The Good Neighbor Project is co-mentorship program designed to match up free-world individuals with Michigan prisoners who are serving Life or long sentences.

The Project is a program that applies restorative justice practices and principles by way of a one-on-one “co-mentorship” within the community by providing tools for repairing harm in relationships caused by crimes committed by our incarcerated neighbors. The program also seeks to foster the change necessary to facilitate the political will to advance criminal justice reform.

Many of these prisoners have been incarcerated for so long that they have lost their network of social support from family, friends, and the community. It is through letter or email correspondences that the co-mentors develop strong & meaningful relationships that are meant to promote transformation, redemption and healing. The next two (2) hour training session in providing our outside participants with all the information necessary to create a productive “co-mentorship” will be at The AFSC Michigan Criminal Justice Program, 124 Pearl Street, Suite 607, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 (734) 761-8283 "> Prisoner number: (734) 761-9796 on Thursday, October 5th from 6:00-8:00 PM. Other sessions are as follows, all from 6:00-8:00 PM: Wednesday, October 18

You’re invited to Dawn Farm’s free Educational Series. The Education Series schedule can be found here. You can also contact Dawn Farm at 734-485-8725 or info@dawnfarm.org. All programs are free, and all are welcome to attend! Registration is not required. Programs will be held at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Education Center Auditorium (ground floor,) 5305 Elliott Drive, Ypsilanti.

Does Addiction Treatment Work? will be presented on Tuesday May 16, 2017, from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, by Dr. Carl Christensen, MD, PhD, FACOG, FASAM, ABAM. Recent publications claim to define research-supported definitive truths about the root causes of addiction and efficacy of treatment modalities; however, conclusions are conflicting and have been subject to differing interpretations. Dr. Christensen will review the recent criticisms of treatment for addiction including Twelve Step, residential, and medication assisted therapy, the scientific studies that do and do not support their use and other controversial issues.

Washtenaw Literacy has been awarded two AmeriCorps VISTA positions by the Michigan Non Profit Association for 2017-2018. Click here for posting and link to application. The VISTA positions will support the development of the Community Opportunity Center by providing outreach and onsite management. Additionally, VISTAs will be working on projects to improve financial and workplace literacy for adult learners. Interviews are conducted now! For more information, contact Alison. These full-time positions begin August 8 and are a great opportunity for someone just graduating college, changing careers or newly retired. Don't miss out on a chance to have a significant local impact through VISTA service!

Go see how the water flows to your tap on Saturday May 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the City of Ann Arbor's Water Treatment Plant. There will be activities, tours, refreshments and more. All you need to bring is your curiosity! Contact the Water Treatment Plant at (734) 794-6426 if you have any questions, or if you can't make it, schedule a group tour.

The public is invited to Dawn Farm’s free Educational Series. All programs are presented in the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Education Center auditorium, at 5305 Elliott Drive in Ypsilanti. You can also contact Dawn Farm at 734-485-8725 or info@dawnfarm.org. All are welcome to attend! Registration is not required.

Grief and Loss in Addiction and Recovery will be presented on Tuesday April 18, 2017, from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, by Jerry Fouchey, BS, MA, SpA, CADC; Dawn Farm Outpatient and Personal Medicine therapist; and Barb Smith, author of “Brent’s World.” Unresolved grief and loss frequently accompany people throughout the process of moving from the culture of addiction to the culture of recovery. Families of people with addiction experience grief and loss as well. The epidemic of opioid-related overdose deaths has left bereaved families across our country and our community. This program will explain theories of grief and grief recovery related to losses that people with addiction and their families experience throughout the addiction and recovery processes, and will include a personal story of grief, loss and recovery.

On Friday, April 21st, 2017 from 12:30-2:30 PM pm Dr. Kevin T. McCauley, MD; co-founder of the Institute on Addiction Study; writer of the award-winning DVD Pleasure Unwoven will present a free program on the seeming end of the drug war & rise of recovery.The last twenty years produced an explosion of understanding not only about addiction and brain research, but the most current neuro-scientific research about addiction - research that explains how the brain constructs pleasurable experiences, what happens when this process goes wrong, and why this can have a dramatic impact in our ability to make proper choices. There will also be a free reception from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

The Dawn Farms Education Series, "Teens Using Drugs: What To Know and What To Do" meets again this month. This is a free, two-part series that will be presented from 7:30-9:00 pm Tuesday, April 4th (part one, "What to Know"), and Tuesday, April 11th, (part two, "What to Do"). The programs will be held in the "Exhibition Room" on the first floor of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Education Center at 5305 Elliott Drive, Ypsilanti. The sessions are presented by the Dawn Farm Youth & Family Services team. This program is targeted primarily to parents/caretakers of teens & young adults but is inclusive of other family members, teens, professionals, students, people who sponsor or support teens, and others interested. Please contact 734-485-8725 or info@dawnfarm.org or see the link to Dawn Farm for further information.