About - Dream of Detroit

About Dream of Detroit

What we do

A Comprehsenive Vision to Revive our Neighborhood

Housing Development

Saving as many homes as we can and moving into new construction.

Economic Development

Making Woodrow Wilson St. a thriving economic corridor again.

Community Organizing

Bringing our community together to demand the resources our neighborhood and all Detroiters deserve.

Our Mission

Dream of Detroit is combining community organizing with strategic housing and land development to build a healthy community and revitalize our neighborhood on the Westside of Detroit.

We believe that If we can mobilize our residents and allies, improve the existing and build the next generation of the neighborhood’s housing stock, and create an economic corridor along Woodrow Wilson street, we can revitalize the entire upper-east Dexter-Linwood neighborhood. Further, we’ll use a people- and partner-centric strategy that makes sure our current neighbors are leaders and beneficiaries of the area’s transformation even as we bring in new growth and opportunities.

Our Vision

We envision a city anchored in its sustainable neighborhoods; a city where homeownership, small business development and cooperative economics, local food sourcing, and access to education and the arts are priorities of every neighborhood; and a city where neighborliness is a shared value.

In 20 years, our neighborhood is a thriving, mixed-income community with all the requisite educational, business, and social opportunities that entails. We are regularly at 100% occupancy and in addition to a number of rehabbed homes, we have hundreds of new, eco-friendly, modern units attracting new residents. DREAM continues to facilitate the growth of a thriving Muslim community, rooted in Detroit’s Black Muslim history while attracting a young, multi-racial future. We also remain committed to the broader neighborhood, meeting the concerns and building the capacity and connectedness of all our residents, no matter their background.

In 100 years, our neighborhood is one of many thriving local communities across a robust city of Detroit. We modeled the path for 21st century post-industrial urban neighborhood revitalization for the nation and developed an institution that not only built homes, but built power and wrote policies for more guaranteed and dignified housing for all and more equitable cities.

Our Roots

Our story is rooted in the rich Black history that has shaped the City of Detroit over the last 100 years. It emerges particularly in that vein of Detroit’s narratives that welcomes Marcus Garvey-contemporary Duse Mohammed Ali to open a mosque in the city in 1921; and Elijah Muhammad to found the “do-for-self” Nation of Islam in 1932; that found a generation of legendary jazz musicians convert to Islam; and that welcomed waves of Muslim immigrants from the Levant, South Asia and more recently, West Africa. It brings these narratives together today in a holistic attempt to build community and engage folks from throughout the metro area in the struggle for racial and economic justice in Detroit’s neighborhoods at this moment in time.

We think the right to housing is a universal human right and a prophetic injunction. That’s why we’re making our best effort to create a scalable and sustainable strategy to provide housing to people in need, while challenging the systemic issues that have preceded Detroit’s neighborhood decline and that have disproportionately affected Black residents.

HOW WE WORK

Our Core Values

SPIRITUALLY GROUNDED

We root our work in sincere service to the Divine and we work in ethical and faith-inspired partnerships to drive our progress forward.

INCLUSIVE

We appreciate our volunteer leaders’ diverse perspectives and skills, and we make room for people from any background to contribute.

EMPOWERING

We develop leadership in our residents and our volunteers, and we work for the self-determination of our neighborhood.

ACCOUNTABLE

We hold each other accountable to a high standard in our work and interactions, and we honor our responsibility to the community around us.

COMMUNITY BASED

We’re committed individuals and families intentionally building community, while working together for equity and justice across all of Detroit’s communities.