- [Narrator] Coming up on a New Year's Edition of "One Detroit".

We're placing the spotlight on people doing great things in the area.

We'll meet a father and son who turn their Michigan farm into a sanctuary for rescued farm animals.

Plus, a Detroit teacher takes on a mission to encourage children to read.

Also ahead, we'll meet a local couple who's helping revitalize Southwest Detroit.

And we'll tell you what's happening around town this first weekend in January.

It's all coming up next on "One Detroit" - [Announcer] From Delta faucets to Behr paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

- [Announcer] Support also provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit PBS.

- [Announcer] DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan-focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Learn more at dtefoundation.com.

- [Announcer] Nissan Foundation, and viewers like you.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Happy New Year.

Just ahead on a holiday edition of "One Detroit".

We're introducing you to people making a difference in the community.

We'll show you how a Detroit teacher is getting more books in the hands of students.

Plus, a Detroit couple is bringing New life to their southwest Detroit neighborhood.

And we'll take a look at some of the activities taking place this first weekend of the new year.

But first up, we're taking you to a barn sanctuary in Chelsea, Michigan.

It's a place where farm animals live out their natural lives.

The owners repurposed their family farm to become a refuge for rescued cows, pigs, goats, and chickens.

One Detroit's Bill Kubota visited the sanctuary and saw how the farm animals are cared for just like family pets.

- [Bill] Animals on the farm just off the freeway west of Ann Arbor.

At Barn Sanctuary, their residents, called persons here, just like the caregivers that see to their needs.

- We do everything that farming is except for the last part, taking the animals to the market.

- [Bill] Dan McKernan and his father, Tom, they started Barn Sanctuary eight years ago.

- Well, people just aren't exposed to farm animals.

Unless you grew up on a farm, you don't really have the experience of seeing them.

And that's what we hope to do, is let people see that our pigs and cows are more like your experience you have with your dogs and cats.

- You had yours.

Sorry, that's it.

- [Bill] Caregiver Casey Fry, a popular sight in the pig barn this morning.

- So it's turmeric paste and LubriSyn, which helps with their joints.

Leo.

- [Bill] Is that all they eat?

No, they get a lot more than that.

- They get a lot more.

This is just supplements.

- [Bill] Can you tell if they're happy?

- We can tell if they're upset.

And we can tell if they're happy because they want to interact with each other, ourselves.

They get up, they're able to get up and eat.

They're interested in playing around.

And they can be little stinkers with each other.

- [Bill] Around 140 farm animals and rescue stories come with each of them.

- We rescued June in 2017, and she was rescued as a piglet.

She was found in a kind of a metal trash can and was left there with a crazy eye infection and was malnourished.

And a local dog rescuer found and then gave us a call.

(June grunts) - [Tom] Yeah.

Yeah.

- [Bill] Before all this, Dan, a plant-based diet advocate, he was a tech expert in Texas specializing in fundraising for non-profits.

Tom, a pharmacist and local township supervisor, their farm had been owned by the family for nearly a century and a half.

- And all of a sudden, I realized that this is a property is potentially gonna be developed commercially.

I didn't really want us to be the next McDonald's, the next gas station, whatever you find along the exit ramps and stuff along the expressway.

- And out of the blue, my dad gave me a call and asked, "What should we do with this family farm that we've got?

So I told my dad, "How about starting a farm animal rescue on the family farm?"

And he asked, "How are we gonna pay for the feed?"

And I told him that I would take care of that and figure out a way.

- [Bill] Dan Barn stormed social media.

His messaging was a hit - One bale of hay, it's $5.

And we're trying to raise $15,000 in order to get 3,000 bales of hay.

- And so Dan came up with this idea, and I said, "Really?

People give you money for this?

This is how this works?"

- I just wanted to give y'all enough update on the chicken coop fundraiser.

We made our goal.

- And then over time, the sanctuary became my dream too.

So I am all in on this, and this is what I do.

This is my life now.

She likes to have her neck rubbed.

