JANUARY 10, 2025 SPOTLIGHT GROUNDCOVER NEWS 5 A Brighter Way: Peer-to-peer navigation through post-incarceration life. Photo submitted A Brighter Way shines for the marginalized in Ypsilanti A Brighter Way is a community nonprofit with headquarters in downtown Ypsilanti. This peer mentoring organization specializes in guiding formerly incarcerated people through re-entry to society. Peer mentoring happens when people who have lived experience of a situation help those who are currently going through one. Alcoholics Anonymous is a classic example. The concept of staying sober by helping someone else stay sober crosses over to many areas of human life. Surviving cancer, grieving, and substance abuse issues all have programs to bring survivors together. A Brighter Way is such a program that helps people who have been incarcerated or “justice-impacted” by providing social support and service connections. Something unique about A Brighter Way is that they have over 130 years of combined lived experience, Laquan Hill was incarcerated for 16 years for a crime he admits to committing. He is affectionately known as “Q” because according to Laquan, “people have a tendency to butcher my name.” After successfully completing parole on April 8, 2024, Q now serves the community as the Deputy Director of A Brighter Way. What does the organization do? “A Brighter Way navigates,” stated Q. “We meet the person where they’re at and help them find their way to success as they see fit. We assist individuals that have had situations with the criminal punishment system. I call it that because it is a system designed to punish people for crimes against society. That is not justice, that is punishment. Justice is about restoration and rehabilitation. The Michigan Department of Corrections espouses rehabilitation, but is still punitive in nature. They are making strides, so I am JIM CLARK Groundcover vendor No. 139 hopeful.” Q continued, “A person who has been incarcerated may not have any family or friends to support them when they get out. Often this means being homeless upon release. A Brighter Way helps that person find the necessary resources that can help them find a place that they can call home. People who have been incarcerated for a very long time may need help getting caught up due to a significant gap in knowledge of technology. Still others may have medical or psychiatric needs but not have the skills to meet them. These are just a few of the ways we provide support. A Brighter Way helps by connecting people to the resources they need while also being a guide throughout the process.” One of the things that makes A Brighter Way stand out from other peer support programs is that the workers take the time to fact-check and make sure all the resources they connect people with are active and up-to-date. Q said, “You have to vet your resources. What I mean by that is when someone has limited means, getting transportation, for example, is a big deal. The timing is important. If you spend all day lining up transportation to get to a food bank or to a county service, only to find out the hours were wrong or changed, that can have a serious impact on your emotional and situational reality. There have been times when I was on the edge of making a bad choice but a note on a flyer opened a door and gave me a different option. Had I got there to find the office closed, things might have gone differently. When resource information is false, it may appear like a simple inconvenience, but it also may have life-threatening consequences.” A Brighter Way is located at 124 Pearl St in Ypsilanti. This part of the downtown area has been a theater of a struggle between local business owners, the community of unhoused people living on the street, and the people who work to alleviate homelessness. A number of the people on the street who are affected by this struggle seek services from A Brighter Way. I asked Q how he thought the situation should be handled. “We need to collaborate. Everyone wants to see the systemic conditions solved. The answer, though, is not to simply kick the can down the road, or worse, sweep it under the rug [by ramping] up more police presence. The answer is to provide a place for the people to be and get the resources and wrap-around care they need. This is a community dilemma and we need a community resolution.” Many people who need the services of A Brighter Way are homeless or housing-insecure. A Brighter Way is a valuable resource which is vital to a safe, stable and supportive community.
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