 Wednesday, November 5th, 2025
The Attic Martin Park Neighborhood Detroit, Michigan At church, I’m among a circle of Unitarian Universalists who imagine a better, sustainable and more just world. Call us dreamers. We’re not the only ones. We call ourselves the Social Justice Committee. Last Sunday, we enjoyed a visit from Ian Matchett and a leader from Brick & Mortar Collective. We didn’t wear name tags, but the second leader identified as MJ. MJ works as a farmer with Keep Growing Detroit. With all hands helping, MJ solves problems at the house at Jefferson and Bewick. For example, the duplex house at 1480 Bewick once didn’t have forced air heat. A nationwide lender that specializes in loans to housing justice projects put up the cash. Our local branch, if I heard correctly, is the Detroit Community Wealth Fund. The Community Wealth Fund is a nationwide network with financial strength. Even better, loan repayments from Detroit projects stay in the Detroit economy. Money from paying back the heating loan stays in Detroit for more loans. Detroit Community Wealth Fund doesn’t publish a list of clients, but sources suggest that Pingree Detroit, Book Suey, 27th Letter Books and Sanctuary Farms all have benefited from wealth fund investments. All of the following rests upon seeming facts that one can locate on the internet. The Brick & Mortar housing project must have started with raw space. The last sale on record states that the house sold for 12 thousand dollars in 2015. One source estimates the property value now at 135 thousand. This is good news because the residents have a share in the equity of the house. Decisions made by the house, including choosing new residents to join the collective, are made by consensus if possible. When a few residents chose to move out, the collective held a few days of open house to meet prospective residents. The culture at Brick & Mortar can be described as unique. Matchett is a first rate painter of human experience. At 27th Letter Books, Matchett’s exhibition of couples in their home gave me an insight into day to day life at the collective. I loved to see the look of the faces in those paintings, the peaceful look of humans when loved and protected. I suggested that Matchett, who no longer lives at Bewick but supports the collective, come talk to our social justice committee. Brick & Mortar has managed well enough that the owners of the Day House on Trumbull (2640 Trumbull, Detroit) turned over ownership of the ten bedroom Dorothy Day House to Brick & Mortar. I’m uncertain of the exact details of the real estate deal to be honest. The fund that put up money for the Brick & Mortar heating project hopes to invest in the renovation of the Day House. Before the fund can write a check, Matchett must have an architectural study of the renovation. And Matchett must find a donor or donors who will pay for that study. Matchett came to practice a road show, perfecting the ask for money. Matchett and MJ kept us enthralled for well over a half hour. The Social Justice Committee looks into the small details too. The membership of the social justice committee loves the fact that our coffee teams serve coffee in recyclable coffee cups. We are exploring finding a vendor who will come to pick up the cups and yard clippings and food scraps and turn them into black gold for gardens. MJ recommended that we reach out to nearby Sanctuary Farms, a farm and composting operation with land three miles from Grosse Pointe Unitarian. From what we can tell, Sanctuary Farms converts organic waste into compost sold for fifty five dollars per cubic yard, delivered within a 30 mile radius of the farm. Deliveries appear to be available until the first of December. The committee already has talked with Sanctuary Farms, 3171 Lakeview Street, Detroit. Jøn Kent, one of the founders, pointed us in the direction of Midtown Composting, 4272 Alter Rd, Detroit. Midtown picks up compost on routes and delivers the raw material to Sanctuary Farms. So the committee has already reached out to Midtown to discuss a deal for picking up our cups and compost. Midtown Composting has a yard at Alter and Waveney, less than three miles away from our sanctuary. Bricks & Mortar Collective at Bewick and Jefferson stands close to Pewabic Pottery. The collective is a mile and a half further at 4.5 miles from our church home. By looking at the issues of sustainable housing and coffee cup recycling, we have begun lighting up partners in our fence communities east of Alter.
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Will Juntunen,
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