Yes, yes, you do.

- Mabel was rescued from a dairy farm.

And she was born, her front legs look a little wonky still, but they were completely contracted.

She couldn't use them.

- [Bill] Mabel, also infertile, can't produce milk.

Useless on a dairy farm, but thriving here, thanks in large part to extensive treatments to her legs at Michigan State University, uncommon veterinary care paid for by Barn Sanctuary supporters.

- We are so open to trying everything under the sun that doesn't compromise the quality of life.

So if we can give them a great quality of life and extend the quantity of life, then we feel like we're doing the right thing.

- Come on, buddy.

Augustus.

Hey, dude.

He can't see me.

Augustus.

Come on.

Come on, buddy.

- [Bill] Augustus, the friendly rooster, not just to caregivers.

He gets along well with the hens too.

- When we talk about the breeds that are raised for meat, unfortunately, they're killed in the industry at six weeks of age.

But we do things very specifically here.

And we've had one of those hens last six years, which is phenomenal.

- [Bill] Goats named Steve, Martin, and Chevy, the three amigos.

They arrived seven years ago after a harrowing excursion aboard an animal transport that made the news.

- [Reporter] The Pennsylvania SPCA spent most of the day unloading these goats and sheep from this truck onto these vehicles.

The animals had a wild ride- - [Bill] The animals' owner fled police, bike strips reportedly involved.

- So with all these animals in a trailer in tow, there was a high speed chase.

Unfortunately, he crashed.

A lot of the animals in the trailer perished.

- [Bill] The three amigos came through it okay.

The driver and his passenger on the lamb, apprehended.

- [Reporter] May face more than 80 charges- - [Bill] Barn Sanctuary now at capacity.

The countless other less fortunate farm animals, what about sanctuary for them?

- That's just something that we have to accept to just say if I can't save them all, what's the point in saving one or five or 10?

So one step at a time, and we're just doing the best that we can.

- But I'd much rather do this because when I'm 95, I don't really wanna be talking about, did you see that ordinance I helped write?

Or how many flu shots did I give?

No, I wanna be talking about how we can make the world a better place for our kids and our grandkids by reducing animal cruelty that occurs in factory farms, by reducing climate change that agriculture causes, and then also by increasing people's personal health by just eating healthier.

- [Narrator] A Detroit teacher is doing her part to spread the joy of reading by making sure children have access to a diverse selection of books.

Elise Hartman came up with an idea on how to get more books in the hands of students at a time when school library resources are diminishing.

BridgeDetroit contributor Eleanore Catolico teamed up with One Detroit's Chris Jordan to tell the story of Birdie's Bookmobile.

(upbeat music) - Because we fit together like beats of a drum, like the chorus of notes and the chords that you strum- - [Eleanore] Inside Room 148, Elise Hartman reads a book about a eclectic trio of musicians, a squirrel, a grizzly bear, and a chicken.

A group of second graders sit and listen.

In the end, the three talking animals form a band, and the students get a lesson on friendship and belonging.

- We make our own music.

We have nothing to prove.

We do our own thing and find our own proof.

- [Eleanore] Hartman is a STEM and drama teacher at Detroit Prep.

When she isn't teaching, she's on a mission to grow the next generation of readers as school librarians and school libraries have begun to disappear, - There are a lack of books in the schools.

- [Eleanore] Hartman launched her pop-up literacy initiative, Birdie's Bookmobile, two years ago and hopes to fill a resource gap.

She hits the road and delivers hundreds of books to schools, after school programs, and nonprofit organizations across Detroit.

- The books that are distributed, the children get to keep.

They're taking them home, sharing them with their families.

- Since Birdie's Bookmobile was born, Hartman said she's given away more than 16,000 books.

Today, she makes a trip to Voyageur Academy, a K-12 charter school in Southwest Detroit.

The school doesn't have a library.

Hartman spent the morning hauling books into the school and gave over 500 to Voyageur.

Where does your passion come from to do this work?

- I was an early reader and an avid reader.

