critical Home Repair Services page for more information. 

How do you meaningfully engage community members as active participants in the work of neighborhood revitalization? It's a question that community development agencies have grappled with for decades. Here at Genesee County Habitat for Humanity, however, we think the answer is simple - give community members the tools needed to lead that work for themselves!

​Flint BRAND 
The first step to any successfull neighborhood revitalization effort is having the resources needed to make things happen, and Genesee County Habitat for Humanity is here to help! Thanks to support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Habitat has begun a new program called Flint BRAND (Building Resident Action by Neighborhood Design). Through Flint BRAND, resident groups throughout the City of Flint can apply to Habitat for support implementing projects up to $10,000. In addition to project support, Habitat staff works with all applicants to design high-impact projects that create a positive, lasting change in the physical landscape of neighborhoods and address pressing community concerns.

Voice of Women
​Even more important than investing in places, is investing in the people that make those places home. Building off of the tremendous response to our Grassroots Rising: Resident Leadership Summit this past summer, Habitat is offering a free six-week training series titled Voice of Women. This six-week series provides participants with information and resources to help them take ownership of neighborhood projects and work effetively with residents and community leaders. Topics include:
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• Gaining Confidence by Strengthening Core Competencies
• Leader Presentation Skills
• Effective Meetings with Neighbors, Community Leaders, and Law Enforcement
• Collaborating for Neighborhood Improvement Results
• Facilitation Skills for Effective Neighborhood Meetings
• Project Management for Successful Neighborhood Transformation ​

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