Youth Community Agency expands to Macomb
For 10 years, Youth Community Agency founder and director Rodnesha Ross has been doing what she loves to do the most — helping people — in Detroit.
Last week, Ross opened the first suburban location of Youth Community Agency in St. Clair Shores. She points out the services her non-profit organization provides are needed everywhere, not just in big cities like Detroit.
“Our role is to be able to allow people who are looking to get a new job, who may need assistance with their resume building, to come in and get some help with that,” said Ross. “They will also be able to get help with wrap-around services, so if they need referrals for the Department of Health and Human Services, utility payment assistance, substance abuse prevention or help with domestic violence situations, we partner with other organizations to get clients the help they need.”
There are laptops available for people who need to create a resume or search for jobs and staff on hand to help clients navigate the process. In the coming months, Ross hopes to add a utility payment assistance bank, a clothing closet for people who need things to wear to a job interview, and a stock of free personal hygiene items.
Ross envisions a kind of one-stop shop where families can connect with the services they need, especially during these times of high inflation.
“I think many times, people are not even sure where to go to get the help they need,” said Ross. “The DHS has not historically been the most welcoming place and that is typically where your first notion is to go, even though many times it is a huge turnoff.”
When Ross first started her organization, its main clientele was teen moms. But in recent years, families — both single-parent and two-parent — are most often the clients coming to Youth Community Agency
seeking assistance.
“Families in general need heed help,” said Ross. “The cases we see are single parents with children as well as two-parent homes where in some cases, a parent is working, but with inflation, their salary no longer is enough to cover what it used to.
“People are having to make choices between paying for heat or paying for groceries.”
Youth Community Agency Macomb job and resource center is located in the Mogul Life Business Center at 22777 Harper Ave., Suite 207, St Clair Shores 48080. Visit youthcommunityagency.org for more information.