My mother was a kindergarten teacher.

So I was always surrounded by books.

I had a large collection of books as child.

I loved reading, and those books really opened these avenues of creativity for me.

And so I would always imagine that I was a character.

I would add dialogue and just really pretend to be in the story.

And I want children here in the city to really enjoy reading as much as I did.

- [Eleanore] At Voyageur, Hartman set up a book fair for the students.

There are books about Kamala Harris and Nelson Mandela, a book called "Soul Food Sunday" by Black children's author, Winsome Bingham.

Graphic novels are popular among high school students.

Many of the books Hartman curates include Black and brown characters or books written by authors of color.

- I think I'm really drawn to getting these books into the hands of children so that they can then explore different career paths and learn more about what other cultures are doing and other characters.

And the stories might differ from the experiences that they've had.

- [Eleanore] Hartman serves schools and nonprofits across the city.

- They're looking for books that reflect the community, and that's what we're providing.

- [Eleanore] Literacy experts say children of color are still overlooked in mainstream culture.

Diverse books can teach students to be compassionate toward people who are different from them and toward themselves.

When a student sees themselves reflected in a story, their confidence can blossom.

Just ask 13-year-old Kai Fee.

- As Black girls, we don't get very much attention.

- [Eleanore] Kai is an eighth-grader at Voyageur.

She picked up the young adult fantasy novel, "The Gilded Ones", written by Namina Forna, an author who grew up in Sierra Leone.

When she saw the cover, she said to herself, "Black girl magic."

- I feel like this book will talk about some things that we have in common maybe 'cause we're both two Black girls, and she seems like she's a young girl like me.

So I feel like this could help me like believe more in myself.

- [Eleanore] High school senior Tyler McKinnon picked up two books wrestling with the themes of war.

Sometimes, McKinnon can't find books that entice him, so he appreciates the variety Birdie's Bookmobile provides.

- I feel like reading, even like news articles, it help me like not be ignorant, and like expand my knowledge because I like to educate myself.

- [Eleanore] In the afternoon, Hartman heads to 27th Letter Books in Southwest Detroit.

The bookstore carries historically underrepresented authors.

Erin Pineda, the bookstore's co-owner, helps Hartman shop.

She recommends a picture book about body positivity.

Pineda's dog, Chai, watches the fun.

- The work that like Elise is doing is so, so critical in getting books into kids' hands so that they can develop a love for literature and for learning, and like, letting them know that they deserve those things because they do, you know?

- Thank you.

- [Erin] And like, that's really important.

- [Eleanore] The bookstore supports Hartman's mission by helping her save money on books.

- An ongoing program that we have here at 27th Letter Books is called Round Up for Reading.

And when folks come into our store and purchase something, they are given the option of rounding the purchase up to the nearest dollar, and that difference helps fund a fund that allows us to give books to Birdie's Bookmobile.

So we are able to give them the books at cost and just keep that perpetual cycle of like books coming in and being able to go out into the hands of kids in Detroit.

(kids chatter) - [Eleanore] Last year, a fire destroyed Hartman's old ride, a bus.

In the meantime, she's using a van, still spreading the joy of reading to the children of Detroit, a joy she hopes will last a lifetime.

- I hope to grow lifelong readers, and raise storytellers, and have a generation of children who are interested in reading and really find joy in it, and who are able to just get lost in a book every now and then.

Raise your hand if you liked it.

Did you like it?

(kids clap) Yeah.

- [Narrator] Now, let's turn to a truly Detroit story from Southwest Detroit, a community known for its Latino history and culture.

The area is seeing a lot of growth and redevelopment.

One Detroit's Bill Kubota has the story of a couple helping to revitalize the neighborhood where they grew up.

(upbeat music) - Southwest Detroit is vibrant and always has been vibrant even in the downturn because people have a certain tenacity and a certain grit.

- [Bill] Southwest Detroit, like a construction boom town here, billions being spent.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge forged Michigan Central.

