Introduction

The city of Ecorse Michigan located in the downriver area and is a small 2.89 square mile
city. The community analysis is on two periods of time 2013 and 2000. IN those thirteen years
the populations have shifted significantly. In 2000 from a citizens perspective it was a city with
a little potential. It had crime that was mostly gang related fights and little petty thefts. There was
also some sort of business on every corner. The city use to thrive off the steel plant that has been
closed for years and it has been fighting to stay an active city since. In the early 2000s the city
was divided racially between black and white and the borderline was west outer drive. According
to the United States Census in 2000 the population was 4,555 black or African American and
5,859 white. Most of the major businesses Like McDonalds and for the city were located on
Jefferson Ave and for the small businesses were located mostly on Visger Road.
In 2013 compared to 2000 the city has took a big hit. There is barely businesses that are
open in the city. They have either closed down or moved to the surrounding city. Even the
McDonalds moved just down the street to the city of River Rouge. The city is surrounded by
other small cities that it often competes with in many aspects. Ecorse Public Schools competes
with the River Rouge, Melvindale, Allen Park, and Lincoln Park Schools. In 2013 the
competition for students is still the same but the opportunities and education have changed in the
schools just like with the city. Already stated above was the ratio of Blacks and Whites for the
year 2000 and the total population for the year 2000 was 11,229 according the United States
Census report. In 2013 the Total population was 9,457, the black population was 4,258 and for
the white population was 4,013. Between the years 1,772 people have left the city most likely to
the neighboring cities.
Education

Education is a major system in this community because it is one of the last thing that is
running. In 2000 the city had Ralph Bunch middle school grade K-2nd Grand Port Elementary
grades 3-5th, John F. Kennedy Middle school grades 6-7th, and Ecorse community high school
grade 8-12th. In the early 2000s the high school was a brand new building and Grand Port
Elementary had just started construction and the classes were being held out of trailers.
The educational system was looking promising with the new building and summer
programs happened regularly.2000 compared to 2013 looks a lot different. In the year 2000 High
School graduates including equivalency percentage of completion was 37.6 percent some college
or associates degree was 21.9 percent of the population. The percentage for the population to
actually completing a bachelors degree is 3.3 percent and for a Masters is 1.4 percent.
2000 compared to 2013 is similar in some areas. The city of Ecorse had High School
Graduates or individuals with the same equivalency at a 36.5 percent. Individuals with some
college but with no degree was 20.3 percent. Students from Ecorse that actually complete their
Bachelors degree is 8.0 percent. Master degree completion for the year 2013 was 3.6 percent. At
first glance the numbers look pretty similar but as stated earlier 2000 to 2013 the population lost
1,772 people so in a sense it is lower.
Currently the school district did not have enough students to keep all of its buildings
functioning. John F. Kennedy Middle School was closed down for a couple of years and only
used by school board meetings and after school programs. The building was used for sixth and
seventh graders before it closed down now currently it is home to the school board exclusively.
The sixth and the seventh grade classes were incorporated into Grand Port Elementary. I strongly
believe the loss of almost 2,000 citizens played a major part in the schools having to make such a
big change.

Economic Characteristics
In 2000 the population for 16 years and over was 8,415. There were more job
opportunities as compared to the year 2013 53.9 percent of the population over 16 years of age
were in the work force. The median household income for a family was $27,142. 88.3 percent of
the working population were private wage or salary workers. 17.3 percent of families were below
the poverty line and 22.6 percent of individuals were below the line. AS far as Industry 22.8
percent were apart of manufacturing making it the highest and Agriculture, forestry, fishing and
hunting, and mining. Ecorse had housing projects that many families lived in on three particular
streets. These housing project were low income and have been since they were built. That
particular area of the city has no businesses present there have been some that have been there
but unfortunately they do not last very long. Ecorse has many churches that try very hard to help
uplift the community. One church in particular name Mt. Zion has been building a community
center for years now. The building has not been worked on for a couple years now and I think it
is a reflection of the city in general.
Community Member Interaction
In the early 2000s race was a big topic in the city of Ecorse. According to the United
States Census in 2000 the population was 4,555 black or African American and 5,859 white. The
main road that split the city of Ecorse was West outer drive. Honestly it was almost like two
different cities. One side was known to the community as the white side the other was the
black side. The black side of the city was where most of the crime did occur and where the
housing projects were located. On the white side is where the trailer park homes were located
and it bordered a surrounding city that is predominately white named Lincoln Park. 2000
compared to 2013 the racial tension is not as high. In the year 2000 if a white person was spotted

