Only six of the Detroit Public Library’s 21 neighborhood branches are currently open, leaving neighbors without vital resources for more than a year.
Nushrat Rahman
Nushrat Rahman covers issues and obstacles that influence economic mobility, primarily in Detroit, for the Detroit Free Press and BridgeDetroit, as a corps member with Report for America, a national service program placing journalists in local newsrooms across the country.
Her beat includes coverage of housing, water affordability and issues important to small business owners – all areas she’s passionate about as a lifelong Detroiter. She has written for Hour Detroit, Model D and Tostada Magazine.
In 2018, Rahman was selected as one of 13 contributors for The Edit, a New York Times newsletter for college students and recent graduates. Rahman is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School, where she dived into narrative and investigative reporting, and Wayne State University.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Child tax credits are expected to start arriving in July. Here’s what to know.
Starting this summer, eligible families are expected to get monthly payments, through expansions in child tax credits, to support the cost of raising kids.
Posted inHealth and Welfare
Network of neighbors plan to provide food, resources to community members beyond pandemic
When their communities said they were struggling with food and bills, these neighbors stepped up. They plan to continue their work after the pandemic.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Detroit property tax relief: How to tell if you qualify, how to get started
Dan and Jennifer Gilbert on Thursday announced plans to donate $500 million to invest in neighborhoods across the city, starting with $15 million to pay down the back property taxes of as many as 20,000 Detroiters who could face tax foreclosure.
Posted inPolitical and Public Policy Information
Detroit Public Library officials: Too much of our millage is going to Detroit development projects
Leaders of the Detroit Public Library say too much of their voter-approved millage is being diverted to the city’s Downtown Development Authority, rising above a 5% cap laid out in the ballot question voters approved when they renewed the library’s millage in 2014.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Website aims to help Detroit tenants, landlords apply for rent aid program
Wayne County and Detroit residents can apply for rent aid through a new statewide program to distribute federal funds to keep people in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Michigan renters, landlords can apply for new rent aid program starting Monday
Starting Monday, Michigan renters in need and landlords can start applying for federal rent dollars that are part of a COVID-19 relief bill that Congress passed in December. Here is how to get help.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Kresge, credit union offer rent assistance as Detroit nonprofit waits for federal aid
A philanthropic organization is working with a credit union to front millions of dollars to a Detroit housing agency as it waits for the Legislature and governor to agree on how to administer emergency COVID-19 federal aid, including hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked to help renters pay back rent and avoid eviction.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Thousands of Michigan renters await federal rent aid amid pandemic
As Michigan lawmakers negotiate how to dole out federal COVID-19 relief dollars earmarked for Michigan in December, thousands of renters are waiting for help to pay back rent and avoid eviction.
Posted inPolitical and Public Policy Information
Task force report: These steps could help lift Michiganders out of poverty
Children need saving accounts, incarcerated people should have more apprenticeship opportunities and the state should offer families facing temporary financial woes lump-sum cash assistance.