The Greenway Southwest connecting to the Joe Louis, that's the big stuff.

Lest we forget those working the smaller projects.

- So AGI Construction is AGI, and it's all God inspired.

- [Bill] AGI, that's Tanya Saldivar-Ali and Luis Ali, life and business partners showing One Detroit one of their interior renovations at the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation building, a hub for the Latino community where students learn about and build robots, get quality computer time, do some 3D printing.

- This is the first and the largest teen tech lab.

So we were super excited to be able to build out this space for our community.

- [Bill] Tanya and Luis started AGI in 2008.

The project that changed their lives, a basement renovation at Cristo Rey High School.

- The basement was an old cafeteria from the 1940s and '50s, and they just used it for storage.

Our mentor, Frank Venegas with the Ideal Group, really set that project aside for us and said, "Hey, guys.

I've seen you guys.

I know what you guys are capable of.

I have this project."

- [Bill] Frank Venegas, industrialist, supporter of the students at Cristo Rey.

- [Tanya] He was the guy.

- [Luis] He's the guy, yeah.

- [Tanya] Yeah.

- Frank Venegas is the godfather of Southwest Detroit.

He's the guy - Yeah.

- [Bill] For AGI, a major undertaking.

Before the renovations, students ate lunch sprawled across the gymnasium.

- And now, they have this beautiful space.

And it really changed the trajectory of what type of projects that we decided to prioritize - [Bill] The projects they'd focus on, churches, schools, nonprofits, and small businesses like theirs here in Southwest where their prospects didn't seem so bright coming out of high school 30 years ago, - Especially when the gangs came through in the '90s, I got into a lot of trouble.

You're a product of your environment.

And so my best friends that I grew up with from a very young age joined gangs.

I've considered myself a pretty good kid, but I had a little rap sheet.

(chuckles) - [Bill] Luis and Tanya first got together in high school.

Luis got out of town, joined the military, learning project management in his more than two decades in the Air Force.

Tanya got into business administration, finding her way thanks to a Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation anti-gang program.

Years later, the two out on their own with their construction company.

- When we came back, obviously, we could have chose to move anywhere.

But as the economy started to change from recession to everybody talking about the revitalization of Detroit and what's happening, we wanted to make sure we were part of that.

- [Bill] On Scotten Street, the relocated First Latin American Baptist Church.

- There's a group of Mexican came to Detroit and were looking for a Baptist church that spoke Spanish, they were instrumental in starting our church in 1930.

- [Bill] A congregation displaced when the Gordie Howe Bridge project needed their property down in the Delray Neighborhood.

That left Pastor Kevin Casillas looking for a new home.

- We saw a long list of properties, many in Detroit and many outside of Detroit.

- We were looking at building a new building for them, and the budget was getting up there.

- [Bill] Then another church closing down gifted First Latin American their historic building.

- [Kevin] We're able to move into the building.

And with the settlement money, we're able to remodel the downstairs basement area and then construct a community gym that we call the Victory Activity Center.

- Run back.

There's your man.

- [Bill] A gym like Pastor Casillas had in Delray, youth basketball, indoor soccer, community events, weddings, baby showers.

- We understood that our value on that project was not just building something.

We were fighting for a church to be able to be made whole and still have an existing space here in the community.

They needed to be here.

- Com eon, let's go, kids!

Let's go, let's go!

One thing that we saw that was important to us as a church in the community that's been here for more than 90 years was the heart that Luis and Tanya had to contract people from the community, not just at Detroiters, but people that live here in Southwest Detroit.

- [Bill] On West Vernor, another restaurant renovation and upgrade.

But these days, there's even more work to do.

- Up above, we have second story apartments.

- [Bill] Spaces not viable as rentals for years.

Now building owners see opportunity.

- So we've got housing stock above all the commercial corridors, and most of them need a lot of work.

- [Bill] One block over, new residential going up.

Not an AGI project, but significant, Tanya says.

- So in my lifetime, this is the first time I've seen ground up development in our neighborhood.

