A Detroit Nonprofit Developed a Heartwarming Program to “Test Caring Power” — and It’s a Success

Founded in 1971, nonprofit Crossroads of Michigan is on a mission “to care for any person in need.” The Detroit-based organization serves 15,000 low-income or unhoused residents each year. Due to limited resources, there is only so much that traditional case management can achieve. For the people who work there, though, there is no cap on caring. When Executive Director Bill Sullivan saw that his staff was frustrated by not being able to fully meet clients’ needs at work, he had an idea. He enlisted every single employee — from social workers to the bookkeeper, custodian, and soup kitchen director — onto a team he calls “the village.” Each started donating what they could of their own time, money, skills, and more. “The cool thing about caring power, and the village in particular, is that we are not asking more of our staff,” Sullivan tells Nice News. “Instead, we are saying that we believe in them and the power of care that lies within them.” The results have been a success. The first person to benefit from the program was an unhoused man whose car had been stolen, along with his food, medication, clothing, and driver’s license. Within just three weeks, the village provided him with a car, an apartment, therapy, and budget and credit counseling. “Systems and resources for nonprofits can be fragile, but caring power is mighty because it is limitless and provides purpose — something we all strive to achieve within our lives,” Sullivan says. “Many call this love.”

Inside “The Village”