Renaissance

'Blight into Beauty:' CBS News Reports Tonight on Highland Park's Avalon Village

July 01, 2016, 6:12 AM by  Alan Stamm

It's a newsmaking two weeks for Avalon Village, a neighborhood-upgrade project on Avalon Street in Highland Park.

The first splash came from a successful Kickstarter drive that raised $243,691 from 1,511 donors, exceeding its goal by nearly $1,800 when the one-month campaign ended June 23.

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Steve Hartman, right, poses with "Shu" Harris (third from left) and Avalon Village volunteers.
(Twitter photo)

That's followed by a visit from CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman for a segment of his weekly "On the Road" feature, airing at the end of Friday's 6:30 p.m. "Evening News with Scott Pelley."

The network attention is announced in a tweet by the nonprofit organization, founded by Shamayim ("Shu") Harris after her 2-year-old son's 2007 hit-and-run death on Rhode Island Street in Highland Park.

"I had to decide whether to fall into despair or to rise up to honor Jakobi Ra’s memory by creating . . . a safe space for our children and neighbors," she posts in a thank-you to fund drive backers. "Donations allow us to fulfill this commitment to our neighborhood."

As Hartman's report will show, Harris, volunteers and builders are creating a "Homework House" tutoring center and cafe in a formerly abandoned home and a "Goddess Marketplace" -- an economic initiative where women can sell goods and food from refurbished shipping containers.


Shamayim Harris: "We are going to transform this blight into beauty."

A second phase envisions greenhouses for growing produce and recreation courts replacing empty lots. "We are going to transform this blight into beauty," Harris vows.

At Curbed Detroit, editor Robin Runyan explains Harris' vision of an "eco-village:"

Avalon Village will incorporate green initiatives into each project, such as rain barrels that will catch rain water, geothermal heating and cooling wells under the activity courts, composting with worms which can be then sold as bait, solar panels, and solar streetlights.  

The group hopes to create an empowering village of self-sufficiency where they can sustain themselves with as little outside help as possible.

Hartman, reporting for CBS since 1996, travels around the country for "On the Road" features inspired by late CBS newsman Charles Kuralt, who did segments with the same name.



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