It's exciting to see, but what we're doing is we're advocating for as many local contractors to be on these jobs.

It's important that we have representation from our communities working on these type of projects.

How does that development impact our neighborhoods especially when we think about preserving neighborhood culture and history in the face of rapid development.

- [Bill] Tanya and Louise thought local contractors and tradespeople needed to get together to take part in all of this, have a place to meet.

- We have pretty much gutted everything down to the studs and have restructured the foundation of it.

- [Bill] In the heart of Southwest Hubbard Richard neighborhood, just north of the historic St. Anne's Church, AGI sets up shop.

Built 120 years ago, survivor of floods, a sinking foundation, fixed now, the former residents of the Lozano family, and famed educator and musician, Frank "Panchito" Lozano, now to be called the Design Build Green Hub.

- Because of some of the struggles and barriers that we've had as a construction company and wanting to help others kind of not have to go through some of those struggles, we are in the middle of this development to be able to train kind of construction 101.

And it's not just for skilled trades, but for entrepreneurs and other small businesses like ourselves.

- [Bill] A rehab with historic preservation in mind, even saving the chimney from collapse with the steel frame lending support.

The building has green environmentally conscious features so this is a demonstration project too.

- We were told that the house was used as a safe house.

So when Mexicans would come from work, they would come here, get something to drink and eat, and then they would go and find work.

I was actually told that my father came through this house because he came in the the late '50s, early '60s for road work ♪ Lady ♪ - [Bill] September 2024, the Design Build Green Hub ready to go with an open house for the neighbors to see.

- Our next step is to start focusing on programming and what program is gonna look like around estimating and blueprint reading, and how can we engage more people in the development process.

- Our end goal is not for AGI to be this huge conglomerate making all this money.

Yeah, that's nice.

But the goal is to see our community come up.

And so we just want to engage people where they're at and make sure everybody has the opportunity to go to the next level.

- We are part of the fabric and the thread of Detroit, and our Southwest community has a rich legacy.

But we want people to remember that contribution to the city as a whole as well.

- [Narrator] It's a new year, and there's plenty to do in Metro Detroit to kick off 2025.

From musical theater productions and concerts to new museum exhibits, there's a lot to choose from.

Cecilia Sharpe and Haley Taylor of 90.9 WRCJ have today's one Detroit Weekend.

- Happy New Year, everyone.

Haley, I know Detroit's got some fun events to kick off this weekend and beyond, so why don't you take it away?

- Okay, I'll start.

"Six" is coming to Fisher Theatre, January 7th through the 12th.

The musical is based off of six wives of Henry VIII, and the music and the singing is phenomenal.

- Now on January 8th, Brahms and Radiohead is at Orchestra Hall.

The show mixes Radiohead's album "OK Computer" and Brahms' "Symphony No.

!

".

Now that should be a very cool experience.

- Yeah, I'm excited about that one.

- Me too.

- [Haley] On January 9th, the great Grand Funk Railroad performs at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts.

- [Cecilia] And Detroit has some of the best museums around.

One to try this week is the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

One of its rotating exhibits running through February 23rd is Chris Schanck's "A Surreality", where Schanck's work explores science fiction, myth, and fantasy.

- [Haley] Another museum to check out is Cranbrook Art Museum, where you'll find "How We Make the Planet Move: The Detroit Collection Part 1" among its many fine exhibitions.

- And there's so much more to do this new year in Detroit, so stay tuned for a few more options.

Have a great weekend.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] That'll do it for this week's "One Detroit".

Thanks for watching.

Head to the "One Detroit" website for all the stories we're working on.

Follow us on social media, and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

- [Announcer] This program is made possible in part by Timothy Bogert, comprehensive planning strategies.

- [Announcer] From Delta faucets to Behr paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

- [Announcer] Support also provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit PBS.

- [Announcer] DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan-focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Learn more at dtefoundation.com.

- [Announcer] Nissan Foundation, and viewers like you.

(upbeat music) (soft piano music)