on the black side it was very likely that they were there to buy drugs. There were often many
riots between the two races that took place one Ecorse Community High school Grounds because
it is located on the border. No deaths were a result of these riots but often times homes were run
through and individuals were targeted. A lot of the high school students were a part of the riots
but many members of the outside community were as well.
I strongly believe that the end result of these big tensions cause what is known as white
flight from the city of Ecorse. Over the years close to 2,000 residents vacated the city most of
them being white. This is very similar to what happened to the city of Detroit. According to
Crowder and South (2008) In its simplest form, the White flight thesis suggests that aversion to
living in racially-integrated settings leads Whites to vacate neighborhoods with large or growing
minority populations, with such an exodus bolstering residential segregation by race (p. 793). In
the year 2013 is when the black side of Ecorse and the white side started to become more
integrated. And tensions have died down a lot causing resident to actually start to move into the
opposite areas.
Analysis of change
Ecorse use to be a very thriving city in the year 2000 is when the like of working in a
plant started to dim down because many individuals had to stray away from that field. Events
like carnivals use to come often and happen at the river front for the city as well as fireworks
happen every 4th of July. There was a community event that was big for the city of Ecorse that
took place every summer that gave away school supplies for the upcoming year and served as
motivation for a lot of the youth. There was programs called the STARS program that meant
standing tall and representing success. STARS was a program that was run by the truancy officer

of Ecorse Public Schools. During the school year it was after school for elementary and middle
school children and in the summer time it was Monday through Thursday during the day.
The STARS specific program got kids very involved and also allowed older high school
students to be mentors and a summer job. These particular activities were very prominent in the
year 2000. In year 2013 all of these programs have been discontinued. After-school programs are
used to prevent adverse outcomes, decrease risks, or improve functioning with at-risk youth in
several areas, including academic achievement, crime and behavioral problems, socio-emotional
functioning, and school engagement and attendance (Kremer, Maynard, Polanin, Vaughn, and
Sarteschi, 2015, p. 616). These specific programs allowed students not to look at drug dealers in
the surrounding area as role models but education as a way out.
Community Perspective
The Human or Population Ecology Theory is a great way to look at the city of Ecorse in
2000 and comparing it to 2013. Population ecology theory proposes that change occurs at the
population level and is a result of the process of organizational selection and replacement
(Salimath, Manjula, Jones, and Raymond, 2011). Almost every aspect of Ecorse is set on the
population numbers. The discussion about the middle school fusing with the elementary school
was strictly because of the amount of children enrolled in the school district. Public schools get
certain amount of money for each student that they have, the school district is losing children
because their parents are moving out of the city it is solely based on population. Many businesses
in the city moved away to the surrounding cities as well as the carnivals and big events started
happening in cities right next door to the city of Ecorse. If there is not enough consumers then a
business will not thrive so naturally they would want to move to where they will get the most
business.

The only competition still able to compete with other cities is the schools. The school
receives many grants and has been consistent and it is the only thing that would be able to
compete with other cities. The Human or Population Ecology Theory bases the turn outs of an
organization or in this case a city solely on its population size. When Ecorse had its version of
Detroits white flight that effected the city tremendously causing many of the things that made
the city flourish to find another home.
Individual Reflection
The community in my perspective can be a very toxic one or it can be a very motivational
one. I grew up experiencing all of the programs and events that Ecorse offered like the STARS
program, carnivals, back to school kick offs, and all the other motivation events. I was also
present when businesses started to move away and those programs began to leave the city and it
was somewhat depressing. I was always the type of individual that wasnt comfortable around
certain environments but living in that urban lower poverty area really help mold me into the
outgoing person I am today. I look at the environment a different way than many of the
individuals my age. Many kids in the adolescent stage looked at having a lot of women after
them and selling drugs as the highest they can go, they had no motivation to leave the
environment and seek a better life. I noticed that other cities had more opportunities and I was in
love with school so I used that motivation to push myself to go to college.
I graduated from Ecorse Community High School in 2010. That specific year had the
most graduates that the city had seen in over ten years we also had the most graduates enroll in a
4 year college. When often asked where I am from I sometimes answer saying the Detroit
because many do not know where Ecorse is located and often think that it is very far away and
just by the sound of it, its a very prosperous city. Ecorse borders the city of Detroit and they

