Detroit: Haven for Learning Center (Variations on a Theme and/or Meme........Humm! I Know a Place where.....)

TRANSFORMING A VISION TO MAKE DREAMS REALITY

Dilapidated Detroit building becomes haven for learning

By Emma Ockerman Special to the Detroit Free Press

   Room by room.

   That’s how Horatio Williams knew he would have to approach transforming the desolate and shuttered Wayne County Medical Society building just off of I-375 in Detroit into a place where youths can learn, play and grow.

   There was water damage and exposed piping. But flaws aside, the building, at 1010 Antietam housed a kitchen, a banquet hall and an auditorium, and the space necessary for the Horatio Williams Foundation to continue its education, music, and dance programs. With a vision in mind, Williams purchased the building for $275,000 in February 2011.

   “Once you see it, it’s a hidden jewel in the middle of the city,” Williams said.

   With the aid of a $1.1-million investment from UAW-Ford, Williams was able to move his offices and programs from space on East Jefferson. He hosted an open house for the newly renovated Horatio Williams Foundation Center on June 13.

   “I was raised up in a facility like that, it was called the Eastside Center. It was a safe haven for the neighborhood. We wanted to get out of our houses because we had nothing to do,” said Williams, who played basketball at Tuskegee University before a car accident ended his college career. “The building reminded me of that. They can come here and get something to eat and be mentored, or just sit down and we can talk to them.”

   Outside on the manicured lawn, a gaggle of laughing children engage in a game of Frisbee, tackling one another in a fit of giggles.

   Inside, Williams, 46, walks the polished halls donning Nike sneakers, sweat pants and a shirt that reads “I’m kind of a big deal.” Upon entering the dance studio, he immediately receives a hug from a young girl after commenting on her chassé. Passing by the tutoring rooms, he is greeted with smiles.

   Cianna Cooper, 11, has been a part of the foundation’s programs for two years. Her favorite part: learning to play the clarinet.

   “My goal is to get a lot better at the clarinet,” Cooper said, looking back to the classroom she had just left. “We just finished a word game, making as many words as we could out of the letters on the board in a couple of minutes.”

   For 13-year-old Matika Hill, it was the dance programs that drew her to the program, where she was referred by herteacher. “I like that we can meet new people and get a chance to perform,” Hill said. “I have more training, they actually work with us. In school, they don’t explain as much as the tutoring does here.”

   Fit with new floors, new roof, windows, doors, and carpet, the center is now complete. Williams said he’s grateful to Marty Malloy, vice president of labor affairs for Ford, and Jimmy Settles, vice president of the UAW, for sharing his vision.

   “Everything he could humanly do, him and his friends did it themselves. He didn’t just sit back in a chair and look at people getting it done. It made the company feel like it was a worthwhile investment, and definitely made me feel like it was one,” Settles said.

   The center has aided students with a tutoring program, dance and music classes, as well as helping to raise some students ACT scores by as much as five points.

   “With an education, I see their confidence levels up,” Williams said. “If a kid can’t read or write, what do you do?”

Lailah Alquarelles, 10, and D’Ajonay Jones, 14, paint story puppets Thursday during arts and crafts class at the Horatio Williams Foundation in Detroit. The center also has dance and music classes and a tutoring program. PHOTOS BY JARRAD HENDERSON/DFP

Tayla Turner, 10, of Detroit plays her horn during music class Thursday at the Horatio Williams Foundation. PHOTOS BY JARRAD HENDERSON/DFP

FOR MORE INFO

   Horatio Williams Foundation Center, 1010 Antietam, Detroit, www.horatio   williamsfoundation.org  

Horatio Williams, 46, of Detroit bought the building for the foundation in 2011 and is in the process of renovating the Detroit spot after getting a $1.1-million investment from UAW and Ford.

Founder Horatio Williams shows off the brand-new kitchen Thursday at the center. He hopes to begin offering culinary training to students in the future. “Once you see it, it’s a hidden jewel in the middle of the city,” Williams said of the new location.