700,000...that is the number of individuals and families in metro Detroit area that are currently in need of food. Rising unemployment rates in our region are leaving an estimated one in six people facing hunger problems.

United Way for Southeastern Michigan has been working in partnership with foundation, community and business leadership to develop a solution for addressing this crisis with long-term, sustainable results.

Please join the us for a briefing on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, from
10:00-11:00 a.m. in the Cadillac Square Conference Room at United Way
Headquarters, located in the First National Building at 660 Woodward
Avenue in Detroit.

Oakland University student's class project lands a $979,400 federal grant for jobs program
By The Associated Press
November 30, 2009, 8:45AM

An Oakland University student's class project has landed $979,400 to help older laid-off workers find new jobs.

Bernice Kerner wrote a successful grant proposal to the U.S. Labor Department as part of a research project in a master of public administration class at the Rochester school. Hers was one of 10 successful grant applications among 130 made nationwide.

Kerner says people who are 55 and older often need to update their job skills to find new work.

The Southeast Michigan Works! Agencies Caucus will use the three-year grant to support 30 staff members who will help older workers find jobs.

Kerner is a management information system supervisor for the Macomb-St. Clair Workforce Development Board.


Resource:
http://www.mlive.com/business/detroit/index.ssf/2009/11/oakland_university_students_cl.html

According to Forbes, Detroit is ranked as the United States' 12th safest city. The safest three cities are Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Portland.

These rankings were based on the criteria of Violent Crime, Workplace Fatality Rates, Traffic Death Rates, and Natural Disaster Rates.

"Methodology

To determine our list of America's safest cities, we looked at the country's 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas across four categories of danger. We considered violent crime rates from the FBI's 2008 uniform crime report; 2008 workplace death rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; 2008 traffic death rates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; and natural disaster risk, using rankings from green living site SustainLane.com."

cnnmoney.com/detroit recently released a story about 13 Detroiters talking about why they love the city. It's a really interesting feature and gives thoughs on Detroit from many different perspectives. Definitely worth a look!

Why I love Detroit: 13 stories

Detroit residents often are asked why they stay. 13 locals answer that question - and reveal their favorite treasures of the Motor City.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/news/0904/gallery.why_I_love_Detroit/index.html