Community
different people brought different ideas
and connections to the project," said
Alan Ellias, community service director at
Temple Israel. "I think that the input and
personal involvement in the planning is
what made this such a great project."
CARE members voiced similar senti-
ments.
"We are very active within the
Chaldean community, working with kids,
assisting immigrants and running food
drives," said Jeff Atto, of West
Bloomfield, recording secretary for
CARE. "But we were looking to do some-
thing broader when the temple contacted
us.
John George, founder and CEO of
Blight Busters, was elated to have a group
come from the suburbs to assist in their
"Building Blitz," which will result in
clearing a block of six abandoned houses
and replacing them with new ones by the
end of the summer.
youth groups joining in the fight against
blight.
On June 19 at Blight Busters' head-
quarters, enthusiasm was running high.
"We're demolishing
today; it's a blast," said
Ashley Calderon of
Bloomfield Hills, YFTI
social-action vice presi-
dent, who was equally
encouraged by the new
and familiar faces.
"Yesterday, I was the
MVP (most valuable
player)," said CARE's
Vanessa Shamoun of
West Bloomfield, echo-
ing the enthusiasm for
their assignment. "I
spent the whole time
in the dumpster, so
they called me the
dumpster queen."
The marquee on the
Redford movie theater,
Get On The Bus
half a block from the
Each day, the teenagers assembled at
site, read "Michigan
Temple Israel or St. Thomas Chaldean
Natural Bodybuilding
Church, both in West Bloomfield, and
Championships," as it
rode buses to the Blight Busters head-
anticipating the group's
quarters, a refurbished Masonic temple
hard labor.
on Grand River and Lahser, in Detroit's
The intensity rose
Old Redford neighborhood.
with the temperature,
The bus rides offeied an informal
as we divided into
forum for lively discussion. Rather than
groups to knock out a
sleeping late to celebrate the close of the
former home's concrete
academic year, the teens discovered the
floor and staircase,
similarities and differences between their
shovel debris from the
religions and ethnic groups. Chaldeans
previous day's work
are Catholics. of Iraqi descent; outside of
and strip the skeleton
the Middle East, more Chaldeans live in --- of the collapsed roof
the Detroit area than anywhere else in the one piece at a time.
world. Topics shifted freely from stereo-
When we rested our
types, to the New Testament, to the pop
sledge hammers, crow
music that filled the bus.
bars, and shovels
"We reached the point that we could
against the teeming
laugh and talk and not get offended,"
dumpster at the end of
said CARE member Anita Shamoun of
the day, the former
West Bloomfield. "What we realized was
crack house was one
that jokes are just jokes and they don't
day and a few tons of
tell you anything about a religion or cul-
garbage closer to once
ture. I lost my voice — that's how much
again housing a family
fun I had."
and contributing posi-
tive energy to the sur-
rounding community.
Clearing New Ground
The Blight Busters'
One of the cornerstones of Blight Busters
team
had a different
is to remove negative energy from com-
job
in
store for JACOB
munities. They strive to be a catalyst for
when
I
rejoined the
neighborhood pride and make areas safe
group
on
June 21. The
for both existing families and those in the
previous
day
had been
market for new homes by removing all
spent
demolishing
the
kinds of eyesores from city blocks.
house,
leaving
only
the floor and base-
George considers it a form of child
ment.
Again,
the
Redford
Theatre seemed
abuse to let children grow up on streets
to
be
expecting
us:
This
time,
the mar-
that have decaying homes and neglected
quee
read
"Little
Shop
of
Horrors."
lots, so he was particularly excited to have
"They sent us over to these two lots
/29
001
Lauren Greenberg,
17, of Bloomfield
Hills. and Jaclyn Yeldo,
17, of West
Bloomfield work
together to remove
debris.
Sam Falik, 17,
of Bloomfield
Township wheels
a barrel fidl of
debris to the
waste bin.