MITF Newsletter - Opportunity Resource Fund

Community Quarterly
Issue No. 6 • July 2006
IN THIS ISSUE:
Former Board Chair Wins
Duvernay Award: Eugene Kuthy
accepts at ‘06 conference [Below]
Ruth Ellis Center Helps
Homeless Teens: MITF funds a
youth shelter in Detroit [Page 2]
Hungry for Twingo’s: MITF’s work (Mostly) New Faces: Read about
with the re-opening of Twingo’s
MITF’s two new team members
Euro Café in Detroit [Page 3]
[Back Page]
Former Board Chair Wins Duvernay Award
Eugene Kuthy accepts at the 2006 Conference on Affordable Housing
By Christine A. Coady
C
ongratulations to Gene
Kuthy for receiving the
highly coveted and extremely
prestigious Terrence R. Duvernay
Award! The roots of Gene’s
passion and dedication for helping
eliminate the financial barriers to
affordable housing for all who are
in need spring from his childhood.
During the Great Depression,
Gene’s family struggled to find
housing in southwestern Detroit,
and his memories of surviving
tough circumstances give him the
motivation for his daily work.
fund. He was a founding member
of the group that chartered the
Michigan Housing Trust Fund and
subsequently joined its Board.
While Commissioner, he arranged
for his agency to provide accounting
and technical assistance to the
Fund, however, he attributes their
significant growth to the support of
Terry Duvernay and MHSDA.
During this time period, Gene was
also invited to join the Board of the
Michigan McGehee Interfaith Loan
Fund and served as Board Chair for
seven years. He was instrumental
in merging the Housing Trust
Fund and the McGehee Interfaith
Loan Fund into today’s Michigan
Interfaith Trust Fund, and served as
the first Board Chair of the newlyformed entity.
While
Commissioner
of
the
Financial Institutions Bureau for
the State of Michigan (1983–1990),
Gene worked to boost single family
home ownership by developing
a partnership with Freddie Mac,
and collaborated with Terrence
Duvernay to help pass legislation Gene is currently a board member
Southwest
Solutions
and
that curbed flagrant abuses in the of
Bridging
Communities,
Finance
single family mortgage industry.
Committee member for Community
In the early 1980’s, Gene became Development Advocates of Detroit,
involved with a MHSDA-financed Vice Chairman of the Detroit
study group which investigated the Alliance for Fair Banking, Chairman
establishment of a housing trust of Southwest Housing Solutions,
Mr. Kuthy accepting his award
and member of the Business
and Development Loan Review
Committee for the Wayne County
Economic Development Department.
He has received distinguished service
awards, and was appointed to the
Governor’s Volunteer Service Honor
Roll in 2004. Gene is also a retired
Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve,
where he served for 34 years. He is
perhaps most proud though, of his
six grandchildren!
We proudly recognize Gene as an
advocate of the pioneering work
of Terrence Duvernay, and thank
him for his lifelong commitment,
dedication, and years of tireless
service to the affordable housing
industry.
Ruth Ellis Center Helps Homeless Teens
Detroit Center one of only four agencies in the nation that serves GLBTQ youth
by Kim Thompson & Zachary Pohl
R
uth Ellis Center, Inc.
(REC) was incorporated
in 1999. REC was
created for the purpose
of providing residential safe space
and support services for runaway,
homeless and at-risk gay, lesbian,
biattractional, transgender, and
questioning (GLBTQ) youth in
Detroit and Southeast Michigan.
Approximately 1.7 million young
people experience homelessness in
a given year, and according to REC,
roughly 40% of them are GLBTQ.
There are only four social service
agencies in the United States that
are exclusively devoted to these
homeless teens and young adults.
Since opening in 1999, REC has
established over 10,000 street
contacts, served more than 12,000
meals, and handled over 5,000
phone calls for help and referrals.
According to the REC website,
“No one else, no other agency, no
place or shelter is specifically set
up to help our community’s teens
and young adults who have been
discarded by their families. We do
not reject them for their sexuality
or for simply being who they are.
We will house them, feed them,
clothe them, counsel them, help
them get on their feet and become
independent.”
With a loan from the Michigan
Interfaith Trust Fund in 2002, Ruth
Ellis Center was able to acquire
and rehabilitate a side-by-side
duplex at 612/616 East Philadelphia
in Detroit. Ruth’s House, named
in honor of Ruth Ellis, a woman
who opened her home to Detroit’s
GLBTQ youth, hosts nine GLBTQ
teens and young adults with a
complement of four full-time staff.
The intention is to offer teens and
Above: Ruth’s House before
MITF-funded acquisition and
rehab. Right: Ruth’s House after
renovation.
Evening for Economic Justice
“We will house them, feed them, clothe
them, counsel them, help them get on
their feet and become independent.”
young adults the necessary skills
to live independently. These young
adults typically have a multitude of
developmental issues, but with the
guidance of REC’s developmental
and
progressively
designed
program, are able to successfully
transition into self-sufficiency.
There is no cure-all for issues like
homelessness or affordable housing,
but organizations like the Ruth Ellis
Center are tackling these problems
compassionately and effectively.
