Ypsilanti Township’s We The People Opportunity Farm’s new Executive Director, LaWanda Hollister, says she will do all she can to carry forward the work of founder the late Melvin Parson but admits she has big shoes to fill.
As the formerly incarcerated interns work the soil, Hollister gathers them together for a couple of photos. At the farm behind Grace Fellowship Church, they grow hope, opportunity and self-respect along with the crops.
Hollister was an intern in 2020, after serving 33 years in prison. She says after Parson’s death, she was determined to make sure his work continued.
“A lot of things came naturally for Melvin that have been put into place. We’re trying to just move what has been natural for him and do that.”
Along with the farm, Hollister says they plan on continuing the work to get the Good Soil Cafe on Ecorse Road up and running, although it will have to go on hold for a while.
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