often look the same at least in my eyes. Even though I am mixed with both black and white I
often just identify as black especially in urban areas. Even though the motivation was low at the
school there were a handful of teachers that brought out my potential and pushed me to become a
better student.
Part 2. Community Assessment and Intervention Plan
I administered twenty five individual surveys and received feedback from nineteen. I
distributed the surveys online to different members of the community. Some individual surveyors
were school teachers that I had been friends with on Facebook, classmates of the year that I
graduated high school, some elder adults that had been members of the community for over
thirty years and I also interview one family that had just become residents to the city of Ecorse
but had family prior to them moving to Ecorse that had been residents. I decided to do it this way
because of my schedule being so tight with all the individual things going on in my life. I passed
out twenty five just in case I did not get a response from so individuals.
For my key informant interviews I selected an elder adult that has been a part of the
Ecorse community for over thirty years. I also selected my brother which had just recently
graduated from Ecorse High School in 2013. Fortunately I got to interview with a policeman
from the neighboring city River Rouge but he grew up in the City of Ecorse and that is also his
residence. I wanted different opinions from different age ranges that really know the city and not
just looking on the outside looking in. The most challenging barrier that I encountered when
conducting these interviews and surveys was the time to actually do them. I hold two part time
jobs, school full time, and I was traveling to 4 different states interviewing with different
graduate programs. With all of this going on it was hard to conduct the interviews but when I
stumbled on the idea of creating them online it became that much easier. It was still a challenge

doing the in person interviews but two out of the three I actually did online. And I completed the
third on spring break.
Trends that I noticed the most when reviewing the surveys is that gangs in Ecorse seemed
to be one of the most common down falls of the city. Another finding that I sort of expected was
that kids do not have as many extracurricular activities as there used to. It was no surprise that
they want more businesses to come back to the city because the main road where businesses
were located before is close to vacant. My perception of Ecorse was pretty similar to most of the
individuals I surveyed. I also
Community Problem
Unlike in the early 2000s Ecorse does not have a lot of options that the youth caqn use
for positive outlet. Most of the things that Ecorse has to offer to the community that is close to
mentoring or extracurricular activities is with the schools like sports, cheerleading, and marching
band. In the summer time there are no options for the yout to be involved with anymore. Having
nothing positive to do can often turn youth on to negative things in the community like gangs
and drugs, which happens to a lot of the youth. According to Thompson (2009) dire statistics
and tough challenges facing young people in the United States. Urban high school dropout rates,
high crime and violent neighborhoods, diminishing job opportunities, and lack of family support
systems are just a few of these challenges (p. 32). These particular challenges noted by
Thompson are exactly what is challenging the city of Ecorses youth.
In my opinion Ecorse really does not offer anything productive that the youth can be a
part of. What if the kids dont want to play sports? There is no mentoring program within the
community currently or any outlet outside of school district junior varsity and varsity sports. The

white flight discussed in part one was primarily a problem cause by the youth and it can be fixed
by the youth as well. Students in the Ecorse community have no other to gain knowledge outside
of school. They have no tutoring, no one to mentor, no one to look up to except gang bangers and
drug dealers.
Community Assets and Barriers
What makes the community vulnerable to problems like low test scores, overall lower
graduation rates, drugs, and gangs? The children in the community simple have nothing better to
do with their time they have no options.in one of my key informant interviews they stated there
used to be a ton of parks almost on every other street even on the black side of Ecorse, now there
is only one and its on the white side (L. Allen, personal communication, March 28, 2014).It
was understood that the prior after school program name STARS was discontinued due to
funding. That particular program was utilized by many individuals in the surrounding
neighborhoods. It was open four to five times a week for about three hours after school and it
was a day program in the summer. When summer school was not an option for students they had
somewhere where they can still get the tools to become a great student, provide a safe place for
mothers to drop their kids off that could not afford day care, and help guide the youth of the city
in a brighter direction.
The community in past years has what many would call conflict theory. It was divided
into the white side and the black side which in conflict theory it would be translated as the haves
and the have not. Many outside programs deem to pull those two aspects together. In Ecorse they
often did they successfully. There are many strengths to the community one in particular that
stick out above most is the talent in the youth. Ecorse does really have some talented individuals
they just need place where to showcase their talent appropriately. Some of the major institutions

