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A new program has launched at the Ypsilanti Community Family Life Center to provide local Black male youth and young adults with accessible trauma informed therapy. Based at Grace Fellowship Church, the Interventions for African American Males (I-AMM) program works to increase pro-social behaviors and address gun violence, generational trauma and substance abuse and depression. Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale discussed the program with its founder, clinical therapist Leah Mills, for this week's "On the Ground Ypsi."

The Riverside Arts Center is working with social workers and students of social work to develop new, socially conscious programming. Concentrate Media’s Rylee Barnsdale chats about some of the programming being offered at Riverside with local social worker and therapist Kayla Skinner-Roy.

This past October marked the 30th anniversary of the Eastern Michigan University Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center. The staff has been celebrating by reflecting on the center's impact on the EMU campus and greater Ypsilanti community. Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale discussed the center's history and future with EMU history and philosophy professor, Dr. Kate Mehuron.

The Ypsilanti-based residential real estate company Yarrow hopes to uplift local business in downtown Ypsi with its recent purchase of 114 West Michigan Avenue. This building was formerly occupied by the Unicorn Feed and Supply Gift Shop and is currently home to the event venue Yours Truly. Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale was joined by Yarrow co-founder Dylan Cinti to talk about this expansion and what it means for both his company and for Ypsilanti's downtown spaces and small business owners.

Washtenaw County officials recently finalized the purchase of the 26-acre plot of land the former Cheney Elementary School sat on with the intent to build a state-of-the-art community and recreation center in the school's place, leading some Ypsilanti residents wondering how this new initiative will uphold the legacy of Willow Run Schools, as well as the school's namesake. Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale discusses everything that led to this project becoming a reality with Ypsilanti Community Schools trustee Jeanice Townsend.

After serving thirty-five years of a life sentence, the only thing Leroy Harris wanted to do was teach children how to avoid making the same kinds of mistakes. But he didn't have the confidence to set his goals in motion. He later turned to occupational therapy through the Ypsilanti-based organization “Life After Incarceration: Transition & Reentry,” or LAITR (sounds like “later”). Today, Leroy is not only starting his own business to help troubled youth but also sits on LAITR's board of directors. Leroy shared his story with Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale.

Ypsilanti's own Corner Health Center has partnered with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on their Child and Adolescent Health Center program for the past 30 years to provide physical and mental health care to Ypsilanti's youth. But a new opportunity from MDHHS is now allowing the Corner to take its services beyond their home and into the school system. Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale talks about this new initiative with Corner Health Youth Leadership Council president, Hasini Anand.

Earlier this year, Growing Hope announced the "Sprout Grants" program, which awards funds to organizations that promote self-reliance, self-determination, and food sovereignty through neighborhood gardening. This past September, seven Ypsilanti-area organizations received the inaugural grants, and among them was the Cross Street Village senior living facility. Cross Street community organizer Gwendolyn Copeland talks to Rylee Barnsdale about how they received the grant and their plans for the money.

It is an election year and, in one way or another, we are all engaging in the politics of the day. How we ingest and interpret the information can be personal and individual. One local organization is looking to create innovative ways for community members to engage with democracy in ways they may not have considered before. YpsiWrites has put together a package of educational materials to allow people to find clarity through writing. YpsiWrites program director Kristine Gatchel explains the program and discuss the results it's producing with Concentrate Media reporter Rylee Barnsdale.

Many area residents don't know that the tangle of shrubs, saplings, and wildflowers on the south side of Prospect Park in Ypsilanti once was the location of a showcase, crescent-shaped pond called Luna Lake. Decades later, it was home to a native plant garden. The garden suffered neglect, especially during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, but area residents and neighborhood association leaders are hoping a public workday in October will provide needed rehabilitation. Rylee Barnsdale discussed the event and its goals with organizer, Rachel Blistein.