The Amplify team's goal is to connect people living in Michigan with the resources and information they need to thrive. Our reporting, how-to guides, and community events will help you become your own best advocate on basic needs like housing, public safety, health and more.
Recent Stories
Sylvia Jarrus
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Chalkbeat
Michigan parents of students with disabilities feel ‘hopeless’ as civil rights cases remain in limbo
Hundreds of federal civil rights cases were put on hold after President Donald Trump took office in January. Parents of students with disabilities and those who experience racial discrimination or sexual violence in schools are uncertain of the fate of their federal complaints. Many say they have not gotten updates on their cases since the regional offices closed.
Jodi Westrick
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Michigan Public
Helpful Guides
Get resources on a range of topics from housing needs, due process rights, and more.
Todos tenemos derechos. Cómo manejar un encuentro con ICE.
Una semana después de la toma de posesión del presidente Donald Trump, muchos de los peores temores sobre deportaciones masivas aún no se han materializado. Sin embargo, la propagación de rumores deja claro que muchas personas en Michigan se encuentran en máxima alerta.
Everyone has rights. How to handle encounters with immigration enforcement.
A week into Donald Trump's presidency, mass immigration raids have yet to materialize in Michigan, but fears are growing. Here's what to know if you encounter immigration enforcement agents.
Can you cuss at cops? Know your rights when interacting with police
It is legal to speak your mind, advocate for yourself or record police activity in most circumstances. Still, attorneys and a former law enforcement officer say there’s no guarantee your rights will be respected in the moment — or that it’s always safe to exercise them.
You can’t recycle that… right? Find places in Michigan that take pizza boxes, foil and more
Does recycling feel messy and confusing to you? You're not alone. We've made a map and searchable database of Michigan recycling programs to help you navigate the do's and don'ts of recycling in your area.
See someone in crisis? You don't have to call the police. Here are alternatives.
Following the police killing of a young man with schizophrenia several months ago, Michigan Radio collected resources to find support for people in mental health crisis.
What you should know about car insurance after no-fault overhaul
Michigan Radio has put together this guide to help you understand the biggest changes brought by the state's 2019 no-fault law.
Detroit's going to restart water shutoffs. Here's how you can avoid one.
About a quarter of Detroit's residential water customers were behind on their bills as of late last year. But Detroit Water and Sewerage Department officials say they won't shut off anyone who enrolls in an assistance program or gets on a payment plan.
How to escrow your rent in Michigan
This guide looks at escrow in Michigan, its risks, and what resources may be available in your area. Escrow is one of the tools tenants have to deal with housing problems when landlords are unresponsive.
Detroit renters with building problems do have options. Here's how to protect yourselves.
Michigan Radio consulted residents, lawyers, academics, and activists to round up what renters can do to protect themselves when building problems go unaddressed.
Thousands of Michigan children are eligible for free school meals. Here’s how you can make sure your kid gets theirs.
COVID-era universal school lunches — where all kids were given free meals regardless of income, feeding an additional 10 million students nationwide — has ended.
More from the Amplify Team
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Experts agree that Detroit’s population has been undercounted, costing millions annually. The City of Detroit says in a lawsuit that the way the U.S. Census Bureau determines population fundamentally disadvantages “older urban cities.” -
For nearly 35 years, Anthony Benavides and the founders of a coalition have been the guardians of Clark Park in Detroit. Benavides said they have started to teach younger community members how to continue their work well into the future. -
The University of Michigan has declined protesters’ calls to divest its endowment from companies with ties to Israel’s war in Gaza. Here’s when U of M has divested in the past, and why. -
With hundreds of thousands of people expected to pour into downtown, here’s the lowdown on who’s in charge of policing — and how. -
Many Palestinians in the U.S. feel a deep connection to their ancestral land. That pull has become more poignant with Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Michigan Public talked with four Palestinians living in Michigan about how they’re thinking about their ethnic and national identities right now. -
With primaries coming up, here are presidential candidate positions on five topics that matter to this state: EVs, housing, foreign investment, infrastructure, and PFAS. -
Detroit Police say crime in the city dropped last year, with the fewest homicides the city has seen since the 1960s. But that number doesn’t account for population. -
Detroit's Muslim-Jewish Forum has been barely active for the last few years. The loss of one of the group's founding members and ongoing bloodshed in the Gaza Strip presents a lot of pain and tension for both religious minorities. But a group of new and old forum members say there is an opportunity in that "agony" to build bridges and act to support each other politically. -
Michigan has more so-called “juvenile lifers” than almost any other state in the country. More than a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled automatic life without parole sentences for juveniles violated the Constitution, the vast majority of those people have received a new, lighter sentence. -
Hundreds of people sentenced to life without parole as juveniles have now been released. In most cases, they’ve gone on to live completely ordinary lives that they had no reason to believe were possible for them.
Amplify Events
The Amplify Team often holds events related to the stories they report in the communities that are affected by those stories. See photos from some of these events below:
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— Jail's True Cost 1
Community Engagement Reporter Jamie Simmons speaks at the Jail's True Cost event (2022).
Jodi Westrick / Michigan Radio
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— Jail's True Cost 2
Attendees look at art by prisoners at the Jail's True Cost event (2022).
Jodi Westrick / Michigan Radio
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— Jail's True Cost 3
Handouts and informative flyers at the Jail's True Cost event (2022).
Jodi Westrick / Michigan Radio
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— Jail's True Cost 4
Attendees had the opportunity to hear from prisoners in this interactive display at Jail's True Cost (2022).
Jodi Westrick / Michigan Radio
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— Housing Forum 1
Data reporter Nisa Khan at the Housing Forum (2022).
Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
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— Housing Forum 2
Kids are welcome at most Enterprise events. Here, reporter Lindsey Smith teaches a young attendee to use a recorder.
Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
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— Housing Forum
Community Engagement Reporter Jamie Simmons speaks at the Housing Forum (2022).
Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
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— Housing Forum 3
A panel of local experts speaks about the housing crisis in Detroit and give resources for residents.
Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
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— Housing Forum 5
Attendees at the Enterprise Housing Forum (2022).
Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
Meet Our Team
