Special events in and around Detroit draw interested audiences to everything from weight loss challenges to music festivals, and it’s exciting to see activities that draw individuals of all ages.
Last month’s “50 Million Pound Challenge” on Hart Plaza was organized by a young African American doctor, Dr. Ian Smith, who included Detroit among 14 cities targeted for a major weight-loss blitz. The event was free, focused on fitness, and filled with fun for the hundreds who participated and enjoyed such talent as Brian McKnight, Yolanda Adams and Steve Harvey. It was clear from the crowd that fitness can bridge generations, with young and old alike focused on addressing the obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure that are at epidemic levels in the African American community. Hopefully, with the attention of Dr. Smith and the continued support of the sponsor, State Farm Insurance, we’ll see healthier days ahead for more of our total population.
The recent four-day, free Concert of Colors with headliners like Hugh Masekela, the Neville Brothers and Eddie Palmieri also drew an audience that bridged generations and produced one of the most ethnically diverse audiences one could imagine. We salute ACCESS, the Arab American National Museum, New Detroit and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for producing this annual event, and thanks go to the dozens of supporting sponsors, especially lead sponsor DaimlerChrysler.
For this weekend, ARISE Detroit! has organized a city-wide event with no central location. It is designed to celebrate Detroit, its people, and its neighborhoods – and the potential to reconnect us to our neighbors is limitless. Some neighborhoods are planning children’s activities and cookouts. Cultural institutions and new businesses are hosting open house events to help us get reacquainted and, hopefully, more engaged in our community.
Historically, Detroit has been a city of neighborhoods, filled with proud citizens who have cared for their homes and property. Along the way, and for a variety of reasons, it’s become common to refer to city residency as being “in the hood.”
ARISE Detroit! is saying it’s time to put the “neighbor” back in neighborhood, and the Detroit Area Agency on Aging agrees. We just hope people of all generations will pay particular attention to the older adults in our neighborhoods who need some old-fashioned neighborly assistance.
Pay attention in your neighborhood to seniors who may need help with lawn maintenance, and if the flowers need watering, just do it. Develop relationships that make it easy and comfortable to offer an occasional meal. Offer to take a walk down the street, run a quick errand, help with pets, or provide a ride to a medical appointment.
Hopefully, ARISE Detroit! will inspire the residents of senior apartment buildings to see the value of building community within their high-rise neighborhoods. Property and resident managers do a lot to encourage interaction, but it’s up to the residents’ councils and individual tenants to commit to the sense of neighborhood.
If you live in a senior complex, give some thought to what you would like to see happen to create a greater sense of neighborhood among residents – and then find ways to make it happen. Over the years, we’ve put so much attention on our independence that we’re inviting isolation instead of connection. Whether the focus is on fitness, cultural outings or decorating the common spaces in a senior building, everything is best accomplished with a buddy – with a neighbor.
Today, family members often live in different parts of the country, but our neighbors are with us daily. And if ARISE Detroit! is successful, our neighborhoods will be filled with love and smiles on Saturday, Aug. 4, as we Detroiters reconnect with one another.