At The Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North's Luncheon on March 23, 2023, Kevin Lill from The Peace Neighborhood Center was the speaker.
Peace Neighborhood Center has programs for children, families, and individuals to promote self-sufficiency and positive community involvement. They are proud to report that since 1971, they have provided critical services and opportunities to more than 16,000 people in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County. Through a wide range of comprehensive programs, Peace helps people discover options, enhance skills, and make choices that promote education, health, well-being, and fiscal independence.
Peace Neighborhood Center services include: advocacy, emergency assistance, after-school programs, summer day camps, college and career preparation, individual and family counseling, and family enrichment.
Peace is most known for is their Youth Services:
- Youth Service- Helping Youth Find Their Way To Success:
- REACH After School Program: Peace has always had a focus on elementary youth and its REACH after school program is the cornerstone of all the Youth Services the organization provides. REACH offers an enriching and educational after school environment to nearly 100 children every school year.
- Alternatives for Youth After School Program: The Alternatives for Youth (AFY) after school program mentors our middle school students in grades 6th-8th while offering them support through academic tutoring. AFY cultivates the development of leadership skills while helping to build self-esteem and self-sufficiency in participants.
- Ninth Grade Academy: The Ninth Grade Academy is designed to aid with the difficult transition between middle school and high school in order to make sure the young people we work with don’t get sidetracked on their way to success. The program offers special tutoring assistance provided by a partnership with the University of Michigan’s Telluride House.
- College & Career Prep Club: The College & Career Prep Club (CCPC) offers the support necessary for high school students to prepare for college or career training. This includes the guidance needed to take the proper courses in high school, maintain a good grade point average, and complete the proper paperwork for admission to a college or university.
- Summer Day Camp: Summer Day Camp is the elementary-age component of Peace’s Summer Youth Services (SYS) that provides a six-week program of quality activities for over 100 young people throughout Washtenaw County each summer. Campers participate in structured recreational activities and enrichment groups focused on topics such as science, drama and music.
- Leadership Development Camp: Leadership Development Camp (LDC) is the middle school component of Peace’s Summer Youth Services. Each summer, LDC provides around 50 youth with a well rounded, structured experience including organized educational and recreational activities designed to teach them the tools necessary to be positive role models to their younger peers and siblings.
- Family Services: Discovering Options And Enhancing Skills: Peace Neighborhood Center’s Family Services are comprised of a number of programs that work together with Peace’s mission to help individuals discover options, enhance skills, and make choices that lead to self-sufficiency and positive community involvement. The support structures these services provide are capable of breaking cycles of poverty and leading individuals toward stronger, healthier and more productive lives.
- Family Enrichment Program: The Family Enrichment Program (FEP) includes family events and outings as well as adult-only workshops. FEP is mandatory for parents who have children attending youth programs. On average, over 80 families each year participate in weekly workshops that address a variety of topics chosen to help strengthen and expand a parent’s knowledge and skills. The goal of the workshops is to help adults improve their parenting and management of their household.
- Case Management: Case Management Services work one-on-one with families and individuals throughout the community who find themselves in situations requiring help. This program offers everything from financial to emotional support. Whether it was preventing a family’s heat from being shut off, advocating on their behalf with another agency or offering help with toys and food during the holidays, the Peace staff provides assistance to over 400 households in Washtenaw County each year.
- Peace House Transitional Housing: The Peace House Transitional Housing Center provides temporary housing for families as they work to get back on their feet. While staying at Peace House, families meet regularly with Peace staff members to come up with an action plan to address their issues and attain self-sufficiency. Youth in the household have access to Peace’s Youth Services and adults have access to the Family Enrichment Program
Peace Neighborhood Center has an ongoing need for volunteers in many capacities, they would like to work with you to find a good fit with their existing programs. Click here to get involved.
Click read more for Peace Neighborhood Center Wellness video.
Video detailing Peace's Wellness Center Program that was launched in 2022.
The Wellness Center provides:
Wellness Activities
Low risk wellness activities like Yoga, Walk & Talk, Arts & Crafts, Journaling, and special outings are designed to engage parents, build community, foster important social connections, and improve physical health, self-care, and well-being.
Support Groups
Support Groups for Peace parents are designed to foster deeper discussions, build mutual supports and connections, and provide strategies to better manage stress and build resiliency. Our initial support groups have provided a valuable space for parents to share personal stories and discuss shared challenges and life experiences.
Individual & Family Counseling
Counseling support and with Peace’s two licensed clinical social workers offer more intensive trauma-informed care and therapy at a safe place our families know and trust. Being able to offer Individualized counseling support onsite at Peace helps eliminate current barriers to care, and helps our parents and families move forward toward healing.