Michigan is facing a health care provider shortage, especially for underserved communities in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

The Detroit Tri-County Social Work Health Career Opportunity Academy, called “The Academy,” trains students with disadvantaged backgrounds to increase the number of people going into health care fields.

Bridget Weller, a professor of Social Work at Wayne State University, says the shortage was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When we think about the state of Michigan, 72 of the 83 counties do not have enough providers to meet the needs of people residing there, including the three counties that with around Detroit,” she said.

In Michigan, about 3.5 million people do not have a provider or services. She says the lack of services disproportionately impacts rural and urban settings. 

Weller says by 2032, 20% of jobs needed are in health care settings, including nurses, social workers, dental hygienists, physical therapists and others. 

Weller says the health care provider shortage affects underserved communities — people who are often experiencing poverty, with higher rates of disease burden and less access to medical care. 

“Almost anybody you talk to about trying to see a provider — either mental health or physical health — how often have you gone to see a provider and they weren’t available, or they left because of burnout and burden, followed by issues around [whether] they understand your culture or your language?” she said.

Weller says that also leads to higher mortality rates, higher likelihood of getting chronic conditions, and lower likelihood of getting diagnosed properly.

“These high-need areas in these underserved communities are disproportionately impacted when we don’t have health care providers to meet those needs,” she said.

Workforce development with a purpose 

The Academy was created nearly two years ago to work with universities and community colleges to provide supplemental educational instruction for people seeking careers in health care. 

“One of the things that my team and I are doing is we’ve been implementing workforce development programs where we receive funding that provides enhanced training for people who are pursuing degrees, particularly at community colleges and at university settings,” she said.

The program provides enhanced training, 180 hours of training with a $2,100 scholarship and a $2,100 stipend. 

Weller says student graduates, or ambassadors, are from educationally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. 

“We have a number of tremendous needs, including homelessness. I think we had about 16% of the people in our program experiencing homelessness, as well as selling plasma and things like that.” 

Addressing the health care provider shortage 

The Academy says there is a 92% graduation rate. 

“Moreover, 89% of our students have gone on to the next level of their education, so either going from an associate’s degree to a bachelor’s degree, or bachelor’s degree to a master’s degree,” Weller said.

About 30% of those individuals are a part of the health care workforce. 

Weller says the program shows students need educational and financial support to pursue health care fields, which in turn may help reduce the health care provider shortage in Michigan. 

“I think if we do that, then we’ve got a chance at addressing a lot of the needs that are available,” she said.

Weller says students from underserved communities tend to go back and work in their communities. 

“And so the more efforts that we can do to supporting students with those experiences, I think long term, we will be in a much better position to help underserved communities, because we try to get students from the communities with the hopes, because we know data shows people go back to their communities.” 

Detroit’s “largest and oldest literary nonprofit,” InsideOut Literary Arts, celebrated its 30-year anniversary last week by unveiling a new Detroit City Walls mural along the Avenue of Fashion.

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The mural was designed by artist Oshun Williams and inspired by InsideOut student poet Charisma Holly. It features a quote from her poem entitled “If I wake up in Detroit 25 years in the future,” which reads “In the Detroit City, the D has always been for dreams.”

The mural is located on the side of the Yoshi Hibachi Grille on Livernois Avenue along Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion.

“Detroit is where I was born and raised,” Holly said. “I’m so glad I had the opportunity to be a part of this mural project because Detroit is truly the place where I learned to dream big.”

Other headlines for Friday, June 6, 2025:

• Money Matters for Youth is looking for help to keep their student trip to Washington D.C. alive.
• Motor City Pride is taking over downtown this weekend, June 7-8 at Hart Plaza, with the parade beginning at noon on Sunday.
• The city celebrated the opening of the Orchard Village Apartments with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, bringing 48 affordable units across four buildings to the Old Redford neighborhood.
• Michigan’s First Native American Music and Cultural Festival, Vibes With the Tribes, is coming to the Russell Industrial Center this Saturday, June 7, with doors opening at 2 p.m.

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

Finding enriching child care options can often be a challenge for parents during the summer months, especially for those looking for programs specifically geared toward the arts.

For the past 12 years, Wayne State University’s “Keys2Life Performing Arts Summer Camp” has provided that outlet to metro Detroit students ages 11–13.

The six-week day camp program, led by Detroit youth nonprofit The Yunion, offers a diverse range of performing arts experiences, led by top Detroit artists, mentors and certified teachers. 

Camp Director Darell Campbell Jr. joined The Metro on Tuesday to share more about what this year’s program will entail.

Registration is now open for the day camp, which runs 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 30 through Aug. 8 on the campus of Wayne State University. For more information, including rates, visit theyunion.org/camp.

—WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

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Northern Michigan school districts forced into an extended shutdown due to massive ice storms this spring will have a waiver from attendance mandates under a law signed Monday by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

“Many Michigan families are still reeling from the effects of the ice storms that devastated northern Michigan earlier this year,” said Whitmer in a statement released by her office. “I’ve been committed to supporting recovery efforts, protecting Michigan families from additional disruptions to their daily routines. That’s why I’m proud to sign this bill that will remove unnecessary penalties and obstacles for students and schools who are just trying to get by.”

This is one of several storm recovery bills sent by the Legislature to Whitmer’s desk with wide bipartisan support. This measure means school districts will not have to choose between losing state funding or forcing students and staff to stay in school into the heat of summer. That would have added unplanned utility costs as well as the expenses of paying staff salaries and for transportation.

“Had we not passed this legislation, the financial burden to our schools would have been yet another blow to our communities that have already been struggling following the disastrous ice storm,” said Senator John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs).

The ice storms in late March left many districts unable to meet the state’s 180-day school day requirement without extending the school year. The new law allows forgiveness of up to 15 days from the state’s mandated instruction time.

Schools in a dozen counties were forced to close due to ice-covered roads, power outages and other storm-related damage. The waiver applies to schools in counties covered by Governor Whitmer’s ice storm emergency decree. Whitmer has also asked for federal storm recovery assistance. 

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.”

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