that support the city are the school district, many of the surrounding churches, and city hall.
There are no other major institutions or systems that support this small city they mostly have to
support themselves.
Population Affected by Problem
I strongly believe that youth of ages mostly in 6th through 12th grade are highly effected
by these problems in the community. The effects of these problems also tend to spill over into
their life. I would not that all races are affected by this problem but the black community suffers
more from it. I state that they suffer more from it because they are the ones that are bound mostly
the housing projects and cannot afford to move any place else. They black youth is what makes
up most of the gangs in Ecorse as well so they suffer the long term effects of gang live as well.
According to research done by Hunt and Laidler (2001):
Over the past decade, researchers and public health officials have become
increasingly concerned with the increased involvement of youth in violent crime.
The juvenile male arrest rate for violent crime offenses increased steadily during
the first half of the 1990s, peaking in 1994 with a rate of 880, and then beginning
to drop, with an arrest rate of 545 in 1999. Among females, the juvenile arrest rate
for violent crime also has risen, peaking in 1995 at 158 and then leveling off at
122 in 1999 (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [OJJDP]
2000a). Within this growing concern, considerable attention has focused on youth
gangs as a key factor. Currently, more than 90 percent of the Nation's largest cities
report youth gang problems, and police estimates now put the number of gangs at
28,700 and the number of gang members at approximately 780,200 (OJJDP
2000b). As a result, public concern about the involvement of young people in

gang activity, and the perceived violence associated with this lifestyle, has soared
(p. 67).
Which means prone to more violence, drugs, murder, and prison. Things of such nature can ruin
lives indefinitely but the positive effects of having an after school program can benefit everyone.
Options for Change
In this community there are many options for change. One option would be to combine
the city with a neighboring city. Doing something like this would combine the resources that
both cities have and provide many more opportunities for citizens in general in the city of Ecorse
to have. Option two would be a startup of a new after school program with similar to the one
before that built of certain strengths of the community. Option three would to involve youth in
other activities and programs in the neighboring communities or form some sort of partnership
with them.
Solution Proposal
Ecorse is a community with youth that needs guidance. One of the problems that I want to help
the community with is the outlet/programs available to the youth. According to Bulanda and
McCrea (2013) After school programs can play a valuable role in supporting disadvantaged
youths abilities to cope with the stressors they face (p. 97). Ecorse in the early 2000s had
many after school programs with plenty of extracurricular activities the children of all ages could
use for a positive outlet. Many of the surrounding communities have after school programs,
recreational centers, or sports. Ecorse only extracurricular activities are sports from Ecorse
Community High School like baseball, football, basketball, cheerleading, and marching band.

You have to be a part of the high school and there limited spots available. In the Early 2000s
there were community teams for sports that many can be a part of and some were all year long.
Many in this community have nothing positive to do and many join gangs and get
involved in things that can be detrimental to their future. After school programs can help put a
stop to that and help shape their future for the better. According to Thompson (2009):
Research shows that adolescence is the critical period in young people's lives,
when identity is shaped by those who surround them. The relationships,
opportunities, and goals that develop during this time will shape children's future
choices, which could affect them for many years. Therefore, these programs strive
to prevent the negative effects of gangs, drugs, and violence typically seen among
urban youths (p. 32).
Giving the youth in Ecorse programs that could benefit from them in many ways and help the
community with problems like crime and vandalism.
In my opinion students that participated in after school programming did a better job
when entering in a high school with being prepared and with behavioral issues. Youth involved
in the afterschool programming and involved with any other activities and programming had
better outcomes then the youth that decided to get involved in gangs. Kids in Ecorse really do not
have anyone positive in the community to look up to anymore or look to for motivation. When I
was involved in the afterschool program called STARS there were activities that helped me use
my talent for dance and helped me excel and my personality come out. There were also activities
like little league baseball that my brothers and I got involved with that kept us and many out of

trouble. When the afterschool program discontinued many talented individual started activities in
the community or within small groups like bicycle riding and tumbling.
Evaluation