April 29, 1998
Interlochen programs honored for innovation
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
It was a haircut that changed a community.
While getting a haircut three years ago, Interlochen Community School principal Glenn Solowiej mentioned to stylist Vickie Karas how many of his needy students struggled through their lives.
"He'd had a rough day that day and told me, 'If you knew the things I hear every day, you wouldn't be able to sleep at night,'" Karas said. "I just got to thinking about that and wanted to see what I could do."
So she began brainstorming with people in the community about what could be done. Local churches and the school's social worker joined the effort, and soon the Interlochen Community Action Network was born.
Since the 1995-1996 school year, I-CAN has provided the community with teen activity nights, classes in parenting, finance and Lamaze, a summer camp and emergency funds and clothing. The network also brings weekly staff from Third Level Counseling Center to Interlochen to provide individual and family counseling and health instruction. Every program takes place at Interlochen Community School, which is becoming the focal point of the community.
For its innovation, the Interlochen Community Action Network was recognized Thursday at the Park Place during the Human Services Coordinating Council's 11th annual awards dinner. The council also recognized the Affordable Housing Task Force for its Homestretch program, which helps people with a temporary financial crisis meet their housing costs.
"Every year we look into the community and see who has been doing an outstanding job," said Kathleen Miller, coordinator for the council, a coalition of 25 local service agencies. "We look for innovative programs that are not duplicated elsewhere in the community and that have community representation."
The success of the I-CAN program, for instance, has now piqued the interest of other schools. Kingsley Area Schools is interested in starting a similar network and Blair Elementary School just received a grant to create one of their own.
In Interlochen, the innovations keep coming. A grant from Strong Families/Safe Children last year provided funding for a part-time resource coach to steer Interlochen residents to resources and agencies in the region. At first residents were hesitant to embrace the program because they were aware of how news travels fast in a small town, especially bad news, coach Mary Pat Randall said.
"People had trouble trusting us at first, that we would provide help while maintaining dignity, pride and privacy," the former public health nurse said. "I actually do a lot of my work in the grocery line, and we are learning parking lot etiquette about when you can talk to people."
For Karas the hairstylist, she has found that her gusto indeed has helped draw a community together.
"I just knew we could do something," said Karas, a Grand Rapids native who moved to Interlochen with her husband and two children six years ago.
"At that very first fund-raiser three years ago we weren't sure what was going to happen. But we sold all the donated pizza and raised more money than we thought. We knew the community cared after that."