Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced on Thursday that more than 300 locations across the state now have free contraception resources available through the “Take Control of Your Birth Control” program.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Resources include over-the-counter birth control pills, emergency contraception, condoms, and family planning educational resources. Participating locations include community partners, local health departments, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) offices, and federally qualified health centers in every county of the state.

Michigan families are encouraged to visit michigan.gov/takecontrol to find an interactive map of participating organizations and learn more about how to access these resources.

“The goal of this program is to ensure individuals, regardless of their circumstances, have access to tools that allow them to make their own decisions about their health and future,” saidDr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive, in a statement. “We want to make sure individuals who need and want these tools can easily obtain them. This campaign reflects the state’s ongoing commitment to ensuring equitable access to reproductive health services.”

Visit Michigan.gov/takecontrol for more information and to find participating locations near you.

Other headlines for Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024:

• Detroit will host a “reverse vending machine” in Campus Martius this holiday season through Dec. 8. The Giving Machine allows people to donate items to people worldwide and in the Detroit area. Visitors can donate a variety of items including clothing, hygiene items, meals, livestock and more.
• Detroit City Council members Latisha Johnson and Gabriella Santiago-Romero are hosting their quarterly meeting with the equitable development task force at 5:30 p.m. next Thursday, Nov. 21 via Zoom. The meeting will cover what the task force has been doing to address the needs of underserved Detroit neighborhoods. Reach out to either councilmember Johnson’s or Santiago-Romero’s offices to get more information on how to attend.
• The Detroit Justice Center is hosting a free community screening of “Coldwater Kitchen,” a film that highlights the culinary training program for incarcerated residents at Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan. The film follows chef Jimmy Lee Hill and three of his students as they navigate the challenges of incarceration and reentry. Dinner will be catered by Chef Dink of Coldwater Kitchen and the Green Mile Grille. The free event will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15 at the LOVE building, 4731 Grand River Ave., Detroit.

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

Several organizations will come together next week to celebrate more than 300 schools that have taken steps to prepare for sudden cardiac emergencies by earning a MI HEARTSafe designation.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Nearly 1,000 schools have earned the recognition since the inception of the program in 2013. This year, a record-breaking 312 schools are being recognized for their work during the 2023-2024 school year, with 158 schools receiving the award for the first time — marking the most designations in the program’s history.

The recognition is awarded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), Michigan Department of Education (MDE), American Heart Association, Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) and Michigan Alliance for Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death of the Young (MAP-SCDY).  

This year, House Bills 5527 and 5528 were passed to create comprehensive emergency response requirements for schools. That includes a written cardiac emergency response plan for the school day, afterschool activities and sports, accessible inspected automated external defibrillators or AEDs, cardiac response drills, and pre-participation screenings.  

A virtual training in January will teach schools how to get MI HEARTSafe recognition. Find out more information at Migrc.org/miheartsafe.  

Other headlines for Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024:

• The Michigan chapter of the Arab American Civil Rights League and the INSAF Project is hosting a virtual training at 1 p.m. Nov. 8 for attorneys and law students who assist Lebanese-American families trying to leave Lebanon.
• Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit is collecting donations for its Community Friends Day to support homeless animals. The organization says it needs to raise about $900 per animal for the almost 2500 dogs and cats they care for each year.
• Votes are still being counted in races for Michigan’s statewide education boards. View the latest election results at wdet.org/electionresults.
• A new report from the University of Michigan’s Youth Policy Lab shows rates of depression and anxiety among 8th to 12th graders in Detroit dropped below pre-pandemic levels.

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