Hey BridgeDetroit readers!
We’ve got an update on a popular water affordability program in Detroit.
The Lifeline Plan, which once enrolled nearly 30,000 households, has run out of most of its money, forcing the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to revamp the program into one with a higher monthly bill that serves fewer customers in need.
DWSD’s Lifeline Plan, which launched in 2022 with regional, state and federal funding, reduced eligible Detroiters’ water bill to as low as $18 a month and wiped away debt from overdue bills.
Now, money from the state and federal government is gone. What remains is $3.5 million to cover about 5,000 residents per year, as the city’s water department tries to get more funding from the state’s newly approved budget. Water advocates raised questions and concerns about the enrollment process for the scaled back version of the program, named Lifeline H2O, and called for a permanent funding source.
We spoke to DWSD Director Gary Brown to learn more about the changes to come. Here’s what Detroiters should know.
Reparations program helps Black metro Detroiters purchase homes
When Detroiter Stephanie Coney applied for a homeownership program a few years ago, she not only received $25,000 that went toward the mortgage of her brick home on the city’s northwest side, she got access to her roots.
In 2023, Coney was selected for the program through Reparation Generation. The national nonprofit wants to create wealth for Black Americans, in part, by providing descendants of enslaved people in the U.S., living in metro Detroit, with homeownership funding and genealogy tracing. Six new recipients were selected last month for the third round of the program and Reparation Generation is looking to fund four more by the end of the year.
Could this program be a model for national reparations?
On Your Radar
- PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION: The deadline to apply for the Homeowners Property Exemption (HOPE) program, which can reduce property taxes for qualifying homeowners, is Nov. 7. Go to www.detroitmi.gov/HOPE for more information on how to apply and upcoming events.
- LUNCH AT THE LIBRARY: The Detroit Public Library has partnered with Forgotten Harvest to provide after school meals at certain libraries. The program, which began last week, is for young people 18 and under and adults with physical and mental disabilities. The program ends in May of next year. Learn more.
- BUDGET BOOST FOR BABIES: Rx Kids, a cash aid program for moms and babies, received a $270 million allocation in the recently passed state budget. The additional funding will allow Rx Kids to expand to more low-income communities and reach about 100,000 babies over the next three years. Learn more.
Nushrat Rahman
Economic Mobility Reporter, BridgeDetroit and Detroit Free Press
