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All this year, Michigan Radio’s Morning Edition host Christina Shockley has been asking people from across the state what three things they think we can all do to help improve Michigan. Today, we hear from Kelley Marks. She’s the President of MorningSide in Detroit.

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Kelley Marks is the President of MorningSide, a nonprofit community organization that helps the residents of Detroit with housing programs and neighborhood cleanups. Not surprisingly, community involvement tops Ms. Marks’ list of ideas to help the state of Michigan. Explaining the benefits of being an active member in a community, Marks says, “When you know your neighbors that prevents crime and other things because you have people looking out for one another.” Conversely, she adds, “When you don’t know your neighbor, it kind of gives the appearance that everyone is off to themselves… When you’re not familiar with people there’s a lot of speculation and there’s a lot of assumptions.”

Ms. Marks’ second idea to help the state of Michigan is to have more residents be vigilant about recycling. Citing the situation in Detroit, Marks describes the environmental problems created by the city’s trash incinerator. She says, “When you’re riding down I-94 over the incinerator, you have this horrible smell that’s released into the air.”

To curb the amount of trash being burned at the incinerator, Marks calls for residents to be sure to recycle those items which can be recycled. She adds, “The more that people recycle, the less they have to use the incinerator, and that therefore gives us cleaner air, gives us less pollutants.”

For her third idea for the state of Michigan, Ms. Marks calls for residents to get more involved with the children in their communities. Pointing to technology as part of the problem, Marks explains, “This new technology age has really caused our children to become introverts… Everything is between them and a computer. And when you have that, you really don’t know what’s going on in a child’s mind.”

Marks suggests that in order to understand what youth are going through and thinking about, adults in a community must reach out to children and try to listen to their concerns. Marks says, “When you know what’s on a child’s mind, you can deter them or you can give them direction, which can prevent violence, teen pregnancy, suicide, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, those types of things that they face on a daily basis.”

Regarding the effects of MorningSide in Detroit, Marks is encouraged by the response of Detroit residents. She explains, “The neighbors are really revitalized…They’re excited that there’s an organization that’s helping them to make their community better.”

Marks says it’s important that residents are learning how to request assistance from the city, but also that they are learning how to take care of things on their own. On the importance of responsibility on a neighborhood level, Marks adds, “We’re going to take action. We’re going to take our own stance and make sure that our community is safe and that it’s a clean place to live.”

- By Eliot Johnson