Oakman Place Apartments Ribbon Cutting - Provides Homes and Hope

New apartment complex opens its doors to provide affordable housing to families and homeless youth as part of an ongoing effort to re-develop a Detroit neighborhood.

DETROIT, Dec. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lutheran Child & Family Service of Michigan (LCFS) along with Focus: HOPE, will be celebrating the grand opening of Oakman Place Apartments on Oakman Blvd., an affordable housing community for families and homeless youth, at 11 a.m. on January 5, 2012 as a collaborative effort to revitalize residential areas of Detroit.

Of the 24 units developed by Fusco, Shaffer & Pappas, Inc., nine one-bedroom units will be reserved for homeless youth and one two-bedroom unit for a homeless youth with a child. The remaining 14 units will be made available to families at or below 60% of Area Median Income.

Additional services will be available onsite, including case management, educational development and employment readiness/opportunities.  These services are made available through a partnership with United Way Southeast Michigan and Focus: HOPE.

According to Dr. Robert G. Miles, President/CEO of LCFS, the agency and its Board of Directors has been concerned about the number of youth in foster care who "age out of the child welfare system" and are in need of adequate housing and supportive services.  "Very few of our own children make the transition into adulthood without ongoing support and guidance.  Through this development, we have become more sensitized to the number of families who are challenged to find adequate, safe and affordable housing. We envision building a 'community within a community' with the residents of Oakman Place and hope to develop some intergenerational programming with the residents of The Village of Oakman Manor. Our continued collaboration with Focus: HOPE can only strengthen this project and the entire community. Oakman Place has been a concept on the drawing board for several years.  We are excited to see this dream become a reality," stated Miles.

"We are delighted to welcome Lutheran Child & Family Service of Michigan into the neighborhood," said William F. Jones, Jr., CEO of Focus: HOPE.  "Oakman Place meets a serious need for affordable housing for youth and families.  We look forward to engaging our new neighbors in our education programs and community development initiatives. The opening of Oakman Place represents an important milestone in our HOPE Village Initiative which is committed to having a deep and lasting impact in the community around our campus."

SOURCE Lutheran Child and Family Service of Michigan