Mama shu cnn

Shamayim Harris, known in Detroit as Mama Shu, knows all too well the pain of loss. In her 2-year-old son Jakobi Ra was killed in a hit and run accident, and in her other son Chinyelu was murdered, mama shu cnn.

She's reimagined her neighborhood, which was overwhelmed with blight, and turned it into something beautiful. Avalon Street, now affectionately known as Avalon Village, is Mama Shu's gift to the city and its people. And then we go down to the other cities going north of Woodward. They are beautiful down there. The grass is green, they have flowers, [and] there is no blight in those places. I'm figuring, why do we have to live like that, and we don't," she said.

Mama shu cnn

She is among a group of honorees providing scholarships and mentorship for young adults with incarcerated parents, restoring coral reefs in the Florida Keys and connecting migrant and refugee children in shelters with educational resources. Through Avalon Village, the year-old Harris is on a mission to transform vacant and abandoned lots and structures into a sustainable community on Avalon Street, between Woodward and Second avenues. Avalon Village also includes a Homework House for students, a marketplace for women entrepreneurs, a basketball court and a community garden. Avalon Village came about after the death of her 2-year old son, Jakobi RA Harris, in a hit and run in She founded the organization the year after and Avalon Village officially became a nonprofit in I just tried to transform it and make it into something bearable and something beautiful," Harris told CNN. Highland Park is a municipality located within Detroit's city limits with a population of more than 8, The city has gone through tumultuous times , as properties emptied and streetlights dimmed. Avalon Village grew from about four lots, Harris said , to It's a space for children to get tutoring in a house that feels like home and where women can run their businesses and network. Harris plans to grow the village with a cafe, greenhouse, restaurant, laundromat and market-rate housing. I would love for it to spread throughout the whole city.

It was very unfortunate for my sons to be killed. Visit podcastchoices.

Our newsroom delivers the info you need to navigate Detroit — and thrive. Sign up for our free newsletters! Instead, she found solace in beautifying Highland Park and connecting with the community. In , her stepson Pili Humphrey died. Then in January , her son, year-old Chinyelu Humphrey, was murdered. But she persevered, spreading beauty and positivity through Highland Park. Now, on the once run-down Avalon Street, children and community members can study in a safe space at The Homework House, shoot hoops on a renovated basketball court and tend to plants in the garden space.

She said receiving this recognition makes her feel "totally elated," and honored for an opportunity to show more people "how you can actually transform blight to beauty. After the tragic hit-and-run death of her 2-year-old son Jakobi in , Mama Shu took action to transform her struggling neighborhood. Purchasing 45 surrounding lots of land, she created The Avalon Village — a sustainable eco-village that provides its residents with resources, youth programming, gardens, small business support, activities and more. In , tragedy struck again. Mama Shu's year-old son , Chinyelu Humphrey, was shot and killed in front of their home. Despite her providing an eyewitness account, no arrests have been made in connection with the murder.

Mama shu cnn

She's reimagined her neighborhood, which was overwhelmed with blight, and turned it into something beautiful. Avalon Street, now affectionately known as Avalon Village, is Mama Shu's gift to the city and its people. And then we go down to the other cities going north of Woodward.

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Photos may not be republished without written permission from Outlier. Yup, they have all kinds of sessions. I can identify the young man and everything. The show is produced by Grace Walker and Dan Bloom. But I already knew he was gone, you know. Like when you pull up in those beautiful gated communities, how it looks with all the beautiful shops and to have coffee and tea and sit and read a book in the park and the concerts and different things like that. We're doing all of that. And peace and love to you and your heart. So now I'm like, Oh my God, I'm 58 and got this whole gym shoe closet. I must have called him about eight, nine, ten times. Go to CNNHeroes. CNN Audio's transcripts are made available as soon as possible. Still, just know that they're part of you. I have, like, conversations just like that.

Our newsroom delivers the info you need to navigate Detroit — and thrive.

And Jacobi have made me go for it, for real. Folks hated to come over here, now they're like, 'Woah, what's going on over there? I remember every inch of how this whole block used to look. We got some of the, some of his friends, they helped to build it. Now, on the once run-down Avalon Street, children and community members can study in a safe space at The Homework House, shoot hoops on a renovated basketball court and tend to plants in the garden space. Avalon Street, now affectionately known as Avalon Village, is Mama Shu's gift to the city and its people. And, it took a hit with Chrysler moving out and our schools started getting closed down, and I wanted it to rise like the phoenix and be beautiful again, a place that is really, really highly desired to live in. But they had to do that. Shamayim "Mama Shu" Harris. I talk to them of being a parent because I'm, I feel in my head that I'm still a parent. He was actually hit by a car holding my other son's hand. I have underwear and socks and all of those things. This is it.