Housing, groceries, and medical needs: Detroit’s Health Hubs helping to get kids to school

June 30, 2026

Detroit Public Schools Community District has established 10 Health Hubs staffed by nine "navigators" who help families access resources including housing assistance, food, healthcare, and legal services to address barriers preventing student attendance. Since launching in 2023, these one-stop centers have served families over 19,000 times and made more than 1,100 referrals to various support services. District officials credit the hubs as a key factor in reducing chronic absenteeism, which dropped 5.

Who is affected

Detroit Public Schools Community District students and their families (served 19,200 times from July 2023 through June 2024)
K-12 students accessing Health Hubs showing improved attendance
Chronically absent students (61% of district students in 2024-25)
Specific students mentioned: Jaiden Mabins (Osborn High School graduate whose home burned down) and Jeremy McKinney (17-year-old who had glasses stolen)
Families experiencing housing instability, food insecurity, and health issues
Navigator Jerrica Mickens who oversees 10 feeder schools plus Central and Durfee Elementary-Middle School
School community members at the 10 hub locations (Central, Denby, Henry Ford, Marygrove, Martin Luther King Jr., Mumford, Osborn, Southeastern, Western International high schools, and East English Village Prep Academy)
District personnel including Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, parent outreach coordinators, principals, and social workers

What action is being taken

Navigators are connecting students with vision and hearing screenings, medical, dental, and mental health care
Hubs are connecting families with housing, utility assistance, and legal services
Food and hygiene product distribution is occurring at the centers
Navigators are conducting three-way calls with parents and legal aide hotlines
Mickens is packing boxes of groceries for scheduled pick-ups and answering calls from parents
A nonprofit is regularly visiting schools to provide glasses (185 pairs distributed since hubs opened)
Navigators are traveling to feeder schools on Tuesdays and Thursdays to meet with school personnel
A third-party evaluator is examining how the hubs affect student attendance

Why it matters

This initiative addresses the root causes of Detroit's severe chronic absenteeism problem, recognizing that students cannot focus on academics when basic health and well-being needs go unmet. The hubs provide critical support for families facing systemic socioeconomic barriers that have historically plagued Detroit schools, creating a streamlined process that allows for deeper family engagement and better tracking than previous fragmented support efforts. Early results suggest meaningful impact, with the district outpacing Michigan in reducing absenteeism since the pandemic and achieving historic highs in third-grade reading proficiency and graduation rates. The model demonstrates how schools can serve as trusted, convenient access points for vital community resources, potentially transforming educational outcomes by addressing students' holistic needs rather than academic challenges alone.

What's next

Hubs will open at the new Cody and Pershing high schools when they open for the 2027-28 school year
A hub is planned for Detroit Lions Academy location (opening date not yet set)
Third-party evaluation of how hubs affect student attendance is expected to be complete in the fall

Read full article from source: bridgedetroit.com