SAVE THE DATE: NOVEMBER 9, 2006
WHERE: Focus: HOPE – Detroit, MI
New Loans Closed Since April 1, 2006
Borrower
CAP Nonprofit Housing
Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance
Medic-Air Respiratory & Medical Supplies
2
Amount of Loan
$172,000.00
$114,719.00
$15,000.00
Community Quarterly • Issue No. 6 • July 2006
City
Ypsilanti
Detroit
Detroit
# Units or Jobs
2
2
1
Activity Type
Homeownership
Homeownership
Medical Supply
Hungry for Twingo’s
After closing in 2004, Twingo’s Euro Café is back open for business
by Lorenzo Thurman & Zachary Pohl
I
n April of 2005, Twingo’s Deux LLC,
was formed by John Lopez to re-open
the former Twingo’s Café, located in
the heart of Detroit’s Midtown/Cultural
Center. The former establishment
experienced eight years of success before
the prior owner closed the business for
personal reasons.
Mr. Lopez, who has developed a “Midas
touch” reputation after successfully
directing three of the area’s premier
restaurants (Union Street, Agave, and
Atlas Global Bistro), is hoping to recapture
and improve upon the former restaurant’s
well-received French Café theme. Chef
and co-owner Shawn Mac has integrated
the French-themed cuisine with dishes
from Poland, Spain and Italy, which have
received stellar reviews and press from
publications such as “Metro Times” and
“The Detroit News.”
With all the growth taking place in the
Midtown area these days, Twingo’s hopes
to provide a “Cool Cities” sensibility
to the services it offers to the growing
contingency of residents, students and
faculty of Wayne State University, urban
professionals, and visitors to the City of
Detroit. As the Midtown area continues
this exciting period of rebirth, projects
like the re-opening of Twingo’s feed into
the sense of achievement for all of the
community’s revitalization efforts.
MITF Staff
President/CEO
Christine A. Coady
Twingo’s Co-Owners John
Lopez & Chef Shawn Mac
As the Midtown area continues this exciting
period of rebirth, projects like the re-opening of
Twingo’s feed into the sense of achievement for
all of the community’s revitalization efforts.
The re-opening of Twingo’s Euro Café—
and other economic development projects
like it in the Midtown area—was made
possible by a loan from MITF, Michigan
Heritage Bank, and the support from the
Cathedral Church of St. Paul, and the
University Cultural Center Association.
Loan dollars from MITF provided Twingo’s
with working capital during the reconstruction phase of development, and
provided direct employment opportunities
for low and moderate-income individuals
in the City of Detroit.
The new Twingo’s Euro Café is located
at 4710 Cass Avenue, and is open for
breakfast, lunch and dinner. The MITF
staff congratulates Chef Mac and Mr.
Lopez for their community revitalization
efforts, and wishes them the best of luck
in the years to come.
Executive Assistant
Melodie Balzer Sanford
Director, Investor Relations
Jane E. Carpenter
Director of Finance and
Operations
Debra G. Fedewa, C.P.A.
Administrative Assistant
Karen Gasperoni
Director of Lending
Wendy Landes Hatem
Communications & Design
Coordinator
Zachary E. Pohl
Loan Officer, Southeast MI
Kim Y. Thompson
Loan Officer, Econ. Dev.
Lorenzo D. Thurman
Administrative Assistant
Kim Tyler
Portfolio Manager
Wanda L. Wildermuth
Contact Us
Lansing Office
1000 S. Washington Ave
Lansing, MI 48910
Ph 517.372.6001
Fx 517.372.6004
Detroit Office
INTERFAITH TRUST APPRECIATES YOUR PRAYERS
The Fund recently received a postcard from All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Pontiac, Michigan
that read: “The ministry and service you do in the community was raised up in our prayers of
thanksgiving this week at All Saints’.” We would like to thank the congregation of All Saints’
Church, and everyone who prays for our organization, for their heartfelt support for the work
we do. You are in our prayers as well.
2727 Second Ave, Suite 301
Detroit, MI 48201
Ph 313.964.7300
Fx 313.964.7313
For letters to the editor, newsletter
submissions, or additions/deletions
from the mailing list, contact designer
Zack Pohl by phone at 517.372.6001
or by email: zpohl@interfaithtrust.org
interfaithtrust.org
3
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LANSING, MI
PERMIT NO. 46
1000 South Washington Avenue, Suite 100
Lansing, MI 48910-1647
i nte r f a it htr us t. o rg
(Mostly) New Faces at MITF
The Michigan Interfaith Trust Fund hires two new staffers, and one
long-serving part-timer graduates to a full-time position
The Michigan Interfaith Trust Fund continues to grow, and hired
two new employees at the beginning of May.
Debra Fedewa, C.P.A. was brought on as the Interfaith Trust’s new
Director of Finance and Operations. She will be directing the full
range of financial, accounting, technology and administrative
activities of the organization out of our Lansing office.
Karen Gasperoni is the former Operations Manager for a women’s
shelter in Mount Clemens, Michigan, and will be working from our
Detroit office as an Administrative Assistant.
NEW
!
Zack Pohl has been working for the Fund since June 2001, and
is a recent graduate of Michigan State University. He will now be
working full-time as MITF’s Communications & Design Coordinator
out of the Lansing office.
We welcome the new faces to the MITF team, and look forward to a
prosperous future together.
Upper-left: Debra Fedewa. Upper-right: Karen Gasperoni.
Lower-left: Zack Pohl.