Building a More Equitable Kalamazoo: MTC’s Milestones and the Road Ahead

Michigan Transformation Collective (MTC) has catalyzed change, driving collaborative efforts to dismantle systemic barriers and create a more equitable Michigan. Grounded in our commitment to healing the deep wounds of racism, we have worked to harness the collective energy of community members, leaders, and institutions to create a safer, more equitable future for all.  

As we reflect on our progress, we also look ahead to the opportunities ahead, guided by our shared commitment to fostering healing, unity, and systemic change.

What We’ve Accomplished This Year 

Kalamazoo Blueprint for Peace: In 2024, the Michigan Transformation Collective (MTC) and the Blueprint Coordinating Council focused on implementing the next phase of the Blueprint for Peace, emphasizing community-driven action and collaboration. A major accomplishment was hosting a series of workshops that brought together a diverse range of stakeholders—community members, grassroots organizations, public agencies, and local leaders—to align efforts around the Blueprint’s goals. Through dialogue, planning, and shared learning, these workshops transformed the Blueprint’s vision into actionable strategies, laying a strong foundation for collective progress.

The year’s work culminated in the inaugural Implementation Summit, a landmark event that convened over 100 participants. This gathering celebrated achievements, reflected on lessons learned, and provided a platform to coordinate the next steps toward realizing the Blueprint’s vision. The summit was a powerful demonstration of collective impact, showcasing the potential for meaningful change when individuals, organizations, and institutions unite to build a community free from violence and full of opportunity for all.

Racial Healing: This year, we took significant steps toward racial healing, both locally and nationally. Through our engagement in monthly TRHT Legacy meetings, a national TRHT coalition that brings together TRHT partners to advance racial healing and transformative work, we remained aligned with key partners to ensure that racial healing and narrative change were at the core of everything we did. We hosted racial healing circles and created spaces like the Resilient Roots Healing Collective, which provided a safe and affirming environment for Black women in Kalamazoo to reflect, heal, and empower one another. These gatherings, rooted in deep listening, storytelling, and collective care, have allowed us to nurture transformative healing across our community.

We joined with our Racial Healing Advisory and Cohort members to envision ways to expand and embed racial healing more deeply in the community, leading to the creation of the Racial Healing Community of Practice, to be piloted in 2025. This dynamic collective brings together professionals, leaders, and community members from diverse sectors who are dedicated to advancing racial healing and equity. The Community of Practice will serve as a space for practitioners to build skills, share knowledge, and collaborate on innovative solutions for systemic change. 

Through monthly collaborative meetings, racial healing and equity practitioners will engage in meaningful conversations, foster idea generation, and develop new methodologies for racial healing. These gatherings will act as a “think tank,” creating opportunities for shared learning, strengthened facilitation capacity, and collective action that drives healing and equity across the region. By providing a platform for collaboration and problem-solving, the Community of Practice is poised to be a transformative force for ongoing progress in racial healing.

In an effort to build a bridge between racial healing and transformation, we developed a concept that embedded racial healing practices in a conversation that leads to community change. This approach to healing through policy, which we’re calling Catalyst Conversation Circles (C3), was piloted in Spring 2024 and will be fully operationalized in our 2025 plans.

CVI Funding and Support: We have been at the forefront of securing vital funding to support Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs across Michigan. In collaboration with local and state partners, we helped secure a $1.25 million investment for Kalamazoo, which will be used to reduce gun violence through community-led efforts. This grant is just one example of how we’ve worked to ensure that resources are allocated to programs that directly engage communities in preventing violence and healing from its impacts. Read more about it here.

One of our most significant legislative victories this year was the passage of HB 6046, which ensures Medicaid coverage for CVI services across Michigan. This groundbreaking bill recognizes violence as a public health issue, enabling sustainable funding for community-led solutions that will prevent violence and foster healing. By successfully advocating for this policy change, we are transforming systems that will benefit communities statewide. Learn more about this historic achievement here.

Childcare: Between 2023-2024 Michigan developed regional Child Care Plans to address the economic impact of the instability of child care across the economy and MTC supported the development of the Region 8 plan as a member of the steering committee. In mid-2024, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation invested funds to support the implementation of the Region 8 plan by granting contracts to County-based facilitators, including MTC as the facilitator for Kalamazoo County, through January 2026. We began facilitating meetings in November 2024 and they will continue through 2025 to highlight assets and identify gaps in access affordability of child care and other programs that serve families with children 0-5.

As part of our ongoing advocacy for family-friendly policies, we supported the launch of the Michigan Child Care Provider Collective (MiCCPC), a statewide initiative aimed at reducing childcare costs, increasing access, and ensuring living wages for providers. This initiative empowers childcare providers and allows them to advocate for their needs and interests collectively.

What’s on the Horizon for 2025

Healing Through Policy and Advocacy
Building on our commitment to fostering unity and equity, we will continue to advocate for changes that correct historically harmful policies and close racial disparities in access to thriving communities and opportunities. In January, we’ll host a conversation on a potential children’s mileage initiative to support families, laying the groundwork for impactful advocacy throughout the year.

Building Capacity at the Local Level
Our communities are powered by individuals and institutions passionate about equity, and we are committed to mobilizing this collective energy. By breaking down silos, we aim to strengthen local organizing efforts across the state, fostering collaboration and amplifying the voices of those driving change. We’ll continue to engage with organizations and leaders who share our vision, ensuring that our work remains grounded in shared humanity and collective impact.

Protecting and Advancing Progress
Protecting the progress we’ve made through the Blueprint for Peace recommendations is central to our mission. We’ll continue to innovate new ways to advocate, engaging with every level of government and exploring strategies like policy reform and ballot initiatives to ensure lasting impact.

Deepening Relationships
By fostering partnerships with leaders, organizations, and policymakers, we can create a powerful force for change. Together, we’ll implement evidence-based resources to address the unique needs of Michigan’s communities. Leveraging our recent victories, we’ll build momentum for future statewide efforts while remaining rooted in our shared values of equity and justice.

Sticking to Our Priorities
We remain focused on addressing the critical issues impacting Michigan’s families and communities:

• Racial Healing & Narrative Change: Deepening efforts to heal historical wounds and shift harmful narratives that perpetuate inequity, fostering communities rooted in truth, equity, and transformation.
• Childcare Wages: Advocate for better pay for child care workers and ensure the sustainability of small childcare businesses amid pre-K expansion.
• Juvenile Defense: Support fair and equitable access to legal representation for youth.
• School Funding: Ensure schools are equitably resourced to provide quality education for each student.
• CVI Funding: Continue to support Michigan’s CVI ecosystem and expand funding for CVI programs to foster safer communities and prevent violence.
• CVI Practitioners Capacity Building: To support Gryphon Place and KDPS to build out processes and coordination for street outreach workers to support people impacted by gun violence and to give street outreach a place to build community, problem-solve, and practice the skills from the pilot certificate program. This effort will create a toolkit for Kalamazoo County.
• Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP):Convene community partners in support of transformative initiatives like Bronson Healthcare’s development as a Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP). This effort will create a vital bridge between healthcare and community-based resources, addressing violence as a public health issue and providing comprehensive care and support to those impacted.

As we close the year, we celebrate our strides toward healing our communities and dismantling harmful hierarchies. Our efforts reflect the transformational power of collaboration and the shared determination to create a better future. Looking ahead, we remain committed to our mission to empower Michigan’s communities through systems change, policy advocacy, and collective action. Together, we can continue to build a state where everyone is celebrated and equity is not just a goal but a reality.