Supporting Early Childhood Education and Struggling Families in Detroit
Rendering of the Dr. Maya Angelou Village construction, a project supported by the Centene Foundation and Meridian, aimed at providing safe housing and resources for Alternatives for Girls.
The Centene Foundation and Centene’s Michigan health plan, Meridian, are investing $1.1 million over three years to support Alternatives for Girls (AFG) in their construction of an affordable housing project. AFG is a nonprofit focused on helping unhoused and high-risk girls and young women avoid violence, teen pregnancy and exploitation and helping them to explore and access the support, resources, and opportunities necessary to be safe, to grow strong and to make positive choices in their lives.
AFG’s housing project will provide 45 units of housing to young Detroit adults. It will include two case management officers and support education and career readiness. The project’s services would address social drivers of health, including economic stability and healthcare access and quality. The investments from the Centene Foundation and Meridian will address the costs associated with building and furnishing the project’s early childhood education center. The center will provide free to low-cost, high-quality early education to 30 children from birth to the age of 3 years. To support working parents, services will be offered during standard and non-traditional hours.