A new reporting project from Chalkbeat Detroit, Planet Detroit and BridgeDetroit is exploring Detroit students’ perspectives on safety and violence.

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Lori Higgins, bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit, says the project is taking a broad look at student safety.

“Safety could come in a lot of different forms, you know. And Detroit, young people in Detroit are struggling with a lot of different things,” she said. “Homelessness can bring about feelings of unsafety. You know, just walking to and from school can bring feelings of unsafety.”

The two-part series will explore safety related to transportation, gun violence, domestic violence and bullying. It also looks at efforts to address violence.

The series is part of Next City’s Detroit News Hub, a reporting project funded by the Kresge Foundation.

Other headlines for Friday, July 11, 2025:

• Arab American community nonprofit ACCESS is hosting a community Narcan training on Tuesday, July 15 at the Henry Ford Centennial Library. Attendees will learn about overdose prevention strategies, how to identify an overdose and how to administer Narcan. Those who finish the train will also receive a Naloxone kit. Register at bit.ly/ASAPNarcanCommunity.
• The Pontiac City Clerk is inviting the community to a “visioning” session on cannabis equity at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 16, at the Robert Bowens Senior Center, 47450 Woodward Ave., Pontiac. Attendees will learn about the city’s plans to launch adult-use marijuana in the city, and residents will have a chance to share their thoughts about social equity initiatives related to ownership and licensing as well as business and workforce development. They will also learn about the Pontiac Social Equity Fund. RSVP at clerk@pontiac.mi.us. 
• State Rep. Stephanie Young (D-Detroit) is hosting a community conversation town hall on Monday, July 14, to collect ideas and concerns around five priorities in the Democratic Vision Project: Affordability, public education, health, labor and neighborhood development, and environmental issues. The event includes a free dinner and will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the James E. Tate Community Center, 21511 W McNichols Rd., Detroit. 
• The 7th annual Detroit Kite Festival is taking place this Sunday, July 13 on the Belle Isle Cricket Field from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

The Skillman Foundation is one of Detroit’s most influential philanthropic organizations, using millions of dollars to shape education policy and priorities in the city.

As Detroit’s public schools struggle with chronic underfunding, low literacy rates, and crumbling infrastructure, Skillman’s decisions hold real weight for educators, parents and children.

Angelique Power, president and CEO of The Skillman Foundation, joined The Metro during the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference to talk about how the foundation is leveraging its wealth and influence to change the trajectory for Detroit kids.

Power said while people across Michigan want something better for Detroit youth, the education systems in the city are “complicated.”

“History matters in terms of the things that have happened to Detroit,” she said. “Whether it is things that policy has done, things that philanthropy sometimes have done, often it happened to Detroiters, or for Detroiters, but not with Detroiters.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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